Hey there,

Ever heard of a "fluffer" in business?

It's when a company brings you into the bidding process with zero intention of hiring you — they just want to make their preferred vendor (usually the incumbent) look better by comparison.

I've been the fluffer twice.

Let me tell you what I learned.

The first time: Shark Tank-nominated startup

Had a full contract in place for my UGC business. Did weeks of strategy work. Got excited.

Then they ghosted and went with someone else.

The second time: AI hiring startup

Helping hiring managers make better decisions. Another full proposal. More research. More excitement.

Same result. They picked the vendor they wanted all along.

The lesson from "Unfinished Business"

Was watching Unfinished Business during downtime (yeah, I learn from movies), and Tom Wilkinson's character nails it:

"Are you the kind of guy who, when his girlfriend is trying to blow him off, doesn't get it and still does her Spanish homework?"

That hit hard.

I was doing their Spanish homework.

What I did next (and what you should do too)

I took all the strategy work, research, and proposals I'd built to reach the finish line and repurposed it.

Reached out to their competitors with the pre-cooked strategy.

Turned wasted effort into new business opportunities.

Book a call - learn how to turn lost deals into competitor wins in the cohort

4 lessons that changed how I qualify deals

1. Never celebrate until payment clears

Contracts, accepted proposals, verbal commitments = nothing until money hits your account.

2. Recognize when you're being strung along

If they keep rescheduling, adding stakeholders, or asking for "one more revision," you're probably the fluffer.

3. Get direct access to decision-makers

Gatekeepers will string you along. The real power players make decisions fast. (This is why cold outreach to the right person matters.)

4. Turn your homework into competitor ammunition

All that research you did? It works for their competitors too. Don't let it go to waste.

About the cohort (we're 2 weeks in)

People are loving the value we're providing so far.

We've covered:

• Offer positioning and painkiller vs vitamin frameworks
• How to qualify leads so you stop wasting time on fluffers
• Multi-channel outreach strategies that get to decision-makers
• What to do when deals fall through (like turning lost work into competitor opportunities)

We have 2 more slots available.

If you want in, now's the time. We're already building momentum, and catching up is still easy.

Book your call here - 2 spots left, cohort is live and running

Moneyback guarantee still applies:

• Give a superstar testimonial after success, OR
• Do the work and don't earn your money back

Either way, you're covered.

Best,

Divij V Sharma

P.S. The cohort is teaching exactly how to avoid being the fluffer and how to turn lost deals into wins. If you've ever felt like you're doing free strategy work for people who ghost you, this will fix that.