Offer someone something of value in exchange for 45 minutes of their time, the way Marc did when it brought him a batch of clients, and even when nobody buys you still walk away with market data, a testimonial, a feedback form, or a referral.
Two ways in. Route 2 skips the post and starts at the DM.
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value-trade-coach.md
This is the whole strategy in four parts. Read the page to understand them, then let the toolkit build your own versions with you.
One long post that says who it is for, what you will give at zero cost, and what you want back.
Three short lines that point one named person at the post. It does not sell anything.
Real people you actually know, written down, sized to the cap you put in the post.
45 minutes to understand them, plus the two questions that tell you if they are ready.
When the calendar goes quiet, the instinct is to message people and ask them to hop on a call. The problem is that everyone can feel a sales call coming, and Marc names that in the lesson when he explains why he spells out the disclaimer in his own post: "Singaporeans are a skeptical bunch of people, which I get."
Messaging strangers does not fix it either. Marc is direct about that. "Cold messages don't work very well. You really want to get some sort of referral connection if possible."
So the fix is not a better pitch. It is a different trade. You give something real first, and the only thing you ask for is 45 minutes.
"It's a simple message that starts conversations with your ideal clients in a very low friction way. This is where you go and find people who are your potential clients and you talk to them directly to get feedback."
Marc, in the lessonThe thing that stops most people sending this is the fear of coming across salesy. Someone in the room said it out loud: "I don't want to portray myself as something related to sales. Because we're working on a very thin, fine line."
That fear is worth taking seriously, because it is only true if the call really is a pitch wearing a costume. Marc kills it twice in the lesson, and both answers are structural rather than a matter of tone.
Marc says it once plainly, "Remember, taking the value trade call is not a secret sales call." Then he spells out what he means: "So this is not 'I say it's a value trade, but actually my secret intention is to sell them so that they work with me'. No. The whole point is to actually understand them."
"The selling only happens when you get permission." Marc then walks through the moment itself: "You already gave value. You gave them a strategy, a game plan, an activity they can do right now to increase their social media, and so on. And then you say: hey, did you get value so far? Amazing. Anyway, there's no obligation, and if you're not interested, no problem at all."
"And this is coming from someone who hates selling. I'm sharing with you: I hate selling. But I find the way I'm doing it right now, even if I had to, and now I'm trying to do no sales calls, but if I ever had to go back to sales calls, it's not going to be that tiring for me. Because I'm really adding a lot of value during my calls, and I've detached myself from whether someone buys from me or not. And ironically, that makes sales a lot better."
Marc, in the lessonRead that carefully, because he is describing a hypothetical. He is trying to do no sales calls at all these days. His point is that if he ever went back to them, doing it this way would not wear him out.
The energy to hold on the call: "My goal of the call is not to get you to buy. My goal of the call is to make you have as clear a decision as possible." You want them to walk away with a clean yes or a clean no, either one, made for their own reasons.
You are trading something real for 45 minutes of someone's time. So decide what that something is before you write a single line of the post.
Teach them the thing you would normally teach a paying client, live and for free.
Coach them through the problem in front of them right now, the same way you coach clients.
Audit the thing you are genuinely expert in, mindset, marketing, or whatever your lane is.
Marc's coaching on this in the lesson: "If you just say I'll give you a strategy, then people are like, what strategy? So if you can make it a bit more specific, then I would try to frame that in your post."
Here is Marc coaching someone in the room whose work is public relations. He is writing that person's give for them, in that person's voice, so read these as your own expertise rather than Marc's:
Two things to check before you lock it in.
Make it practical and lined up with what you are already doing, not a side project you invented for the post.
Watch what they will assume you are up to. As Marc put it when coaching someone in public relations, their quiet expectation might be "are you going to sell me PR services?" So pick a give that answers that worry instead of feeding it.
One more piece, and it is the thing that makes the post make sense. You need an honest reason this is happening right now. Marc calls it having a good reason to suddenly do the value trade, and in his own case it was real: he had recently launched a new part of his program, and he wanted brand new beta testers to help him make it as valuable as possible.
