He Quit Cold Outreach and Tripled His Business (with Jake White)

Short and Sweet

Jake White used to spam school principals because the program was worth it. Then he stopped outbound marketing cold turkey, started showing up at the two conferences where his buyers actually gather, and watched Vive18 triple three years running.

In this episode, Jake walks through the whole system: how he found the right room (he asked his favorite client), why he pays to sponsor events he used to get paid to speak at, and the form-to-CRM follow-up that turns a 20-second elevator pitch into a qualified lead. Plus why he refuses to take business cards.

Full Show Notes

Most speakers treat sponsor booths like the candy aisle. Grab a pen, maybe enter a raffle, keep walking.

Jake White, co-founder of Vive18, turned that aisle into his entire new-business engine. Vive18 helps young people have fun and feel good without drugs and alcohol, serving K-12 schools with speaking, trainings, events, and curriculum. A few years ago Jake dropped outbound marketing completely and put everything into conferences. Referrals and repeat clients aside, it's now the only marketing they do.

This isn't a "just buy a booth" episode. It's a system. Find the room, earn your way in, and have follow-up ready before the first conversation happens.

What we get into

• Using Claude and the CRM to reconnect with every past client, and why Jake stopped "checking in"
• The question that found his best conference: asking his favorite client where they hang out
• Deciding when to pay to be in the room, and doing the math on what a client is worth
• Why he won't take business cards, and the vive18.com/intro form that replaces them
• Talking to the content team before the marketing team, and how that turned a booth into workshops and a keynote
• Learning your buyer's boss's language so you understand their measurables better than they do
• Leading with curiosity instead of a pitch, and why that makes you a better speaker too