Template: The Free Audit Gift DM
I audited the outbound strategy of the #1 sales trainer in the world.
He called it "the most insanely valuable video I've ever received."
Then he sent ME his booking link.
Who Is John Barrows?
John Barrows. If you don't know the name, you've never Googled "how to sell." Around 406,000 LinkedIn followers. Forbes Top 30 Social Salespeople. CEO of JB Sales. His teams have trained the sales forces at Salesforce, Google, LinkedIn, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Slack. Twenty-five-plus years in B2B sales. When enterprise companies need their sales teams to stop being shit at outbound, they call John Barrows.
He is, by pretty much any measure, the most recognised B2B sales trainer on the planet.
Why This One Was Personal
And my very first sales training video on YouTube -- back before I knew anything, back when I was just a kid trying to figure out how selling worked -- was John Barrows.
Genuine fandom. Not manufactured. Not "I've been following you for a while" when really you Googled them twenty minutes ago. I actually watched his stuff. I learned from his stuff. That matters for what comes next.
The Setup
Here's the situation. I'm on LinkedIn one day, and I go check out John's profile. Because that's what I do. I look at LinkedIn profiles the way a mechanic looks under a bonnet -- I can't help it.
And I saw that it sucked.
Not his content. Not his reputation. His LinkedIn funnel was broken. No email capture. No newsletter funnel. Leads were dropping off. The #1 sales trainer in the world had a LinkedIn presence that was leaking opportunities everywhere, and he had no idea.
The Unclogged Toilet
This is what I mean when I talk about the Unclogged Toilet. John Barrows didn't know he had a problem. He teaches outbound to Salesforce and Google -- why would he think his own outbound had gaps? But I could see it. Because this is what I do all day.
Offer Viability
The Offer Viability behind this gift was perfect. A LinkedIn audit for a B2B sales trainer? Latent Demand -- D equals 5. He's already in the world of leads and funnels. Category Belief -- C equals 5. He knows exactly what a LinkedIn audit is. Outcome Observability -- O equals 5. "Here's exactly what's broken and here's how to fix it" -- you can picture that, you can measure it. Payment Normalisation -- P equals 5. He'd absolutely pay for LinkedIn consulting. Five across the board.
But here's the thing. I didn't just DM him and say "Hey John, your LinkedIn's broken." That's not how this works. Different industry. No shared community. No mutual connection. Cold LinkedIn DM. Just me and a plan.
The plan was the decoy pitch.
The Decoy Pitch Strategy
I pitched John on being a guest on his podcast. That was my opening move. But it wasn't the real move. The podcast ask was the decoy -- it established credibility and opened the door.
Here's what I sent:
Hey John, I've been a big fan of yours for a long time.
Even more I started watching your sales masterclass content.
And loved when one of your team said/matched on all channels is really hard to do.
Reaching out to see if you'd be open to me being on as a guest...
Notice what's happening. I'm not just saying "love your content" like every other fan DM. I referenced a specific moment from his sales masterclass -- and not something John said. Something one of his team members said. That signals I've consumed his world at depth. The ecosystem, not just the highlight reel.
John pushed back. He was working on a new approach for his podcast. Fair enough. Most people would stop here, right?
I didn't stop. Because the first ask was never the real ask.
The Pivot
This is where it gets good.
I'll tell you what -- if yourself or your team want, I'm going to audit your cold outbound strategy and send it to you for free.
It genuinely won't take me long cause it's what I do all day... it'll probably take me 5-10 minutes for 6 months worth of value... would you be open to that?
Read that line again. "5-10 minutes for 6 months worth of value."
That line is doing four things at once. Casual competence -- "it's what I do all day" signals this is my baseline, not my ceiling. The value ratio is absurd -- 5-10 minutes of my time for 6 months of value on his end. Saying no kind of feels irrational. The disruption threshold is zero -- all John has to do is watch a video. No calendar, no Zoom, no social exposure. And "would you be open to that?" is a soft close. Not "when can we set this up?" Just: would you be open. Maximum safety.
He said yes.
The Loom Video
Then I did the work.
I recorded a full, personalised video audit of John Barrows' entire outbound strategy. His LinkedIn funnel. Where the leads were dropping off. Why his email capture was broken. What his team should change and how to change it. Specific. Detailed. Recorded.
