INSIDE 1:1 MENTORING
Turn Word of Mouth Into a List
You finish a good job, the client says they will refer you, and you have nowhere to put the next conversation. Ivanka Menken uses the Small List Loop inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to turn about 30 scattered contacts into one list, a monthly send and one referral ask you can repeat. You leave with a one-page list plan and the first send written.
The Small List Loop is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
THE SMALL LIST
Thirty people. One send a month.
- CONTACTSpast clients, referrers, warm namesAbout 30
- THE SENDone short newsletter, same week each monthMonthly
- THE ASKa referral ask you can repeat without flinchingOne
THE RULE
“When the work comes from trust, a small list beats a big audience.”
Your list will start from your own contacts.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Word of mouth with nowhere to land
- 01You rely on word of mouth but have nowhere to send people.
- 02Your client names live in email, phone and invoices.
- 03A quiet month feels like starting from zero again.
THE CONTACTS, AS THEY STAND
- About 30 names: phone, email and invoices
- A list: none
- A monthly send: none
- The referral ask: made once, at the end of a job
- Follow-up after the job closes: whenever you remember
Trust built, with nowhere to keep it.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
Thirty contacts, one list
01
THE MOMENT
A good job closes, and the trail goes cold
A job closes well. The client says they will mention you to a friend, and you mean to stay in touch. Then the next job starts. Their name sits in an old invoice, a phone contact and an email thread. Three months later the referral has not come, and you have no simple way to remind anyone you exist.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
Ask for more referrals
The obvious fix was to ask harder. The founder asked every client for a referral at the end of each job. Some said yes and meant it. The referrals still arrived by luck, because there was no list to capture names and no reason to stay in touch once the work was done. Asking more often made the founder uncomfortable and changed very little.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
The referrers had names, and no follow-up
Ivanka asked the founder to name the people most likely to refer them. They named them quickly, about 30 of them. Then she asked when each one had last heard from the founder. For most, the answer was the day the job closed. The trust was there. The founder simply had no way to follow up once the work was finished.
THE DIAGNOSIS
A list and a rhythm, not a new channel
The diagnosis was not a marketing channel problem. It was a list and rhythm problem. Word of mouth was working, and it had nowhere to land, so each referral depended on someone remembering the founder at the right moment.
The reframe: a small list is more useful than a big audience when the work comes from trust. Thirty people who know the work, hearing from you once a month, will do more than a thousand strangers. The Small List Loop came before any new tactic.
A small list is more useful than a big audience when the work comes from trust.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Without a list, every quiet month feels like starting again, and the people most willing to refer you slowly forget to.
THE TOOL
The Small List Loop, for about 30 contacts
The Small List Loop turns a handful of contacts into a simple monthly rhythm. Gather the names into one list. Send one short newsletter each month. Make one referral ask you can repeat. Then count what comes back and decide the next send from it.
Tap a part. Your list starts with the names you already have.
Small List Loop · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is a one-page list plan: who is on the list, what the monthly send says, the week it goes out, the one referral ask, and the count you will read at the next session.
What it replaces
It replaces names scattered across phone, email and invoices, the referral ask made once at the end of a job, and the hope that people will remember you on their own.
It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, next to the Fortnight Loop and the monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard, which shows whether the list is turning into conversations and cash. It is coaching, not a done-for-you marketing service, and there is no separate checkout.
THE PLAN, ON ONE PAGE
- 01The list: about 30 contacts, moved into one place
- 02The send: one short newsletter a month, same week
- 03The content: one useful thing from the work, in plain words
- 04The ask: one referral ask, the same each month
- 05The count: replies and introductions after each send
- 06The review: at the next session, then monthly
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Thirty names and one ask
In the first session, Ivanka asked three questions. Who are the 30 people you would actually want to hear from you? What would make them open it? What is the one ask you can repeat without feeling pushy? The founder wrote the names down, chose the week of the month for the send and wrote the referral ask in one sentence. Before the next session, they moved the contacts into one list and sent the first newsletter.
THE LIST PLAN, AS WRITTEN
- The list
- About 30 contacts, gathered from phone, email and invoices.
- The send
- One short newsletter, the first week of each month.
- The ask
- One sentence asking who else should hear from them.
- The count
- Replies and introductions after each send.
- Review
- At the next session, then monthly
Your list starts with the names you already have.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingA referral base with no list behind it.
- 2The numbersAbout 30 contacts, one send, one ask.
- 3The storyWhy the ask felt pushy, and what made it easier.
- 4The commitmentThe first monthly send, out before the next session.
THE QUESTIONS
- Who are the 30 people you would want to hear from you?
- What would make them open it?
- What is one useful thing you can share each month?
- What is the one ask you can repeat?
- Which count will you read after each send?
Before the next session, the founder sent the first newsletter to the list and counted two things: replies, and introductions to someone new.
WHAT CHANGED
A list, a rhythm and a repeatable ask
By month 6, the founder has one clean list, a monthly newsletter rhythm and a referral ask that has become routine, with the scorecard showing whether it turns into work.
BEFORE
- Names scattered across phone, email and invoices.
- The referral ask made once, then forgotten.
- No contact after the job closed.
- Every quiet month felt like starting again.
BY MONTH 6
- One list, kept current.
- A monthly send, out the same week.
- A referral ask made every month.
- Replies and introductions counted and reviewed.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this case, the founder built a simple newsletter, moved the 30 contacts into one list and wrote a monthly send. The referral ask became a routine instead of a scramble at the end of each job.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Give word of mouth somewhere to go
Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders who want a clear head on the decisions that matter. She asks the question you have been avoiding, then keeps you to the one commitment you write down.
This fits if your work comes from referrals and you have no list behind them. It does not fit if you want someone to run your marketing for you. The decision in front of you is small: write down the 30 names, then choose the week your first send goes out.
“During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.”
Business owner
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- Most of your work comes from word of mouth.
- You have a few dozen past clients and referrers.
- You have no list and no regular contact with them.
- You will write one send a month and count what comes back.
It does not fit
- You want accounting, financial advice or a done-for-you fix.
- You want someone to write and send the newsletter for you.
- You want to grow a large audience fast.
- You have no past clients yet.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The Small List Loop is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- The monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Small List Loop for your first list
Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Small List Loop is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about a small list
How small can the list be?
Small enough to start this week. About 30 contacts is plenty when they already know and trust your work: past clients, people who referred you and warm names. A short list you write to every month will do more than a large list you never use. Ivanka Menken helps you choose the names inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What should the newsletter say?
One useful thing from your work, written plainly, and one referral ask. A short story from a recent job, a mistake clients often make, or a question you answer every week. Keep it brief enough to write in an hour. Ivanka Menken helps you choose the first topic and the ask inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
How often should you send it?
Once a month, in the same week, so it becomes a habit for you and a familiar name for them. Monthly is often enough to be remembered and light enough to keep going when work is busy. Ivanka Menken reviews the rhythm and the count after each send inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
How does the Small List Loop fit 1:1 Mentoring?
It is one of the tools Ivanka Menken uses inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. In a session you write the list plan and the ask. Between sessions you send. The monthly scorecard then shows whether the list is turning into conversations and work. There is no separate fee or checkout for the tool.
Write down the thirty names
If your work comes from trust and you have no list behind it, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Small List Loop is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.
Not accounting, financial advice or a done-for-you fix.