Stage 1 · Opener
Open the door
Say this
"Hi [Name], it's Nick from Maxout Media — we grow fashion brands. There's a pattern that you might be experiencing that we keep seeing across the industry, which I'd like to flag to you. Got a sec?"
Why this works: "A pattern you might be experiencing" plants curiosity directly inside their own business — they immediately wonder "do I have this?" "Flag to you" positions Nick as an industry insider sharing information, not a vendor selling. "Got a sec?" is short, casual, harder to refuse than a formal time-ask. Do not fill the silence — wait for their answer.
They respond →
Good time
"Sure" / "Yeah go on" / "What's the pattern?"
Move straight to the Hook. Do not thank them or fill the air.
Bad time
"Can't talk" / "I'm busy"
"No problem — when's a better moment? I'll call you back then."
Pin a specific time before hanging up
Listen for
Tone — rushed vs relaxed tells you how much time you have
Warmth — mirror their energy, not your script's energy
Curiosity tell — "What pattern?" / "What do you mean?" = strong green light into the Hook
Stage 2 · Hook
Name the pain
Say this
"We work with brands on Meta, Google, and conversion rate optimisation. Most founders we speak to are hitting one of three walls — they're not able to acquire customers profitably, their site isn't converting the traffic they're paying for, or cash is tied up in inventory cycles and the bank account isn't growing enough to take the profit you actually built the business for."
"Does any of that resonate — and are you currently running paid ads at all?"
STOP TALKING
"Does any of that resonate — and are you currently running paid ads at all?"
STOP TALKING
One question, two pieces of information. Their answer tells you which wall resonates AND whether they're running ads — both in one breath. Go straight to the path. No separate qualify step needed.
What to notice while delivering the hook
Any reaction — a sigh, a laugh, a "yeah..." means a wall landed. Note which one.
Silence is fine — move straight to Stage 3 regardless.
If they jump in before you finish — let them. Their response tells you which path to take.
Stage 3 · Path
Follow their path only
Path A — Running ads, has a pain
Default — use this
You already know their pain. Bridge straight to the ask:
"That's actually exactly the kind of issue Zen — our founder — typically covers in his audits and growth plans. He'll tell you specifically what's driving it and what to do about it."
If they're engaged and want more
Only if they're asking questions back. Pick their pain:
Path B — Not running ads
"That's actually exactly where most of the brands we work with started. We've scaled dozens from having never run an ad — some from under £5k a month in revenue to over £500k. The difference is they didn't waste budget on a learning curve, because we'd already done it with brands like theirs."
Pause — let that land
"Is it something you've been thinking about — or just not the right moment yet?"
If thinking about it →
"What's held it back?"
Open-ended — let them uncover the real reason. Then acknowledge and pivot:
"Got it. What Zen puts together is a full 6-month growth plan specific to your brand — a deep analysis of who your customer is and what drives them to buy, the full paid strategy, revenue forecasts of what's realistically achievable, and everything that needs to be in place. Mapped out before you spend a penny."
Select the "Not running ads" tab on Stage 5
Path C — Already have an agency
"Are they adding meaningful growth month on month — or more maintaining what's there?"
If flat or slow — acknowledge first, then:
"Well, the reality of where that's sounding like it's leading..."
Then immediately:
"If an agency isn't consistently adding 25 to 50% to your top line month on month, operating around breakeven feels safe but it breaks at scale. Slow progress sounds fine until you realise it's years of compounding growth you're leaving on the table. That time doesn't come back."
Then add:
"And high returns at low spend are easy — the algorithm picks off the warmest customers first. When you push spend up you reach colder audiences, acquisition costs rise, and margins that looked fine get wiped out. If it's already tight now, scaling will break it."
Pause — then:
"That's exactly what Zen would look at — whether there's a ceiling on your growth you can't see from inside it."
If genuinely happy →
"Good to hear. I won't waste your time — can I stay in touch? If that ever changes, it'd be worth a conversation."
End the call warmly. Log as future follow-up in Nooks.
Path D — Burned by agencies / ads didn't work
"Was that with a generalist agency — or someone who specifically worked with fashion brands?"
Let them answer — almost always generalist
"That's usually where it breaks down. Generalists aren't built for fashion — the buyer psychology is different, seasonality understanding is crucial, and creative is a whole other ball game in fashion than general e-com. You end up funding their learning curve."
Then deliver the stats out loud:
"We've scaled 50+ fashion brands, generated over £120 million in client revenue, 3.6x average return on ad spend — and every single client was profitable last year. It's a different conversation."
Proof bar below is your reference — stats are already in the card above
50+
Fashion brands scaled
£120M+
Client revenue generated
3.6×
Average ROAS
100%
Profitable last year
Stage 4 · The Ask
Book the call
Say this — running ads
"What the call with Zen is really about is understanding [Brand] properly — where you're at, what's working, and what needs to move to get to the next stage."
"After that conversation, he does a full Meta ad account audit — a detailed breakdown of exactly where your account is losing money and where the untapped performance is. We've had fashion brands double their results from what comes out of it. It's not a surface-level review."
"He's got a couple of slots this week — would [Tuesday] or [Thursday] work for you?"
STOP TALKING
"After that conversation, he does a full Meta ad account audit — a detailed breakdown of exactly where your account is losing money and where the untapped performance is. We've had fashion brands double their results from what comes out of it. It's not a surface-level review."
"He's got a couple of slots this week — would [Tuesday] or [Thursday] work for you?"
STOP TALKING
Say this — not running ads
"The call with Zen is really just about understanding your brand properly — where you're at, who your customer is, and what a realistic path to scaling through paid ads looks like for you."
"After that, he puts together a full 6-month growth plan — buyer analysis, paid strategy, revenue forecasts of what's actually achievable, and what needs to be on the site. Everything mapped out before you spend a penny."
"He's got a couple of slots this week — would [Tuesday] or [Thursday] work?"
STOP TALKING
"After that, he puts together a full 6-month growth plan — buyer analysis, paid strategy, revenue forecasts of what's actually achievable, and what needs to be on the site. Everything mapped out before you spend a penny."
"He's got a couple of slots this week — would [Tuesday] or [Thursday] work?"
STOP TALKING
Two specific days — always. "Does that work?" is an exit door. "Tuesday or Thursday?" is a choice. The silence after you ask is the most important moment of the call — hold it.
They respond →
They book
"Perfect — I'll send the booking link now. What's the best email for that?"
Get email, then:
"Is there anything specific about your brand you'd want Zen to know before the call?"
They hesitate
"What would make it feel worth 30 minutes of your time?"
Listen → address it directly → re-ask with specific days
Too busy
"Completely fine — when's a quieter week? I'd rather book it when it's actually useful."
Get a week, then lock it in:
"I'll call you [Monday/Tuesday of that week] — is morning or afternoon better for you?"