Not a template. Not a generic "here are 5 things you should do on LinkedIn." A recorded analysis that could not have been sent to anyone else on earth. Built for John Barrows. His strategy, his team, his approach.
I didn't tell John I was good at LinkedIn. I showed him by finding genuine gaps in the outbound strategy of the world's #1 sales trainer. The medium was the message.
Demonstration over declaration. Always.
The Result
March 7, 2024. John's response:
Hey Matthew,
This is one of the most insanely valuable videos I think I've ever received and you're 100% right.
Here's a link to find a time for us to talk: [his HubSpot booking link]
The man who trains sales teams at Salesforce, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft -- the man who gets pitched in his inbox every single day -- called my video "the most insanely valuable video I think I've ever received."
And then he sent me his HubSpot booking link.
I never asked for the meeting. He self-initiated it. He chased me.
That's The Flip. When your gift is good enough, the power dynamic inverts.
My reply:
Awesome to hear and happy I could provide value
Agree let's chat first and see where it goes
I'm for sure not a specialist in YouTube haha
Time locked in and looking forward to chatting :)
The Play-by-Play
Right. Let's pull this apart.
The Podcast Guest Pitch (The Decoy)
The podcast ask was never the point. It was a door opener. When he said no, it created the natural opening for the real value delivery. Not every DM is a single shot. Sometimes you set up a decoy to position the real ask. The decoy gets you in the conversation. The gift keeps you there.
"5-10 Minutes for 6 Months Worth of Value"
Move 6 -- The Gift. All three Gift Rule boxes checked. Unexpected -- John didn't ask for an audit. Useful -- genuine strategic insights he could act on immediately. Optional -- zero pressure, just watch a video if you want.
Not a recipe. The food is done.
"I could audit your LinkedIn for you" is a recipe -- an offer to cook. The Loom video is the finished meal on the table. Eat it or don't. It's already made.
The Loom Video Audit
This is Move 5 (Unclogged Toilet) and Move 4 (Inside-World Proof) firing simultaneously. I didn't say "I could help your LinkedIn." I showed him exactly what was broken. The video IS the proof. It doesn't describe competence -- it demonstrates it.
If I can find gaps in John Barrows' outbound strategy -- the man who trained Salesforce -- then my methodology is validated at the highest possible level. The recipient doesn't have to "believe" the method works. The evidence is in their inbox.
"I'm for Sure Not a Specialist in YouTube Haha"
Status Calibration. After delivering something John called the most valuable video he'd ever received, I immediately grounded myself. I know my lane. I'm great at outbound and LinkedIn. I know what I don't know. Peer energy, not guru energy. "Haha" keeps it light. Not competitive. Not threatening.
John Sending His OWN Booking Link
The Flip. I never once asked John Barrows to get on a call with me. The quality of the gift created the pull. When your gift is good enough, they don't just say yes. They take the next step for you.
The Handwritten Letter
Here's a metaphor I use when I teach this on calls. If you receive a handwritten letter in the mail -- a real one, not a bill -- and it's really good and addressed to you, you read the whole thing. You don't skim it. You don't archive it. You read 100% of the letter.
That's what this Loom video was. A handwritten letter in video form. The length doesn't matter when every moment earns its place.
Template: The Free Audit Gift DM
Use this when the recipient has a visible, diagnosable problem. When you can see something broken that they can't see themselves.
The structure:
- Open with genuine recognition -- specific reference to their work, not generic flattery.
- Initial ask (the decoy) -- a reasonable, standard ask that opens the conversation.
- Pivot to the gift -- "I'll tell you what..." and offer to do the work for free.
- Frame your casual competence -- "It's what I do all day. Won't take me long."
- Deliver the finished work -- a Loom, a video, a written teardown. DONE work, not an offer to do work.
- Humble close -- acknowledge what you're NOT. Keep it peer-level.
The gift doesn't have to be a video. Could be a written teardown of their funnel. A redesigned landing page. A competitive analysis with specific recommendations.
The key is: FINISHED WORK, not an offer to do work.
And keep it tight. My Barrows video was longer than it needed to be. One to two minutes is the sweet spot for a cold audit. You're not trying to deliver a full consulting engagement. You're trying to demonstrate that you see what they can't see.
If you can't diagnose something specific from their public presence, this template isn't the one. Go back to the grid. Find their toilet. Then unclog it before they ask.
Next: Chapter 8 -- Frank Greeff