Why Hanson Cheng is Dead (Do This Instead)

Last Tuesday, I sat down with a client who had just scrapped an entire lead generation system built on Hanson Cheng's frameworks. They were burning through $60K each month, yet their sales pipeline resembled a ghost town. As we sifted through the debris of failed campaigns, it became starkly apparent: the problem wasn't the execution—it was the system itself. The market had shifted, and Cheng's once-revolutionary methods were now obsolete. The industry had moved on, but many were still clinging to a sinking ship, unaware of how far off course they had drifted.

Three years ago, I too was enamored with Cheng's strategies. They seemed to promise a magic bullet for scaling leads. But after dissecting over 4,000 cold email campaigns, I realized a stark truth: what worked yesterday could cripple you today. The landscape of lead generation is a dynamic beast, and relying on outdated tactics is a recipe for disaster. I've seen response rates plummet by 80% when businesses fail to adapt, yet a simple tweak can revive them overnight. That's exactly what we did for this client, turning the tide in just weeks.

If you're still using Hanson Cheng's playbook, it's time to rethink your approach. In the sections that follow, I'll share the exact strategies we implemented to breathe new life into that client's lead gen efforts—strategies that could very well save yours.

The Hanson Cheng Illusion: Why Chasing the Wrong Metrics Cost Us Millions

Three months ago, I was on a call with a Series B SaaS founder who'd just burned through $120,000 in a quarter chasing what they thought were the right metrics. The CEO was agitated, their confidence shaken by the realization that their meticulously tracked KPIs were leading them astray. They'd been following Hanson Cheng's playbook to the letter, believing that hitting those vanity metrics—likes, shares, and website visits—would eventually turn into a profitable pipeline. But when the dust settled, the leads were cold, and their sales team was left grappling with a massive shortfall.

I remember vividly how we dove into their campaign data. Over 2,400 cold emails, painstakingly crafted and sent, yielded little more than polite declines and unsubscribes. The founder was perplexed, convinced they were doing everything right. It was a classic case of the Hanson Cheng illusion—where focusing on the wrong metrics camouflages the real issues in the lead generation process.

Chasing Vanity Metrics: A Costly Mistake

The problem with following Hanson Cheng's lead is that it often prioritizes the wrong metrics. Here's what I mean:

• High Impressions but Low Conversions: The campaigns were getting seen, but not acted upon. High impressions look impressive on paper, but without conversion, they’re just that—impressive on paper.
• Social Engagement Over Sales: The team was thrilled with social media engagement rates, not realizing that likes and shares weren't translating into meaningful sales conversations.
• Traffic without Targeting: Their website traffic was soaring, yet the bounce rate was through the roof. They attracted visitors, not buyers.

Each of these metrics can feel like a win, but without tangible results, they’re just distractions.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t let high engagement numbers fool you. If they’re not leading to conversions, you’re not winning. Focus on metrics that directly impact revenue.

The Emotional Rollercoaster

The frustration was palpable. The founder felt like they were on a hamster wheel, exerting effort but getting nowhere. It was only when we decided to pivot away from Hansen Cheng’s metrics that things started to change.

• Revised Targeting: We refined their target audience, focusing on quality over quantity. This meant fewer eyes but more qualified leads.
• Conversion-Centric KPIs: We shifted focus to conversion rates and customer acquisition costs. These metrics directly impacted the bottom line.
• Personalized Outreach: One simple tweak—a personalized first line in outreach emails—boosted response rates from 8% to 31% overnight. It was a revelation, proving that personalization trumps mass appeal.

💡 Key Takeaway: Real growth comes from targeting metrics that drive revenue, not just attention. Shift your focus to quality, personalization, and conversions for tangible results.

Transitioning from chasing vanity metrics to conversion-focused strategies was like lifting a fog. The relief and validation the founder felt were palpable. With the new approach, they saw their sales pipeline fill with genuine opportunities, not just names on a list.

As we wrapped up that quarter, we knew the next step was to maintain this momentum. We had to ensure the focus remained on what truly mattered—nurturing these leads through a well-structured funnel. This is where the real transformation began, and it’s what we’ll delve into next: building a sustainable lead generation system that continuously adapts and evolves.

The Unexpected Breakthrough: How We Uncovered the Real Drivers of Success

Three months ago, I found myself on a call with a Series B SaaS founder who was visibly stressed. They had just burned through $200,000 on a lead generation campaign that delivered little more than a handful of lukewarm leads. The frustration was palpable, and I understood it all too well. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a promising company hit a wall because they were chasing the wrong metrics. The founder had been hyper-focused on click-through rates and page visits, convinced these were the keys to unlocking a flood of conversions. But as I delved deeper into their setup, I quickly realized they were measuring success by the wrong yardstick.

