The 20 People Who
Could Book You Solid
Not prospects. Not cold leads. Influencers, referral partners, and connectors who are already trusted by your ideal clients. One per day. The compound effect over 90 days is staggering.
How the List of 20 works
Four steps. One per day. No cold pitching, no spam, no commission structures before you've said hello.
Build your list
Write down 20 people in your industry you'd like to know but don't yet. People who could refer clients, introduce you to the right rooms, or open doors you can't open alone.
One person, every day
Each working day, contact whoever's at the top. Not a pitch. Not an ask. A genuine, human, generous message. Always be opening — never closing.
Connect, graduate, replace
When you build a real connection, move them into your regular network. Add a new person to the bottom so the list always stays at 20.
Two attempts max
No response? They rotate to the bottom. Still nothing the second time? Drop them. No stalking. Move on. Plenty more people out there.
This is not cold outreach
Direct outreach is not spam. Lead with generosity. Do your homework. Be brief. Be human. And for the love of all that is holy, don't send someone six links and a commission structure before you've even said hello.
The people on your list aren't prospects. They're potential relationships. Treat them that way and the business takes care of itself.
The golden rule
Before every message, ask yourself: "Would I send this to someone I genuinely admire and want to know?" If the answer is no, rewrite it until it is.
What's in the action guide
Everything you need to start working your List of 20 today.
The complete framework
The four-step system explained in full — including exactly who should be on your list and how to approach them without feeling awkward.
Printable tracker
A formatted sheet with space for all 20 names, why you picked them, and columns to track your outreach. Print it, pin it up, work it daily.
AI prompt to build your list
Copy-paste a prompt into ChatGPT or Claude that generates a personalised List of 20 with specific names, reasons to connect, and first-message drafts.
Real-world stories
The $250 Chinese food order. The coconut that cracked a gatekeeper. True stories of creative outreach that built real relationships.
Who is this for?
This guide is for any service professional or business owner who knows their next wave of clients is probably one introduction away — but doesn't know who to reach out to, or how.
- Business owners who rely on word of mouth but don't actively cultivate it
- Service professionals who know they need to network but hate "networking"
- Anyone who's been meaning to reach out to someone influential but keeps putting it off
- Consultants and freelancers who want a systematic referral pipeline
- People who read BYS and want to actually implement the direct outreach strategy
"Your next client probably already knows someone on your List of 20. You just haven't met them yet."
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