What I Learned While Sourcing My Next Deal: A Searcher's Journey

Let me start by saying that sourcing, especially prop sourcing, is a world in and of itself…a very confusing world, especially for someone like me who is learning through experience. So if you’re in the same spot, I hope you'll find this helpful…. 1. Multichannel is key — In today's competitive market, there's significant noise and competition for deals. I've always seen multichannel outreach as being in the back seat of a complex machine, where the only way to know what works is through trial and error. Diversify your outreach methods across email, phone, LinkedIn, and other platforms. Some channels will work while others won't, and the challenge lies in determining whether it's the channel itself or your messaging that needs adjustment. And there’s no way to know which one it is unless you go through the process. 2. Things work great until they don't — When I started this process during COVID, emails worked brilliantly and helped me secure my first deal. However, email effectiveness has declined significantly since then. Conversion rates have dropped from their pre-COVID highs to just 1%–3%, despite experimenting with different approaches and copywriting. The lesson here is clear: never stop improving. Even when you think you've found the perfect copy or script, always look for ways to make it better. 3. Outsource with caution — This is something I've had to learn the hard way. Not every lead generation firm is created equal. While some are excellent, others fall short of the ROI they promise during their sales pitch. I've worked with firms that were highly successful in other industries but failed to deliver results in my case. So, I ended up spending hard-earned money on services that yielded absolutely zero ROI. This painful experience has led me to a learning a valuable lesson, the one thing that is non-negotiable for me: pay for performance, whether that’s tying payment to calls booked or other measurable outcomes. After all, if a provider isn't confident enough to bet on their own ability to generate results, why should I bet my money on them?