One long post, 7 parts, in this order. Marc posts his on Facebook, and says LinkedIn or a video on TikTok work too. Because the post is long, the post is the destination, not the message you send people.
Open by announcing it, and put the price in that very first line. Marc's opener does both before the reader has to work for anything.
Give the honest reason this is happening now. Marc had recently launched a new part of his program and wanted brand new beta testers to help make it as valuable as possible.
Say it out loud, "if you are currently a ___", so the right people lean in and everyone else scrolls past without feeling sold to.
Name the parts: an audit of a named thing, a read on where they are, the bottlenecks you will diagnose, the exact steps you will hand them. Then, if they turn out to be the right fit, the invitation to test the whole program free, with what that access includes.
Name your side of the trade in one breath, and say plainly that there is zero obligation to buy anything. That last bit is what makes it a trade rather than a favour.
Keep the credibility to a single "for context, I've worked with ___". Then say it is not a sales call, before they think it. Marc's version names it as the exact first call he runs with clients when they start with him.
Cap it at 5 to 10 people and say it is first come first served, which quietly tells people to move. Then one simple action and nothing else: comment a word below and you will send the details. That comment is what opens the DM.
Here is the worked example. This is Marc's own beta tester post, the one he ran about a year before this lesson, reproduced exactly as he wrote it.
Announcement: I am looking for beta testers...and it won't cost you anything (aka free). I'll keep it short. As some of you know, I recently launched my XXXXX and I'm looking for brand new beta testers to make sure it's as valuable as possible... So if you are currently a XXXXX, this is my invitation (at zero cost) to you. I'll not only personally audit your current XXXX, incl your YYYY, ZZZZ, Assess your current situation and diagnose your biggest bottlenecks and challenges, And immediately identify the exact steps to take to grow your xxxx ASAP. And after you gain clarity and direction of exactly what to do, if you're the right fit, I'll invite you to test out our brand new (program) for free. This where you'll get to benefit from my entire life's work including accessing our modules and playbooks, attend the live workshops and receive unlimited support from my entire team, And by the end of the beta test, to simply provide me some feedback (and hopefully a testimonial after). For context, I've worked with (add credibility), so if you find my experience could be useful for you, #INFO below if you are curious or interested to find out more. Btw, this is NOT a sales call; it's the exact Kickstart call I conduct for my clients when they first start their journey with me. Again, I'm doing this because as we're in our next season of upgrading our entire program, XXXXX, I want a fresh set of eyes to make sure we don't leave out anything 🙂 Again, this is completely free, all I ask in return is for feedback and hopefully a testimonial too (there's ZERO obligation to buy anything). If you're curious or would like more details #INFO below and I'll send you the details ASAP 🙂 Only looking for 5-10 people for this, so it's first come first served too!
The blanks in capital letters are Marc's own fill-in slots, kept exactly as he stores them. When he ran it live, the launch was a new part of his program, the person was an aspiring coach, consultant or service provider, and the free give was a personal audit of their business, their offer, their content and their sales process, plus the exact steps to grow their income.
One honest footnote from the lesson, so the word free is not doing more work than it should. Marc says the beta testers technically joined for one dollar rather than nothing, and one person was unhappy that it was not completely free.
A post on its own waits. A post plus a short list of real names moves. Write the names down, matching the cap you put in the post, and send each of them the same short message.
Hey XXXX! I recently announced something I thought you might be interested in: (link) In short it's just to support you for free haha. Let me know if you want more details k! :)
Notice what the message does not do. It does not repeat the offer and it does not sell. Its only job is to walk one named person over to the post. Marc's reasoning: "because it's a pretty long post, I like to just direct them to the actual post itself."
Marc's words: "If you know people who know them, that'd be amazing. People that they are close to. If not, cold messages don't work very well. You really want to get some sort of referral connection if possible."
If your work is business to business, Marc's steer is to find decision makers, or people linked to decision makers, and go direct by DM.
The introduction is the whole trick.
