The Little-Known Strategic Revenue Driver
If sales and winning new clients feel harder than ever, you’re not alone. Buyers are cautious, deals drag on, and traditional marketing is failing.
Many businesses panic and chase more leads — spreading themselves thin and hoping something sticks. But hope isn’t a strategy.
The winners take a different approach. They focus relentlessly on the right targets, turning a small, high-value list into consistent revenue and opportunities.
This is where the Dream 100 strategy — first introduced by Chet Holmes in The Ultimate Sales Machine — proves just as powerful today, especially when adapted for modern digital outreach.
Rather than wasting time chasing random prospects, you focus on the 100 most valuable clients, partners, or referral sources — those with the potential to generate substantial revenue, boost your credibility, or unlock strategic opportunities that multiply your reach, regardless of the economy.
What is the Dream 100?
The Dream 100 is a concentrated approach to identifying and pursuing your absolute best potential clients, strategic partners, or referral sources. You identify the 100 companies, organizations, or individuals who could either generate substantial revenue, provide credibility that opens doors, or create strategic partnerships that multiply your reach exponentially.
Note for solopreneurs and small businesses: If 100 feels overwhelming, start with your Dream 25 or Dream 50. The principle remains the same — concentrated effort on your highest-value targets beats scattered marketing every time. You can always expand your list as you build momentum and systems.
Most businesses fail because they spread themselves too thin. The Dream 100 flips this: pick your dream targets and pursue them with laser focus.
This works because concentrated effort beats scattered effort. Most people give up after 2-3 interactions, but you’ll engage with them monthly until they respond. Value builds relationships before you ever pitch. Landing one dream client makes landing the next easier.
During economic uncertainty, buyers become more selective and do their homework carefully. Competition increases desperation as businesses chase any lead they can find. Trust becomes paramount as people buy from those who’ve proven their value.
The Dream 100 strategy positions you perfectly for all three conditions.
When to Implement
You should implement Dream 100 immediately if you’re in B2B sales with average deals of $10,000 or more, traditional marketing isn’t working, you have limited marketing budget, you’re launching something new and need credibility, your sales cycles are already 6-12 months, or your current client base is unprofitable.
The perfect timing is when you can dedicate 30–60 minutes a day and have refined your core offer. You can articulate your value clearly, you’re ready to play the long game for transformative results, and you already have some proof of success.
Step 1: Identify Your Strategic Dream 100
A proven Dream 100 sequence you can adapt to your industry and resources — designed to run over 3, 6, or 12 months depending on your pace, goals, and prospects’ responsiveness.
Below are examples of how you can interact with your Dream 100 at least 12 times — always adding value, never selling. Make each touchpoint memorable and useful.
Phase 1: Accelerated Engagement (Interactions 1–4)
Interaction 1
Share a report, whitepaper, or article.
Interaction 2
Ask one smart question that makes people stop and think about their business.
Interaction 3
Share a framework or checklist you’ve created.
Interaction 4
Create a free “mini resource” and send it as a quick win.
Phase 2: Medium-Term Nurture (Interactions 5–8)
Interaction 5
Connect them with someone who could help their business.
Interaction 6
Invite them to a webinar, Q&A, dinner, or workshop — 100% value, zero sales pitch.
Interaction 7
Share a short story of how someone like them solved a similar problem.
Interaction 8
Give them a scorecard or an online tool that helps them measure how they’re doing.
Phase 3: Sustaining Strategic Relationships (Interactions 9–12)
Interaction 9
Share insights on what top performers in their industry are doing differently.
Interaction 10
Publicly give them credit for something smart they’ve done.
Interaction 11
Share competitor or market shifts they should know about.
Interaction 12
Invite them to a casual conversation to swap ideas and see if working together makes sense.
Creating Value on Zero Budget
You can execute Dream 100 without money by creating customized industry reports that compile free data into actionable insights, recording video audits of their website or marketing, curating content digests with the best articles for their role, creating valuable templates and tools, making connections within your network, providing recognition through social shoutouts and LinkedIn recommendations, or offering your expertise to speak at their meeting.
The key isn’t spending money, it’s providing genuine, personalized value.
Step 3: Execute Multi-Channel Interactions
Email alone won’t cut through today’s noise. Success requires reaching prospects through various touchpoints.
