Stef Curcio

Growth Marketing Manager

LinkedIn client acquisition in <​15 mins/day | Trusted by the top 1% of LinkedIn’s Creators

“We don't have time to send DMs and create content”

This is the #1 LinkedIn lead generation problem for founders and teams.

- Some companies we’ve worked with have seen revenue boosts of up to 327% in <90 days -

⭐Some people who trust our services:
- Jasmin Alic (290k+ followers)
- Richard Van Der Blom (220k+ followers)
- Okoye Chinelo (150k+ followers)

… and many others.

Most businesses know they should have a DM strategy in place…

But let’s be real...

most people do not have time for this!

(And everyone hates DMs)

But LinkedIn lead generation comes hard for many for mainly 3 reasons:

1) Don’t know how to start a conversation
2) You are used to annoying pitch slaps
3) Have better things to do

We simply do this for you.

**Scale Acqusition**:

A system of AI agents that generates clients on autopilot

*Including*

✅Content Agent
✅Lead validator Agent
✅DMs Generator Agent
✅Appointment setter Agent

🔒**Safe:**
Avoid annoying account restrictions.

👬**Don’t burn through leads:**
Avoid the pray and spray approach.

⏱️**Timeline from start to results:**
Start to see 20%-50% reply rate in 14-21 days.


📈Case studies:

- Trevor Longino, Founder - Crowd Tamers, GTM agency: +$44k in revenue in 30 days
- Gal Agadi, Founder - Gravity, Content agency: +$90k in sales in 40 days
- Beatrice Vladut, Founder - B Branded, Branding: Doubled sales calls in 30 days
- Justin Fowler-Lindner, Founder - The Rose Garden, Lead generation agency: +12 clients in 90 days


✍️How to start:

Copy and paste the URL below to get and learn how to generate clients in <15 minutes a day:

https://bit.ly/15-min-acqusition

Founder

The FREE community for entrepreneurs that want to master Elegant Lead Generation

Join at: 

stefcurcio.com

"Prices are rising next month, but not for you"

Told me the owner of our local cafe in Okinawa.

I go to this cafe at least once a week.

I have introduced it to friends and family.

The owners are a beautiful couple in their late 30s with 2 kids.

They are pretty reserved.

But we have occasionally asked each other questions...

Out of curiosity.

I asked where they were from, why they built a cafe here, who did the renovations, and questions like that.

They asked me what I do for a living, where I am from and why I moved to the Okinawa countryside.

They felt like not raising the prices for me.

I feel that when you build an authentic bond, miracles happen.

You have access to things you did not have before.

But a bond is not somethign you can force.

It's something that is built out of pure curiosity and intention.

You cannot fake it.

If you do, people feel it.

P.S. You can try by yourself... Or do it with me. Just click on "Visit my website" above to start your outreach journey.

Clients with no traffic or followers on LinkedIn | Win the human, win the deal | Trusted by the top 1% of LinkedIn’s Creators

Personalized DMs aren’t the problem.

Getting no reply is.

The problem is not:

- Time spent personalizing DMs.

It is to spend time on DMs to:

- Be ignored
- Have long convos that go nowhere

It's impossible to get a reply to 100% of your DMs.

Or convert every conversation into a sales call.

But there are ways to:

Set yourself up for success.

I have helped 300+ professionals with their outreach.

And here is the fastest way to get to set up a predictable outreach system.

1) Go manual

Spend up to 10-20, even 30 minutes (if needed) per lead and create a hyperpersonalized approach. Reach out to 3-5 prospects/d.

2) Choose your MVP

If you get 2 positive replies with <50 DMs, stop and systemize. Otherwise, repeat: iterate with a new approach.

3) Scale

Keep a manual approach for 3-5 people/day while refining to improve conversion/decrease time spent. Automate/delegate/systemize for another 20 leads a day (approximate your manual approach, the best you can).