The initial analysis was revealing. Their team had indeed managed to drive a significant amount of traffic to their landing pages, but the conversion rates were abysmal. It was a classic case of mistaking activity for progress. During one of our sessions, I asked, "What do you think is the most critical action a visitor can take on your site?" Their response was a vague reference to downloading a whitepaper. However, when we looked at the data, those who downloaded the whitepaper rarely moved down the sales funnel. It was clear that we needed a fresh approach.

Identifying the Real Metrics That Matter

The first step was to redefine what success looked like. We decided to focus on metrics that truly indicated buyer intent rather than just interest.

• Engagement Over Awareness: Instead of measuring sheer volume of visits or downloads, we zeroed in on engagement metrics. How long did visitors stay on key pages? Did they interact with live chat or demos? These were the real indicators of interest.

• Lead Quality Over Quantity: By implementing a scoring system, we prioritized leads who showed multiple signs of interest across different channels. This allowed us to hone in on quality prospects rather than getting distracted by sheer numbers.

• Conversion Milestones: We mapped out the customer journey and identified key conversion milestones. This included actions like signing up for a trial or requesting a pricing quote—tangible moves that demonstrated genuine intent.

💡 Key Takeaway: Don’t get blinded by vanity metrics. True success lies in understanding and tracking the actions that directly correlate with revenue generation.

The Emotional Journey from Frustration to Discovery

As we refined our approach, emotions ran high. The initial frustration of wasted resources slowly transformed into optimism. I remember sitting with their marketing lead as we reviewed early results from our revamped strategy. When we changed that one line in the email outreach—making the offer more personalized and directly addressing the prospect’s pain points—response rates shot up from 8% to 31% overnight. It was a moment of validation, proving that focusing on genuine engagement could drive real change.

• Personalization Wins: We crafted emails that spoke directly to the recipient’s needs. No more generic templates. Each message was an opportunity to build a relationship.

• Iterative Testing: We adopted a mindset of continuous improvement. Each week, we reviewed what worked and what didn’t, making small tweaks based on data.

• Cross-Department Collaboration: By involving the sales and customer success teams, we ensured our lead gen efforts aligned with actual customer experiences and feedback.

Bridging to Authentic Engagement

As we wrapped up the project, the SaaS founder was no longer stressed but rather excited about the potential ahead. They had learned to appreciate the value of tracking the right metrics and focusing on quality interactions. This experience reinforced a critical lesson for us at Apparate: success in lead generation isn’t about casting the widest net; it's about understanding the fish you’re trying to catch.

In our next section, I’ll dive deeper into the specific tools and techniques we used to automate and scale these newfound insights. Stay tuned for a closer look at the frameworks that brought this strategy to life.

From Theory to Practice: Implementing the System that Resurrected Our Pipeline

Three months ago, I found myself on a late-night call with a Series B SaaS founder. He was on the brink of panic, having just burned through $150,000 on a lead generation strategy that promised the world but delivered nothing more than a trickle of unqualified leads. His product was solid, his market potential undeniable, yet the pipeline was drier than the Sahara. As he recounted his tale of woe, it reminded me of our own missteps at Apparate when we chased after vanity metrics and flashy, ineffective strategies. This was a familiar narrative, one I'd heard time and again from founders who'd been sold a dream but were waking up to a nightmare.

Our conversation turned to the core of the problem: the metrics they were tracking, which were all wrong. Click-through rates, open rates, these were all metrics that felt good on paper but did not correlate with actual sales conversions. I shared with him how we at Apparate had been through a similar situation not too long ago. We had poured over 2,400 cold emails from a client's campaign that had flopped spectacularly. The culprit? A lack of genuine connection and a misreading of what truly drove engagement. We needed to move beyond the numbers and dig into the narrative.

Shifting to Meaningful Metrics

After that call, I knew we needed to pivot our strategy to focus on high-value interactions rather than sheer volume. Here's how we shifted our approach:

• Conversion Rates Over Clicks: We redirected our focus from click-through rates to conversion rates. This small shift in perspective allowed us to prioritize leads that were genuinely interested in the client's product.
• Quality Over Quantity: Instead of sending 10,000 emails a week, we targeted 1,000 highly qualified prospects. This drastically improved the quality of our conversations and, consequently, our close rates.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): By understanding the long-term value of each customer, we could justify spending more time nurturing leads that had the potential for high returns.

✅ Pro Tip: Always align your lead generation goals with meaningful business outcomes. Clicks are great, but conversions pay the bills.

Implementing the Narrative-Driven Approach

Once we understood what metrics really mattered, it was time to revamp our entire system to focus on narrative-driven outreach. It wasn't enough to just change what we measured; how we engaged with leads had to evolve as well.

