Four Ways to Get Leads, and Where to StartFour Ways 21 October 2026 · 3 min read · 288 reads
288readsAlex Hormozi · Marketing
Four Ways to Get Leads, and Where to Start
Hormozi sorts every lead source into four boxes. Seeing your own marketing on that grid shows what you are missing.
Most owners say they want more leads, but when asked where the current ones come from, the answer is a shrug. Referrals, mostly. Some Instagram. A bit of luck.
Alex Hormozi's $100M Leads offers a tidy way to see the whole picture. He calls it
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the
Core
Four,
and
it
asks
two
simple
questions
about
any
way
of
reaching
people.
The grid
First: are you talking to people who already know you (warm) or to strangers (cold)? Second: are you talking to one person at a time, or to many at once?
Combine them and you get four methods, as summaries of the book describe:
Compare: One to one | Many at once | Warm people: warm outreach ; Warm people: free content | Cold strangers: cold outreach ; Cold strangers: paid ads
In words: warm outreach is a personal message to someone who knows you. Free content is posting useful material for people who follow you. Cold outreach is a personal approach to strangers. Paid ads are reaching strangers in bulk by paying for attention.
Warm outreach: the fastest start
Your phone already holds hundreds of people who know your name: past customers, old colleagues, friends, suppliers. A personal note to each, asking how they are and mentioning what you do now, costs nothing.
It works because trust is already there. It is also the box where many owners feel awkward, and that is why it is underused. Keep it light: no pitch, just a clear line on what you offer and a genuine question.
Free content: the slow builder
Posting useful material, such as short videos, articles or a weekly message, builds a group of people who trust you before they buy. It takes patience. Results come in months, not days.
It suits owners who enjoy explaining and can keep going. Make it about your buyer's problems rather than your achievements.
Cold outreach: personal, but needs care
Writing to strangers one by one can bring a first customer when you have no audience. Nothing replaces being relevant here: short, specific, useful messages to people who plausibly need your service. One mass message copied to a thousand people is spam, not outreach.
Paid ads: speed for a price
Ads can reach many strangers quickly, but only pay off if you know your numbers. If you cannot say what a customer is worth to you, you cannot say what you can afford to pay for one. Test small and track ruthlessly.
Where should you start?
A sensible order for most small and mid-sized firms:
- Begin with warm outreach, because it needs no budget and teaches you how people respond.
- Add free content to build trust over time.
- Try cold outreach to a narrow group, once your message is clear.
- Use paid ads last, when the offer converts and the numbers make sense.
Do not try all four at once. Each needs a habit, and habits take weeks to form.
For example, an accounting firm in Coimbatore could message 20 former clients each week, post one tax tip every Friday, and leave ads until the first two are steady.
Measure each box separately
Whichever you choose, keep a simple tally: how many messages or posts went out, how many replies came, how many became customers. A box that feels busy but produces nothing is telling you something. A box that feels small but keeps producing is worth doubling.
The point of the grid is not to do everything. It is to choose on purpose, rather than drifting into whichever method happens to be easiest this week.
Review the tally once a month with your team. Ask which box earned its time, which needs a better message, and which you should pause. Small, regular reviews beat big, rare ones.
Try this
- Write down your last ten customers and tag each by the box that brought them.
- Notice which boxes are empty.
- Pick one empty box that fits your personality.
- This week, send ten warm messages to people who know you, each with one genuine question and no pitch.
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