# Advisor Niche Lead Engine — Project Scope **Status:** Scoping (not yet committed to build) **Created:** 2026-04-16 **Owner:** David Ortiz **Origin:** Concept surfaced in 2026-04-16 Todd Howland call. Todd proposed partnership; David is scoping a solo build with Todd as possible early customer, not partner. --- ## The Problem Financial advisors trying to target hyper-specific client niches (e.g., *"greater Miami SMBs, $2M+ revenue, fewer than 25 employees, non-professional industries"* — plumbers, construction owners, etc.) can't get clean data from existing tools: - **Apollo, ZoomInfo, and "top-3 AI lead gen" tools** give name lists, not leads — Todd's direct quote: *"They're cold as hell. They're basically electronic names lists — one step before lead."* - **Bounce rates on purchased data are unusable.** Todd's trial with a vendor: **70% send-fail rate** on emails. Owner emails often wrong or nonexistent. - **Manual Yellow Pages + Google research beat paid tools** on completeness when Todd spot-checked them. - **Ultra-specific criteria break every vendor** — Todd's test query (Miami SMBs, $2M+ rev, <25 employees, non-professional industries) got no real answer from a Sarasota-via-India vendor. No tool on the market today combines **targeting precision + data cleanliness + compliance-safe outreach + AI qualification** specifically for financial advisors. --- ## The Concept A three-layer system: ### Layer 1 — Criteria → Enriched, Verified Lead List - Advisor enters criteria in plain English → LLM translates to structured query. - **Waterfall across data sources** (don't rely on any single one): - **Apollo API** — baseline firmographic + person data - **PeopleDataLabs / FullContact** — person enrichment fill-ins - **Data Axle / ReferenceUSA** — deep SMB data with revenue + employee counts - **IRS Form 5500** (public) — gold mine for finding SMBs with retirement plans (indicator of owner wealth) - **State business registrations** (FL Sunbiz, etc.) — free, authoritative ownership data - **Google Places API** — local business matching - **Email verification before any send** (NeverBounce / ZeroBounce) → kills the 70% bounce problem. - Output: enriched CSV/GHL-ready list with confidence scores per row. ### Layer 2 — Compliance-Safe Outreach (David's Moat) - Pre-built outreach sequences (email + LinkedIn + SMS) with FINRA/SEC-approved copy. - This is already the core of David's GHL offering — existing content engine + compliance skill. - **This is the differentiator.** Clay.com doesn't do this. Neither does Apollo. - Multi-channel: email for cold, FB/IG/LinkedIn ads as parallel lead-collection mechanism (Todd pivoted here at 37:00 in the call — ads + qualifying forms may actually beat scraping). ### Layer 3 — AI Qualification → Advisor Handoff - Conversational AI bot handles first 3–5 qualifying questions before advisor ever sees the lead. - Only pre-qualified leads land in advisor's inbox/GHL pipeline. - David already builds this (conversational AI agents in GHL) — integration work, not new invention. --- ## Build vs. Buy Analysis **Clay.com already does ~60% of Layer 1.** Pricing $149–$720/mo. It does the waterfall enrichment and has a decent criteria UI. **Honest position:** Don't compete with Clay. **Sit on top of it** (or Apollo's API directly). The product is NOT the scraper — it's the **advisor-specific persona templates + compliance layer + AI qualification + GHL handoff**. | Component | Build / Buy / Wrap | |---|---| | Criteria UI + LLM parser | Build (simple) | | Data waterfall + enrichment | **Wrap Clay or Apollo API** — don't rebuild | | Email verification | Buy (NeverBounce API) | | Compliance-safe outreach copy | **Build** (David's edge, already partially built) | | Multi-channel sequences | Wrap GHL + Smartlead/Instantly | | AI qualification bot | **Build** (extend existing GHL agents) | | Advisor persona templates (LTC prospect, 65+ divorcee, SMB owner, etc.) | **Build** (David's