The ghosted lead who came back a year later, the sushi dinner that pays for itself, and the goodbye email that keeps landing referrals
August 8, 2026 · Gev Marotz · 3 min read
None of this replaces good work. It just makes sure people find out about it. I told you about seven weird things I did that got me clients. Here's six more. I didn't plan these either, I just did them because they felt right. Looking back, they weren't accidents.
The Ghosted Lead Isn't Dead
I text or email old clients, old proposals, people who went quiet on me, sometimes a year later. And more often than you'd think, they've moved to a new company, or started their own, and the reply comes back: "hey, thank you for writing, let's do something."
The timing wasn't wrong the first time. It just wasn't right yet. Nobody's a "no" forever. They're a "not right now" until their situation changes, and you won't know unless you check back in.
Why I Stopped Competing With Other Consultants
PMs who run their own practice. Fractional devs. Marketers. I bring them into my projects, they bring me into theirs. Sometimes there's a referral fee. Sometimes it's just dinner on me at a good sushi place.
That's the whole system. No formal contract, no elaborate partnership deck. Just people who do good work sending each other good work, because it's more fun and more profitable than treating each other like competition.
I Turned "Goodbye" Into "Who Else Needs This"
When a project wraps, I ask directly: can you refer me? Would you write a testimonial? Can I show the work we did together? And, can I stay in your Slack even after I roll off?
That last one matters more than it sounds. Staying in the Slack means I'm still around when the next problem comes up, still visible when someone new joins the team and asks who handled the last project. It's a five-minute ask that keeps paying out long after the invoice is closed.
I Made Clients Part of the Team, Not Just the Deal
I don't sell a guarantee. I do something better: we make decisions together every week. They're learning as we go, they're part of the process, and honestly, it's fun. That shared ownership does more for trust than any "if you don't like it, I'll redo it free" line ever could, because there's nothing to redo. We built it together, so there's nothing to relitigate.
I Sent Actual Gifts, Not Sales Decks
Not a pen with my logo on it. Something specific, tied to something they said, or a problem I noticed looking at their website. Takes longer than blasting emails. But almost nobody ignores a gift that shows you actually paid attention.
I Showed Up on Other People's Shows Instead of Only My Own
A podcast, a panel, someone else's webinar. Their audience already trusts them. Some of that trust rubs off on you, and people who'd never find my newsletter on their own end up hearing from me anyway.
One honest note before you try any of these: none of this replaces being good at the actual work. These six things just make sure people find out you're good, instead of you sitting there waiting to be discovered.
That said, half of these tactics only work if you can actually remember what happened, who promised what, and which client needs a follow-up. I got tired of losing that stuff in scattered notes and Slack threads, so I've been building Juggle, a tool that quietly captures tasks and notes from your client calls and tags them to the right client automatically. No bots, no manual sorting, nothing used to train AI. If you're a fractional or consultant juggling this same mental load, I'm opening up early access. Check it out at joinjuggle.com.
Which of these would feel too uncomfortable for you to actually try, the dead-lead text, or asking to stay in someone's Slack?