When the people you need are out of reach, you do not go around your warm audience. You go through them.
A client of Marc's does mindset coaching for financial advisers, and does it well. He wanted to start helping the senior people, the team managers and directors, so he could help them support their teams. The problem was simple: he did not know who they were.
So he posted stories and DM'd all the financial advisers he already knew, and asked them straight out whether they knew any directors or managers he could take for coffee and interview. Roughly what he said is in the DM-only route further down, as Marc retold it, so treat it as a shape to copy rather than his exact words.
He promised out loud it was not a sales thing, he really wanted to find out what they needed. Warm contacts referred him on, Marc included. And some of them came back with something better than an introduction. They asked him to run a free training, or to do live coaching for their team. That is what worked.
45 minutes. The job is to understand them properly, give real value, and only then find out whether the timing is right. You need two things to run it at all: a Calendly link and an offer ready in case they ask.
They are already wondering. Answering it first is what lets them relax and tell you the true version.
Include how they think about paying for something like what you offer. You are listening for the exact sentences they use, and for the same challenges and frustrations showing up call after call.
Marc is firm here: "you should actually tell them what you would do, so that they can potentially do it themselves. You actually add value." That means handing over the real answer rather than a taste of it.
They tell you how important solving this really is, and exactly what is holding the rest back.
"From a scale of one to 10, how important is solving all the problems you just mentioned to you?"
You have just heard their problems, their goals and their situation. This asks them to put a number on it, in their own words.
"Great, understand. Where do you think is the missing two or three? I'm just very curious."
This is where the real answer arrives. Marc's own examples of what comes back: my family, I don't have time, and so on.
What they already believe
the missing two or three
The number is not the point. The gap is, because the gap is where the honest answer lives.
Use an AI note taker to record and transcribe. Marc's own prompt for it: "you are an expert notetaker, help me to understand the nuances of their challenges and situations so that it can help me with my content."
Those key sentences become your content and your sales process, and across enough calls the same challenges, frustrations and patterns start repeating. That is your market telling you what to build next.
Marc's sequence, in his own words: "hey, did you get value so far? Amazing. Anyway, there's no obligation, and if you're not interested, no problem at all." Then, and only then: "I do have a beta program that I'm testing out, if you want I can share with you more. Again, if not, no problem at all."
What you offer does not have to be your top tier. Marc's own list: it could be a workshop, an event you have coming up, or a small online product. If they are not the right fit for the big thing, do not force the big thing.
And if what you are hearing says not now, say that first: "hey, from what I'm hearing, I think this month you probably are not ready, I know you're busy, but if you're interested, if next month you're curious when I've improved my program further, is it okay if I share with you more about the program, or invite you to join my event? If not, no problem at all."
If the answer is no, the call is still not over. Ask for a quick testimonial or a feedback form. Ask whether they know anyone who could benefit. Marc's phrase for it is that he wins either way, and it is not a trick, it is just what happens when you actually helped somebody for 45 minutes.
There are two ways into this. The 4 steps above teach the default. This is the other one.
When you sell to businesses rather than to consumers. Marc's steer for that: find decision makers, or people linked to decision makers, and go more direct by DM.
When your list of 5 to 10 is small enough to message by hand anyway.
When the people you want are out of reach and you need an introduction before you can talk to any of them.
Why Marc still prefers Route 1: "If you want to refine this into a DM directly, you technically can. But usually, because it's a pretty long post, I like to just direct them to the actual post itself." The invitation post is long, so he would rather send people to read it than squeeze it into a message.
Hey, any of you know any directors or managers? I would love to treat them to coffee, just for me to really interview them, to find out what people at their stage really need when it comes to mindset, or to supporting their team. I would be so grateful for you. I promise it's not a sales thing, I really genuinely want to find out what they need.
This is Marc retelling roughly what that client said, not a transcript of the message, so copy the shape rather than the words. The client does mindset coaching for financial advisers. He never wrote an invitation post. He sent this to the financial advisers he already knew, and some of them came back asking him to run a free training or live coaching for their team instead.
