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Jason Cohen's Paid Customer Discovery Outreach Script

A cold outreach template offering to pay prospects for discovery calls

From the Xiry library · Updated 3 October 2026

This framework from WP Engine founder Jason Cohen secures early user discovery interviews by offering to pay prospects whatever hourly rate they choose. Respecting professional time removes friction and helps early-stage founders book validation calls with high response rates. The goal is to uncover real workflow pain points and pricing willingness before writing any code.

How it works

  1. Find target prospects on LinkedIn who fit your customer profile (e.g., freelance consultants, agency owners, or niche operators).
  2. Send them a direct message or email using this framework:
  3. Interview respondents about their existing pain points, workflows, and willingness to pay before writing code.

What it's for

  • Secure validation interviews with busy professionals and consultants
  • Validate startup concepts and willingness to pay before building software
  • Uncover specific workflow pain points through direct customer conversations

Key points

  • Identify ideal target prospects matching your customer profile on LinkedIn
  • Acknowledge the value of the prospect's professional time upfront
  • Offer to pay whatever rate they deem fair, even above their standard hourly fee
  • Frame the conversation around learning about their pains and needs rather than pitching
  • Conduct discovery interviews to map problems and validate pricing sensitivity

Pricing

Free

Details

Type
Tip
Category
Business & Money
Topic
Customer Discovery
Open source
No
Platforms
other
For
Early-stage founders, product managers, and entrepreneurs conducting customer research
Alternative to
The Mom Test
Tags
customer discovery, cold outreach, startups, user interviews, idea validation

Why it was saved

  • @ideaslabglobal, 1 March 2024: Eliminates resistance and yields an extremely high response rate (100% in Cohen's WP Engine validation test) by respecting the prospect's professional time.

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