Physical Mail Creates Impact
Postal mail dramatically outperforms digital outreach in B2B settings. While most communication happens electronically, tangible items command attention. If you’ve written a book, mailing a signed copy can instantly elevate your authority and open doors. Beyond books, consider sending professionally printed reports, unique packaging, high-quality postcards, or curated gift selections aligned with their interests. Personal touches matter — handwritten addresses and authentic notes without aggressive sales language make your outreach memorable.
Leverage LinkedIn Strategically
LinkedIn is the strongest global platform for professionals — the place where decision-makers, industry leaders, and high-value clients actively engage. Unlike other social networks, it’s designed for authority-building, relationship development, and B2B growth.
Use it intentionally: start by sending connection requests with personalized notes that reference their work or achievements. After connecting, nurture the relationship by consistently adding value — comment thoughtfully on their posts, share useful insights via direct messages, mention them in relevant content, and recognize their expertise with endorsements. Over time, this positions you as both visible and credible in their professional world.
Craft Compelling Emails
Strong subject lines reference the recipient’s company alongside a relevant opportunity, pose specific questions about their priorities, or mention shared connections. Design your message strategically: open with something specific to their situation, quickly articulate your value in the next few lines, explain the relevance to their goals, and finish with one straightforward action step.
Use Phone Calls Purposefully
Calling works best after you’ve already provided value through other channels — either to confirm they received something you sent or after they’ve engaged with your content. Frame calls as helpful check-ins rather than sales pitches. Introduce yourself briefly, reference your previous outreach, and ask whether they found it useful.
Step 4: Responses
When they say thanks or engage, keep providing value and don’t immediately go for the close. Tell them you’re glad it was helpful and you’ll keep them posted when you come across other relevant things. When they ask a question, answer thoroughly and go beyond what they asked. This is your opening. Mention you’re happy to jump on a quick call if they want to dig deeper. When they suggest a call, lock it in immediately and prepare extensively. Offer specific date and time options and say you’re happy to work around their schedule.
When They Don’t Respond
Silence is normal — don’t take it personally. In fact, it’s an expected part of the process.
If you’ve had no response after three months, try a pattern interrupt. Acknowledge the situation directly:
“I’ve been sharing ideas for a while and haven’t heard back. I figure it’s either (1) not relevant, (2) not the right timing, or (3) you’ve just been busy. If it’s option one, I’ll stop reaching out — no hard feelings. If it’s two or three, let me know and I’ll follow up later. Either way, I wish your company every success with [specific goal/project you know they have].”
This approach works because it’s honest, respectful of their time, and gives them an easy out — which often prompts a reply.
When They Say No
Thank them and leave the door open. Tell them you appreciate them being direct. If their situation changes, you’re here. In the meantime, you’ll still send along anything you think might be valuable if that’s okay. Then, downshift to quarterly interactions instead of monthly.
Adapting to Different Business Models
The Dream 100 works across all business models, but who you target and the value you provide changes. B2B companies may focus on decision-makers or strategic partners with insights or case studies, while B2C businesses might engage high-value customers or brand advocates with exclusive experiences or content. The key is tailoring your outreach to their priorities and goals so it feels relevant and compelling.
For Apps, Digital Products and Online Courses
This is where Dream 100 becomes a force multiplier. Instead of targeting end users directly, target the influencers and platforms that already have your audience.
Your ideal targets should be 40% known experts, industry thought leaders and influencers like YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagrammers, and podcasters who reach your target users.
Another 20% should be media and reviewers like tech journalists, app review sites, industry publications, and Product Hunt leaders.
Strategic partners should be 30%, including complementary app creators, SaaS founders, and community leaders like Reddit moderators, Facebook group admins, and Discord owners.
The final 10% should be validators like awards programs, feature editors for App Store and Google Play, and certification bodies.
Provide value through early or exclusive access to new features, custom demos tailored for their audience, revenue share or affiliate opportunities, featuring them as case studies, free premium accounts for giveaways, co-created content, exclusive discounts for their audience, and insider access to your roadmap.
Why this works brilliantly online: One thought leader, influencer or industry expert with 100,000 followers can expose your app to more people in one post than you could reach in months of traditional marketing. Focus on 100 of these multipliers rather than trying to reach consumers directly.
Timeline to results is typically 2-6 months, faster than B2B because influencers move quickly.
Written by
Dave Newton