- Extra: Every single word has to be focused on the prospect.

P.S. Want to get my help finding your unique content and DM angle to convert leads? Click here: https://lnkd.in/gSRwVezB

Outreach loves action...

And hates overthinking.

I consult at least 1-3 people daily on DMs...

And the number#1 outreach killer is:

- Not doing outreach

Sounds like a ridiculous insight...

But you might have found yourself in one of the following scenarios:

- Not wanting to sound salesy
- Not knowing whom to target
- Not knowing how to start a conversation

The root issue here is the same:

Overthinking and inaction.

And outreach lives "in action".

And many keep that nagging feeling at the back of their mind that tells them:

"You should be sending DMs".

I have worked with many consultants and business leaders...

I have never seen anything that delivers results as quickly as outreach.

It is possible to start getting leads and clients virtually TODAY.

If you do not know where to start, do this:

1) Find leads that fit your ICP

Possibly active. And leave a comment on their post (if not, go to step # 2).


2) Send a connection request

Ask a question about their business.


3) Pivot

When they reply, ask a questionabout their business but related to your services.

P.S. If you want to start your outreach journey, click on "Visit my website" above to schedule a Positioning and prospecting session.

LinkedIn reach has dropped by 60-70%.

But there is a new opportunity in 2026.

LinkedIn, like other social media platforms...

Has reached a maturity point.

It was more sudden and steep because of AI.

A year ago...

Anything below 2-4k views was an "underperforming post" for me.

Nowadays, anything that cracks the 1k views is a success :)

(and I am grateful for every single view)

The opportunity on LinkedIn used to be mostly in the "exposure" of content.

And many are still so focused on what they lost...

That they do not see what is in front of them.


- Before:

You would get several leads a week from content.

CTAs in the content and templated DMs were enough to generate clients.

We didn't have time or need to reach out to each and every one of them in a personalized way.


- Now:

We get a few leads from content.

Templated DMs and CTAs are not as effective because the numbers are smaller.

And a personalized approach becomes the new opportunity.


Here is how I do it:

1) Comment on a lead's post a few times
Be intentional with each and every comment. No AI stuff.

2) Send a conenction request
If they do not connect with you first

3) Start a conversation
Be intentional with your DMs.

P.S. I am creating a resource to show you my entire warm outreach process. Comment or DM "outreach" to receive it when it's ready.

Got my first 47 clients with templated DMs.

Then it stopped working.

Reach dropped. 

Inboxes got saturated. 

The playbook I relied on became everyone's playbook.

I was relying on profile visitors and new followers.

But the algorithm was not as generous as it used to be.

Building relationships from content became harder.

So I had to find another way to keep leads coming in.

And what came out of it is a system that:

- Takes me 30 minutes a day instead of 2 to 4 hours.
- Does not rely on traffic or followers.

Watch the training here👇

https://lnkd.in/gXBkfqjQ

I don't talk business unless I receive permission in one of these ways:

- The lead opens up about an issue you can solve
- You receive a compliment about your [topic]

(I explain my entire process here https://lnkd.in/gXBkfqjQ )

Not everyone gets here on their own...

I gently guide my prospects.

Once I have a conversation...

I ask a simple "this or that" question to gently guide them.

Relationships are built on trust.

If I don't have it... 

I don't move the conversation forward.

For example, yesterday, a prospect replied 

"I'm selling on LinkedIn, but it's hard to keep up with how much time it takes".

Here, I know I have their trust and permission to pivot.

There are other ways to do outreach.

This is the way I chose.

P.S. Do you "talk business" in your first DM?

I am all in for human outreach.

But I am not anti-automation, because:

- You can use automation to enhance the human touch

(and do it outside of your account so it's safe)

Here are 3 examples where automation enhances the human touch:


1) Lead validation

This is a classic repetitive task that is vital, but can easily be done by AI.

This already saves 15-45mins a day, depending on volume.


