WarmUp
value first, then the ask
How do I build familiarity and trust before I ever ask someone for anything?
You don't have an offer problem.
You have a warm-up problem.
You jump straight to the pitch, the CTA, the offer — without investing in the pre-engagement warmth that makes people receptive instead of defensive. You know you should “add value first,” but you have no system for what that looks like, how much is enough, or when to switch from giving to asking. Recognize the pattern?
You treat “lead with value” as a platitude. So you give randomly instead of designing a progression — a few scattered freebies that never actually move anyone toward readiness.
You over-warm and never make the ask. You build relationships that feel great but never convert — because you're afraid to shift gears and the ask never comes.
You use the same warm-up on everyone. A brand-new lead and a long-time follower get identical treatment — instead of value calibrated to each group's trust threshold.
You confuse content marketing with warm-up. So you publish broadly into the void — instead of targeting specific people with specific gestures designed to build individual trust.
From "straight to the pitch" to asks that land as invitations
"I know I should 'lead with value' but I don't know what that means in practice. My outreach feels cold, my CTAs underperform, and people ignore my asks — I either come on too strong or never ask at all."
"I have a warm-up sequence for every audience segment. I know exactly what value to give, in what order, and I can read the signals that tell me someone is ready for the ask. My conversion rates are up because people feel connected before I ever pitch."
The shift: warm-up isn't a vague nicety — it's a measurable, repeatable pre-engagement process. The goal isn't to be “nice” — it's to build enough trust that your ask lands as an invitation, not an interruption.
You don't just watch lessons.
You leave with 12 real artifacts.
Working documents you actually use — not theory about “adding value.” By the end they add up to a warm-up framework, a gesture playbook, and a temperature-scoring system that tells you exactly when someone's ready for the ask.
Cold-Ask Audit
Every place you currently skip the warm-up.
Warm-Up Framework
Value-to-give, audience segment, and sequence.
Free Value Content
3–5 pieces designed specifically for pre-engagement.
Personal Gesture Playbook
Compliments, shares, introductions, and micro-favors.
Warm-Up Sequence Map
An ordered progression from first touch to ask-ready.
Gesture Library
Platform-specific warm-up actions — directory / niche.
Behavioral Signal Inventory
What “warm” actually looks like in your audience.
Temperature Scoring Rubric
A simple score for how warm each contact is.
Transition Script Library
Moving from warm-up to the ask without breaking rapport.
Segment Warm-Up Timelines
How long each audience needs before the ask.
Pre-Engagement Calendar
A 90-day warm-up plan, mapped out.
Effectiveness Tracker
Measuring which warm-up moves actually work.
Three moves: lay the groundwork → make the gestures → gauge the warmth
Groundwork
Psychology · audit · designWhy leading with value before asking builds stronger relationships.
- Psychology Why reciprocity, familiarity, and trust come before engagement
- Audit Map every place you currently go cold — outreach, CTAs, onboarding
- Design Build a framework: what value to give, to whom, in what order
- Anchor Apply warm-up to your directory member / niche onboarding
Gestures
Content · personal · sequenceThe specific warm-up actions that build trust before the ask.
- Content Create free value pieces designed specifically to warm someone up
- Personal One-to-one gestures — compliments, shares, intros, micro-favors
- Sequence Order gestures into a progression — first, deeper, ready
- Apply Directory spotlights / niche gestures tuned to your audience
Gauge
Signals · score · transitionReading the signals that tell you when someone is warm enough to ask.
- Signals Spot the behavioral cues that someone moved from cold to warm
- Score Build a simple temperature score for contacts and segments
- Transition Make the ask without breaking the connection you built
- Read Read warm-up signals in your directory / niche context
More than videos —
a learning system
Every lesson lives in a platform built to help you actually absorb, apply, and return to the work.
AI Chat per lesson
Ask questions and pull key points, action items, and reflections from any lesson.
Searchable transcripts
The full text of every video — search it, scan it, jump straight to the part you need.
Highlights
Mark the passages that matter and filter the transcript down to just your highlights.
Bookmarks
Save the exact moments you'll want to come back to and reopen them in a click.
Notes
Keep personal notes saved right inside each lesson, exactly where you wrote them.
Playlists
Build custom collections of lessons and sequence the path that fits you.
Certificate
Auto-issued the moment you complete every lesson in the course.
Podcast mode
Listen to the course as audio in any podcast app — learn on the move.
Video controls
Closed captions, speed controls, picture-in-picture, and theatre mode — watch your way.
Favorites
Heart any lesson to pin it to your favorites for quick access later.
History & resume
Pick up exactly where you left off — your place is always saved.
Threaded comments
Discuss each lesson with other students in threaded conversations.
Is this course your right next step?
This is for you if…
- You jump straight to the pitch and your CTAs underperform.
- You know you should “lead with value” but have no system for what that means.
- Your audience stays at arm's length — not because the offer is bad, but because the relationship isn't warm enough.
- You either come on too strong or never ask at all.