edge) | --- ## Persona Templates (Initial Target List) These are the pre-built "niches" David ships with. Each is a pre-configured criteria set + compliance-safe outreach template: 1. **SMB owner, $1M+ revenue, under 25 employees, non-professional industry** (Todd's exact case — blue-collar wealth) 2. **LTC-eligible 65+** (for LifeBridge LTC advisors) 3. **Recent divorcees / widowers 55+** (wealth transition moment) 4. **Business owners with active 401(k) plan and no recent advisor change** (Form 5500 + advisor data) 5. **Sold-business owners in last 24 months** (liquidity event) 6. **Executives at companies with recent liquidity events** (IPO, acquisition) --- ## Revenue Model (Todd's Proposal — Worth Keeping) - **$1,000–$3,000/month** subscription per advisor → covers X leads/month through the funnel. - **Revenue share** on closed deals (5–10% typical for wholesaling-style arrangements). - **Todd is Customer Zero** — paid pilot, not partner. Feedback loop + case study. --- ## Fit with David's Existing Business - **LifeBridge LTC recruiting** — David uses this tool himself to find advisor wholesaling leads. Dogfooding = free testing. - **Advisor AI Partners positioning** — fits the "Fractional AI Officer" brand. Sellable alongside SCC, Follow-Up Machine, content engine. - **September deadline** — if MVP is ready by July, David has Aug–Sept to close 3–5 paying pilots before Lisbon relocation (Chamber pipeline goes away in September). --- ## Phased Build ### MVP (4–6 weeks, one advisor persona) - Pick ONE persona (likely "SMB owner, non-professional industries" — Todd's use case). - Apollo API + NeverBounce + one compliance-safe email sequence + basic AI qualifier via GHL. - Manual criteria input (no LLM parser yet). - Ship to Todd as paid pilot. ### V1 (2–3 months) - 3–5 persona templates. - LLM criteria parser. - Multi-channel (email + LinkedIn + FB ads). - Self-serve onboarding for advisors. ### V2 (future) - Full Clay-wrapping or direct Apollo+PDL+Data Axle integration. - Revenue-share billing automation. - Advisor dashboard with pipeline metrics. --- ## Cost Estimate (Rough) | Item | Monthly | |---|---| | Apollo API (or Clay) | $150–$500 | | PeopleDataLabs / enrichment | $100–$400 | | NeverBounce | $50–$200 | | Claude/GPT API for qualification + parser | $50–$200 | | Hosting + GHL (already paid) | $0 | | **Total run rate (per advisor)** | **~$400–$1,300/mo** | At $1,000–$3,000/mo pricing per advisor, **margin is healthy even at one customer.** With 5 advisors, margin is substantial. --- ## Open Questions / Decisions Needed 1. **Clay wrapper or direct API integration?** Clay is faster to MVP, direct APIs are more defensible long-term. 2. **Todd: pilot customer or don't bother?** David's read: Todd is valuable as a design-partner voice + paid pilot, but not as a co-builder or profit partner. 3. **Compliance depth** — How deep to go on FINRA/SEC review? Existing compliance skill may be sufficient; may need an actual compliance officer review for launch. 4. **Which persona first?** SMB non-professional (Todd) vs. LTC-eligible 65+ (LifeBridge dogfood). **Recommend LTC-eligible** — David uses it himself immediately, proof = closed LifeBridge cases. 5. **Lisbon relocation impact** — September cutoff. Build timeline must allow for disruption. --- ## Next Steps (If Greenlit) 1. **Pick the first persona** (recommend LTC-eligible 65+ for dogfooding). 2. **Run `/create-plan` to produce a detailed MVP build plan** (4–6 weeks, one persona, Apollo + NeverBounce + GHL). 3. **Decide on Todd** — offer him the SMB non-professional persona as paid pilot in V1, not MVP. 4. **Set MRR target** — e.g., "3 paying pilots by Labor Day 2026." --- ## Decision Needed From David - [ ] Proceed to `/create-plan` for MVP? - [ ] First persona: LTC-eligible (dogfood) vs. SMB non-professional (Todd's case)? - [ ] Todd role: paid pilot / design partner / not involved? - [ ] Build vs. wrap Clay?