2) Lead research

To create personalization, you need to do your research. AI is amazing at providing information that you can then turn into a personalized message. Like content recapping or identifying the lead's ICP for example.

This can save 1-3 minutes per lead.


3) Systemization

Knowing exactly when to comment on a lead's post or connect with them and having all the conversation context in one place with Extrovert before reaching out.

Also, if I need to create a reminder when the lead is not ready to have the conversation today, I set a reminder in Kondo: Superhuman for LinkedIn DMs.

Hard to quantify, but can easily save 10-20 mins/day.


Human touch does make a huge difference.

But seeing automation and AI as enemies of intentional outreach is a mistake.

You can use automation to enhance it and free up your time and mental space to focus on leaving intentional comments and DMs to your prospects.

P.S. I am teaching how to go from a stranger to clients to my community every week. Comment or DM "system" to receive the Doc of the program.

One thing I have learned about outreach:

It likes action.

It does not matter if you get it wrong...

Fail...

And get ghosted.

It's ok even if you pitch slap people...

What's important is:

- That you take the lesson.
- Apply the learnings.
- And move on.

You have a unique opportunity to get in front of your ideal clients.

It's up to you to make the best of it.

P.S. Do you DM at all?

Build and scale intentional Client Acquisition systems | Win the human, win the deal | Trusted by the top 1% of LinkedIn’s Creators

To grow a business intentionally means:

To say no a lot more than to say yes.

If:

An opportunity does not align, you say no.

A strategy does not feel right, you say no.

If you don’t want to offer it, you say no.

That is how you unlock the exact opportunities that energize you.

And that is how you grow your business intentionally.

I'm teaming up with Lana Iwabuchi. Leadership & EQ Facilitator and Founder of Rocklit, for a live Zoom event:

How to Grow an Intentional Business

How to generate leads and manage talent effortlessly:

📅 Tuesday, March 24 

⏰ 6pm Japan · 10am CET 

💻 Live on Zoom


Here's what we'll cover: 

→ How to build an intentional LinkedIn lead gen system that brings clients to you consistently 

→ How to scale by building something that energizes you, not exhausts you → How to attract, inspire, and grow the right people around your vision

The best businesses aren't built on hustle alone.

They're built on clarity, the right systems, and the right people.

If you're ready to grow with more ease and purpose, this is your event.

P.S. Click on “attend” to join the event.

Antonio Gabrić

I help people write cold emails that convert 🚀 | Marketing @ Hunter.io

Hey! I'm Antonio. I help SaaS companies grow their brand's presence and revenue with outbound marketing.

Building backlinks that move the needle is hard. Here's how I can help you:

- Set up hyper-personalized and automated link building outreach campaigns
- Build contextual backlinks from relevant DR70+ domains at scale
- Get your brand featured on Hubspot, Zapier, Wordstream, and more
- List your brand in high-traffic listicles (top X tools)
- Grow your brand's presence, authority, and revenue

Why me?

- Grew Hunter's organic monthly sessions from 100k to 300k
- Built semi-automated processes for effective link building (7,000+ referring domains in 2 years)
- Sent tailored outreach campaigns with 12% conversion rates
- Featured on industry-leading websites such as Hubspot, Zapier, Wordstream, and many more
- Managing a Slack community with over 100 active SaaS link builders (SERanking, Toptal, Hubspot, and others)

Ready to leverage link building to grow your SaaS into a multi-million dollar success?

🔔 I'll be posting SEO and cold email case studies – so hit that "Follow" button! 

Cheers,
Antonio.

Outreach Manager

Some of the current responsibilities and achievements:

- leading the link building at Hunter
- establishing and reworking processes
- hiring freelancers
- managing a team of link builders and writers
- running a Slack community of amazing link builders
- experimenting with different outreach approaches
- managing affiliate program approvals
- working with influencers
- ensuring Hunter is featured on most authority industry-relevant websites consistently
- increasing organic traffic by 78%

I’m looking for 20 people to join an exclusive SEO partnership circle.