This one is not a script. It is the 7 parts above, shortened to fit a message. Write it in your own words.
The guardrail does not change. Route 2 still runs on warm contacts. Marc's line from Rule 2 above holds either way: cold messages do not work very well, so get some sort of referral connection if you possibly can.
Pick the route that fits your business, and the AI Implementation Toolkit will write that one with you.
Marc's own summary of the strategy is that worst case, it hands you a lot of market data and research. Here is the full set of ways it comes back to you.
The key sentences and insights you capture feed your content, your marketing and the next version of your program. Marc calls this the number one priority of the call, ahead of any sale.
When someone says no, Marc asks: "can you help me write a quick testimonial, or can you do a feedback form after the call?" He built that habit years ago on his ordinary sales calls, where he used to keep a Google page whose five star reviews all came from people who had not bought from him. He says he has not done it in a long time.
"There were some people I helped that didn't buy from me, but they referred other people to me." Some will simply ask how they can support you, and the honest answer is a share or an introduction.
The other half of that same ask, and the more useful half when you are still building. A form gives you their answers in writing, which is exactly what you wanted when you asked for beta testers to help make the thing as valuable as possible.
When to run it: when you are validating a new offer, when you are launching a significant new feature, or when the calendar is light and you want more calls booked.
A separate tip from the same call, and nothing to do with the four steps above. Keep it in your back pocket.
When a post has already done well organically, do not let it sit there. Copy and paste it into the other Facebook groups you are already a member of. Marc did exactly that with one post into an entrepreneurs group in Malaysia that he belongs to, and it picked up a pile of views and engagements for no extra work.
If you want a line to open with, his is: "hey guys, hope you're having a great week. By the way, last week I actually wrote a piece of content about XX YY, which I thought could be useful for all of you. Enjoy."
This is a Facebook move. LinkedIn is tougher for it. One of those reposts got him about 400 engagements.
It changes how selling feels, because once you detach from whether someone buys, you spend the call adding real value instead of chasing, and in Marc's words, ironically that makes sales a lot better.
It changes what your business knows, because every call hands you the real sentences your market uses, and that is what your content, your program and your next offer get built from.
And it changes who is in your corner, because the people who never buy still send you referrals, testimonials, collaborations and partnerships, purely because you gave first.
Print this, or keep it open next to you while you write your post.
| The step | What you actually do |
|---|---|
| The trade | Something of real value from you, in exchange for 45 minutes of their time. |
| Step 1: Your free give | Training, coaching, or an audit of your expertise. Name it specifically, because "a strategy" makes people ask what strategy. |
| Step 2: The post, 7 parts | The announcement plus the it-costs-nothing line, why you are running it, who it is for as one specific person, exactly what they get at zero cost plus free access to test the program, what you ask back with zero obligation, one line of credibility then the not-a-sales-call line, and the cap of 5 to 10 with one keyword to comment. |
| Step 3: The names and the DM | 5 to 10 real people, warm ones first. Three short lines pointing them at the post. Cold messages do not work well, so ask for an introduction instead. |
| Two ways in | Route 1, Marc's default: post the invitation, then DM people to go read it. Route 2: skip the post and DM people directly, which fits when you sell to businesses, when your list is small enough to message by hand, or when you need an introduction first. Same trade, same call either way. |
| Step 4: The call | 45 minutes. Say it is not a sales call, understand them, tell them what you would actually do, record it with an AI note taker. |
| Question 1 | "From a scale of one to 10, how important is solving all the problems you just mentioned to you?" |
| Question 2 | "Great, understand. Where do you think is the missing two or three? I'm just very curious." |
| When you may offer | Only after they say they got value. Check first, hand them the way out, then ask if they want to hear more. |
| You need | A Calendly link and an offer ready, in case they ask. |
| You win either way | Market data, a testimonial, a feedback form, or a referral. |
That is the whole assignment. One window, not a plan for later, because a post you intend to write is not a post and a name you intend to message is not a message.
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value-trade-coach.md
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