Hey there,
Quick question: Have you heard about Zapmail?
It's a SaaS that's hitting $15 million ARR by the end of this year. Zero outside funding. No sales team. Just pure product-market fit.
I sat down with Alan D'Souza, the founder, on my podcast last month, and what he shared completely shifted how I think about selling services.
The Biggest Lesson: Painkiller vs Vitamin
Here's what Alan said that hit me like a truck:
"Vitamins are always good to have. Painkillers? That's your business. Your business cannot survive without this."
Think about it:
- SEO services? Usually a vitamin ("improve your rankings over 6-12 months")
- Email infra for cold outreach? Painkiller ("your emails aren't reaching inboxes and you're losing deals")
Alan built Zapmail because his customers at Reach Inbox were literally failing at outreach. Their emails weren't landing. Their campaigns were dying. They had a bleeding problem that needed an immediate fix.
That's why 90% of Zapmail users start on the smallest plan and then expand. They're not buying because it's "nice to have." They're buying because they can't operate without it.
Here's The Hard Truth About Your Services
Even if you have everything on point:
- ✅ Perfect lead list
- ✅ Killer copy
- ✅ Emails warmed up properly
- ✅ Great CRM
If your offer is a vitamin, fewer people will say yes.
But here's the good news: You can transform vitamin services into painkillers by changing your targeting and positioning.
How to Turn Vitamins Into Painkillers
Let me show you exactly how:
SEO Strategy → Emergency Traffic Recovery
- ❌ Vitamin: "Improve your organic rankings over 6-12 months"
- ✅ Painkiller: "Recover lost traffic after Google algorithm update" or "Fix technical SEO issues causing 40% traffic drop"
- Target: Companies that just lost major rankings vs. those wanting gradual growth
Brand Building → Crisis Brand Repair
- ❌ Vitamin: "Build a stronger brand presence over time"
- ✅ Painkiller: "Rebuild brand trust after negative publicity" or "Rebrand to escape toxic associations"
- Target: Companies facing reputation crises vs. those wanting general brand improvement
Content Planning → Revenue-Driven Content Strategy
- ❌ Vitamin: "Organize your content calendar for consistency"
- ✅ Painkiller: "Create content that directly converts prospects into buyers within 30 days"
- Target: Companies needing immediate lead generation vs. those wanting content organization
Email Marketing → Abandoned Customer Recovery
- ❌ Vitamin: "Nurture leads for future sales"
- ✅ Painkiller: "Win back churned customers" or "Reactivate dead email lists generating $0"
- Target: Companies losing customers/revenue vs. those wanting to build relationships
Social Media Management → Social Selling Engine
- ❌ Vitamin: "Maintain consistent social presence"
- ✅ Painkiller: "Turn your LinkedIn into a lead generation machine" or "Use social proof to close more deals"
- Target: Companies needing immediate sales vs. those wanting brand awareness
The Magic Formula
Take any vitamin service and ask: "What crisis would make this service urgently needed RIGHT NOW?"
Focus on:
- LOSS prevention instead of future gains
- Time urgency - "before you lose more customers/revenue"
- Target companies in crisis rather than those planning ahead
- Quantify immediate impact with specific numbers and timelines
- Position as emergency fixes rather than ongoing optimization
This is exactly what we work on in my coaching program - turning your "nice to have" offer into a "must have right now" solution.
More Gems From The Alan Interview
Beyond the painkiller insight, here's what else stood out:
On Building Products:
"Distribution trumps everything. Figure out whether people really need what you're building before you build it."
On Email Marketing Evolution:
"Back in 2014-15, you could blast 1000 emails a day from your primary domain. Now? You need adjacent domains, 20-25 emails max per domain, and laser focus on deliverability."
On Customer Validation:
"Your biggest validation is when a customer opens their wallet and pays. Then comes back. Then expands their plan. That's your signal you're doing something right."
If you're in the B2B space, this episode is pure gold. Go watch it.
Ready to Turn Your Offer Into a Painkiller?
I'm running a 3-month intensive coaching program with only 11 spots available.
What you get:
- 1-on-1 coaching calls with me (not just group sessions)
- Weekly group coaching where we tear apart your positioning and campaigns live
- Direct access to me and my lead list building expert
- Guest lectures from people like Saad from Saad Sells
- My entire cold email vault (templates, scripts, frameworks)
- 3 months of hands-on implementation support
Investment: INR 29,500 for 3 months
BUT - I'm giving away ONE 100% scholarship to someone who genuinely needs it and will put in the work.
Past results:
- 12 interested leads within 2 weeks of outreach
- Consistent Realtor leads for AI Caller SaaS
- Srestha generated over $1500 within one month (plus built a system she still uses)
Book Your Free Discovery Call Here - Spots Filling Fast
This isn't IC Framework 2.0 (that's launching in the new year as a self-paced course with a Skool community). This is 90 days of me working directly with you to transform how you position and sell your services.
Once these 11 spots are filled, I'm closing applications. I refuse to dilute the quality of attention each person gets.
If you're serious about turning your services into painkillers, this is your moment.
Stay healthy, stay safe.
Best,
Divij V Sharma
P.S. - The scholarship is real. If money's tight but you're committed to doing the work, apply anyway and make your case. I'll personally review every application.
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