Road to $1M ARR day 11/60: a challenge within the challenge...

why being selective means i need 10x more pipeline

Day 11 of the $1M ARR sprint. The plan is set:

Last week i had 4 calls (with actual ICPs). 1 is ready to start mid-November. 1 still thinking. 2… i rather not spend energy on them. Hard to close. Long deal cycle.

This week i have 8 calls scheduled. Sounds great until you remember i still need to add $412k in arr within 49 days…

Fortunately pipeline has never been an issue, but now i do see that selection criteria (aka being too picky) can be a double edged sword.

I need to be surgical about who i close and when. Which can mean leaving money on the table (bad client, bad deal, company with no future…).

Which means i need exponentially more leads to hit the goal while respecting my own closing rules.

So the math is quite simple: more selectivity = more volume required.

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So here’s the plan to generate that volume:

1) Activate client referrals

Gonna be brutally transparent with existing clients: “We’ve over-delivered. Didn’t bill some extras. Now we need something from you: intros.”

2) Lead magnet posts + profile/website visitor outreach

Past 10 days i received 800 profile visitors + 300 website visitors.

At our usual 25% qualification rate, that’s 250+ people to contact.

So this will be prioritized next week. We’ve been rebuilding our qualification automation agent for this.

We’ll put it at test this week.

Also doubling ad spend from $2K/month to $4K.

More fuel, more fire.

3) Reddit GTM campaign validation

I’ve been running a campaign with literally the best call-to-value ratio possible for a Reddit GTM/GEO offer.

Already have 2 clients on this. Ran outreach to 30 prospects. 8 positive responses.

Closing the campaign until end of month to validate delivery model. Once i know how to structure it efficiently, i’ll scale the hell out of this vertical.

4) VC partnerships (not fundraising)

We’ve just launched a new campaign running toward VCs to access their portfolio companies.

The angle is super direct “everyone dms you to take your money. i don’t. i want to make those 100x outcomes in your portfolios happen. wanna know how?”.

Direct. Punchy. Impactful

I’ll keep you posted on the answer rate.

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So big goals can be a bit of an overstretch. That’s why I am adding a mini challenge within the challenge:

Add $200K in ARR by October 24th. 12 days to make it happen.

y’all must think i’m a bit crazy or degenerated at this point.

promise i’m not.

So here are some practical metrics i’m tracking for the 24th:

• 2 intros from clients to hot leads.

• New campaign launched to profile/website visitors should book > 10 calls

• 6 clear proposals sent.

• 3 accepted to start in November.

• 1 viral lead magnet (200+ comments)

you think i can pull these?

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Regarding the topic i mentioned few days ago (how to improve my productivity) i came up with the following point that i am implementing starting the 20th:

1-All mornings locked for deep work.

2-Ruthless prioritization: if it doesn’t keep revenue or bring new revenue, delegate or deprioritize.

3-More content and guides for deals sitting in the warm-but-cold zone. Need to create FOMO. Got ideas lined up (will keep you posted on these).

12 days to add $200K.

49 to add $412k.

Let’s see if i pull this off.

ARR: $582K → Target: $1M | Days remaining: 49

See you tomorrow 👊

O.

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accidentally built a million ARR GTM agency by refusing to spray & pray. now racing to $1M just to prove cold emails gurus wrong.

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