- You want 12 real artifacts ending in a 90-day pre-engagement calendar you actually run.
This is NOT for you if…
- You have no audience or list yet — there's no one to warm up; build that first.
- You already run a calibrated warm-up system and just want advanced tactics.
- You want a high-pressure, ask-first sales script — this is the opposite approach.
- You want someone to run your warm-up for you — this builds your own system.
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"Here's how this course changed the way I…"
your story here
"The part that surprised me most was…"
your story here
Three ways to go deeper
This course is one piece of a bigger system. Here's the whole map — and where you are on it.
University
Learn at your own paceThis course — full University access is $80 on its own.
Launchpad
Get the tools to execute-
Ebook$10narrative deep-dive
-
Checklists$15self-assessment diagnostic
-
Journal$20reflective application + AI prompts
-
Workbook$25full execution tracker
One of each — the full toolkit for this course is $70 on its own.
You're buying the University piece — the course, its platform, and the artifacts you produce. Bundle all three and save — see pricing below. Each column is also available à la carte: University $80, Launchpad $70, Events $280. See how we build →
Everything. Course price.
Lock in the full bundle today. Every piece ships to your account as it's built — and the price only goes up from here.
$430 value when complete
Everything, for the price of just the course.
- 12 lessons + AI Chat, transcripts, highlights, bookmarks
- Ebook + Checklists + Journal + Workbook shipping soon
- Workshop + Sprint + Challenge access shipping soon
- Certificate on completion
- Clinics included free — $20 each on their own
The price goes up as content ships — the founding price never comes back.
Not ready to commit? Attend our live workshops, sprints, and challenges for free — just show up. No signup, no credit card. If you like what you experience, the founding price locks in everything permanently.
Every piece below ships to your account as it's built — free, at your founding price:
- WarmUp — 12 lessons Digital$80 valueLive now
- Ebook Digital$10 valueIncluded
- Checklists Digital$15 valueIncluded
- Journal + AI Prompts Digital$20 valueIncluded
- Workbook Digital$25 valueIncluded
- Workshop Events$40 valueIncluded
- Sprint Events$80 valueIncluded
- Challenge Events$160 valueIncluded
- Total value when complete$430You pay $80
↑ as the tools ship, the price rises
↑ as the live events go up, it rises again
Full $430 value, fully builtWhat ships when?+
- Week 1: Workshop Part A (courses 1–3) + Ebook ships.
- Week 2: Workshop Part B (courses 4–6) + video lessons go live + Checklists ship.
- Week 3: Sprint recordings + Journal ships.
- Week 4: Challenge recordings + Workbook ships.
Or start bigger — the same deal at every scope:
Course
1 course + tools + events
$80Pod
All 6 Touchpoints courses
$320Pillar
All 36 Fundamentals courses
$960University
All 324 courses
$4,320Same deal at every scope — everything included, price goes up as content ships. See How We Build →
Prefer one piece? Single University, Launchpad, or Events access. · See How We Build →
Founding Access — WarmUp
Full bundle (University + Launchpad + Events) · $80 · pre-sale founding rate
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Wire this to the Simplero Founding bundle product for this course.
The first step of the Touchpoints journey
WarmUp is course 1 of 6 — the start of Touchpoints. Email built the engine that reaches people; Touchpoints makes every human moment around it intentional. WarmUp comes first because you can't ask, notify, or collect feedback from people who don't feel a connection yet — it builds the trust everything else draws on. Then Hello designs the first impression that decides whether someone stays.
You are here — build the warmth.
You're not doing this alone
Every lesson has a discussion where you share your work and read how others approached the same prompt — so you see the patterns, not just your own answer.
“Post your experience, read two others, and notice the patterns.”
Per-pillar discussion forums are coming as the community grows.
Before you decide
How long should the warm-up take before I ask?+
It depends on the size of the ask. A newsletter signup might need one touchpoint; a $5K purchase might need ten. The course gives you a calibration framework so you're not guessing.
Isn't this just being manipulative?+
Manipulation withholds value to extract it. Warm-up genuinely gives value first. The difference is intent — and whether the value stands on its own even if they never buy.
What if I'm warming up people who'll never buy?+
That's exactly why the Gauge module exists. Temperature scoring lets you invest warm-up effort in proportion to engagement signals — not equally across everyone.
Isn't this just content marketing?+
No — content marketing publishes broadly. Warm-up targets specific people with specific gestures designed to build individual trust and move them toward a specific ask.
I run a directory business — does this still apply?+
Yes. The fourth lesson of each module maps warm-up onto directory work — member onboarding, spotlights, pre-engagement touchpoints — with a parallel niche track.
What do I actually walk away with?+
12 working artifacts — from a cold-ask audit and warm-up framework to a gesture playbook, a temperature scoring rubric, transition scripts, and a 90-day pre-engagement calendar.
What does it take for your ask to land as an invitation — not an interruption?
Stop leading with the ask. Give real value first, sequence the gestures, and read the signals that tell you someone's ready.