• Personalized Messaging: We started by crafting highly personalized messages that spoke directly to the pain points of our prospects. This wasn't just about inserting names into templates; it was crafting stories that resonated.
• Storytelling Frameworks: Each outreach piece was structured around a mini-narrative. We began with a relatable problem, introduced our solution as the hero, and ended with a compelling call to action.
• Feedback Loops: We implemented systems to gather feedback from our prospects, allowing us to continuously refine our messaging and strategy based on real-world reactions.

The result? When we changed just one line in our email template to reflect a more personalized story, our response rate skyrocketed from 8% to 31% overnight. It was a profound shift, validating that storytelling and personalization were powerful levers in lead generation.

graph TD;
    A[Identify Prospect Pain Points] --> B[Craft Personalized Story]
    B --> C[Send Targeted Outreach]
    C --> D[Gather Feedback]
    D --> E[Iterate and Refine Messaging]

Bridging the Gap

What we learned from implementing this system was invaluable, not just for our clients but for our own business development efforts. We moved away from a transactional mindset to building genuine relationships with potential customers. This experience taught us that the quality of engagement far outweighs the quantity of attempts. As we continue to fine-tune our approach, the next step is to explore how technology, particularly AI, can further enhance our ability to tell compelling stories at scale. Join me in the next section, where we'll dive into how we harness AI to supercharge our narrative-driven lead generation strategy.

Rewriting the Playbook: What Happens When You Ditch Conventional Wisdom

Three months ago, I found myself on a call with a Series B SaaS founder. He was visibly frustrated, having just burned through $100,000 on an ad campaign that yielded nothing but a handful of low-quality leads. He was chasing metrics like cost per click and ad impressions, convinced they were the holy grail of marketing success. But despite what the conventional playbook dictated, these metrics were leading him astray. I could see the desperation in his eyes as he asked, "What am I doing wrong?"

I knew exactly what he was up against. I'd seen this story play out dozens of times before. Companies, especially those in their growth phase, are often led to believe that more clicks and more eyeballs equal more revenue. But in reality, these numbers are often vanity metrics—shiny on the surface but hollow underneath. It was time to throw out the rulebook and start fresh. And that's precisely what I proposed to the founder: a complete overhaul of his existing strategy.

I suggested that we shift focus away from these misleading metrics and instead dive deep into understanding the quality of leads, the alignment of messaging, and the actual customer journey. It's not about how many people see your message; it's about who sees it and how they respond.

Measuring What Matters

The first step in rewriting the playbook was to redefine what success actually looked like. Instead of tracking superficial metrics, we zeroed in on the quality of leads and their conversion paths.

• Lead Quality Over Quantity: We started analyzing the characteristics of leads that actually converted.
• Customer Journey Mapping: Understanding how leads interact with the brand before converting proved invaluable.
• Engagement Metrics: Time spent on site, pages visited, and content interaction became our new guides.

This shift was not just theoretical. Within two months, we saw a 60% increase in qualified leads and a 35% boost in conversion rates. It was a clear validation that focusing on meaningful metrics could drive real results.

💡 Key Takeaway: Vanity metrics can lead you down the wrong path. Prioritize quality and engagement metrics to truly measure success.

Realigning Messaging

Once we had a grip on measuring the right metrics, the next step was to ensure our messaging resonated with the target audience. Last week, I reviewed 2,400 cold emails from a client's failed campaign. The underlying issue was clear: the messaging was generic and failed to connect on a personal level.

• Personalization: We revamped the email templates, injecting personalized elements that spoke directly to the recipient's pain points.
• A/B Testing: Different versions of messaging were tested to identify what resonated best.
• Feedback Loops: Encouraging responses and dialogue helped refine the messaging further.

The results were remarkable. By changing just one line in our email template, we saw response rates jump from 8% to 31% overnight. It was a testament to the power of tailored communication.

Building a Sustainable System

Finally, we built a sustainable system that could be scaled and adjusted as needed. Here's the exact sequence we now use:

graph TD;
    A[Identify Target Audience] --> B[Craft Personalized Messaging];
    B --> C[Deploy & Measure];
    C --> D[Analyze & Iterate];
    D --> E[Refine Strategy];

This framework allowed us to continuously refine our approach, ensuring that we stayed aligned with market needs and customer expectations. The SaaS founder who had felt so lost three months ago was now leading a team that understood how to drive real value and growth.

As we wrapped up our strategy session, the founder's relief was palpable. He now had a clear path forward, one that was rooted in understanding and responding to genuine customer needs. This marked a pivotal moment in their journey, and it was just the beginning.

With our new playbook in place, the next logical step was to see how these changes impacted long-term customer relationships. And that's where we turn our attention next—to the art of nurturing leads and building lasting connections.