The Risk-Free First Date: Start Every Partnership With a Small Test

Big proposals scare people. Long contracts, monthly retainers and six-month commitments ask a business owner to trust you before you've done anything. A small test asks for almost nothing, which is why it gets a yes.

Travis Sago calls this the first date. Start every deal with a small, risk-free trial where you cover the work and your partner risks nothing but their approval. Three emails to their list. One test campaign. One client.

I met an agency owner at a local chamber of commerce event. His clients needed Google Ads, and the company running them wasn't doing a good job. I run ads, so he already needed what I do.

I could hear Travis in my head: just do a first date. We started with one test client, a local dentist. I rebuilt the account and pointed the ads at the patients the practice actually wanted. The next week he sent me three more clients.

One small test turned into an ongoing partnership, and I never had to pitch a big package.

It lowers the risk for them, it gives you real results to point to, and it tells both of you whether you actually work well together. If it doesn't work out, nobody lost much. If it does, the bigger deal sells itself.

Describe the smallest, cheapest test you could run for one business, one that costs them nothing but a yes.

This is lesson 6 of a free 7-day email series on leveraging digital assets, based on what I've learned from Travis Sago.