The vibe: 
✅ Real SaaS brands only (No PBNs/Farms)
✅ High-authority guest post collabs (Zapier, Moz, G2, and more)
✅ Editor intros & networking 
✅ Bi-monthly "Win/Fail" syncs
✅ Weekly catch-ups to discuss new strategies and tactics

If you’re tired of shouting into the void and want a small community of peers to grow with, this is for you.

The keyword: "Value".

Comment "SaaS" below, and I'll send you the details.

(I'll go through all comments and messages. But, I'll just respond to people who meet the criteria (e.g., not interested in resellers, agencies, etc.))

Marketing @ Hunter.io | Author on Moz, Zapier, G2 & 50+ top industry sites | Writing on SEO, content marketing, B2B sales & lead generation

Only 1 in 20 cold emails gets a reply.

My colleague Ziemek Bućko did a fantastic job analyzing 31 million emails and pulling this report together. I went through the findings and pulled the 14 stats that actually move the needle.

Some of these surprised me:
→ Turning off open tracking increases reply rates by 68% 
→ Emailing 21–50 people outperforms blasting 500+ by 158% 
→ 3 follow-ups double replies. 4+ kills them. 
→ LinkedIn is now the preferred channel for 50.5% of decision makers

Cold email isn't dead. Lazy cold email is.

The full breakdown is in the carousel 👇

Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. Curious what resonates most.

(Full report link in the comments)

Email outreach stats

If someone told me you could win $1,000 by writing one email, I'd have laughed.

Which means most people reading this won't bother entering.

Less competition for you.

Messaging Madness 2026: entries close tomorrow, March 10. 

Write one outreach email based on a real scenario. It goes into a public bracket, head-to-head voting rounds, until one winner takes $1,000.

I'm judging one of the 4 scenarios myself.

10 minutes to write. $1,000 to win.

Full details + entry form below

Messaging Madness 2026

Can you write an email worth $1,000? Let’s find out.

Messaging Madness 2026 is officially back. 🎉

Last year, we launched an experiment: a bracket-style tournament to find the world’s best outreach. We saw thousands of votes and one undeniable truth: the "spray and pray" era is dead.

This year, the stakes are higher, the scenarios are tougher, and the philosophy has shifted.

From "Cold" to "Outreach"

In 2025, we called it a cold email competition. We were wrong.

Looking at the winning entries, none of them felt "cold." When you research a prospect and understand their pain so deeply that your message lands at the exact right moment, that’s not an intrusion. That’s a solution.

The theme for 2026: 

Turning a cold lead into a warm conversation through human-to-human connection.

How the Messaging Madness works:

Pick your scenario: Choose one of four specific prompts.
Write your email: Craft the perfect initial outreach.
The Selection: Our judges pick the Top 64 entries.
The Bracket: You go head-to-head in 6 rounds of public voting.

What we learned from the 2025 winners (@anne kar:

Relevance > Cleverness: "Smart" copy loses to "helpful" copy every time.

Length is a myth: Value-packed 200-word emails beat generic 50-word ones.

Be Human: If you sound like an AI template, you’ve already lost.

🏆 The Prize:

The "Follow-up 4" (Semi-finalists) all get a year of Hunter’s Starter plan.
The Champion takes home $1,000 cash.

📅 The Key Dates:

Entry Deadline: March 10

Bracket Announcement: March 16

First Round Voting: March 17

Stop sending spam. Start writing outreach that actually gets a reply.

I’m dropping the link to the scenarios and the entry form in the comments below. 👇

taplio

The Battle

Stef Curcio

Antonio Gabrić

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreStef Curcio's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAntonio Gabrić's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Stef Curcio

Antonio Gabrić

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stef Curcio's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAntonio Gabrić's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreStef Curcio's LinkedIn Performance