Wayfinder Outdoors × Graham

OctoberRevenue Map

Notes after our call: where I'd start, what I'd leave alone for now, and the things I'd want to check before spending money on any of it.

Ali — I kept thinking about Wayfinder after we talked, so I went back through my notes and tried to sort out what actually seems worth doing first.

I don't think the main problem is LinkedIn, AI, ads, or the other Wayfinder company.

You're already doing a lot of this. Most of what's below is about being more deliberate, not starting over.

The short version

Get more of the right people buying what you're already really good at.

Field notes

What I heard

Mostly so you can tell me where I got it wrong.

The route

The Wayfinder Revenue Map

Four things I'd look at, in roughly this order.

  1. 01 Fill what's already on the calendar The fastest money is usually already on the books.
  2. 02 Go after companies more deliberately An actual list, and more than one attempt per company.
  3. 03 Look at who you've already worked with Something we didn't really get into on the call.
  4. 04 Make Wayfinder easier to find Google is already working. I'd understand it before paying for more.
01 Waypoint

Fill what's already on the calendarBefore adding anything new.

Before rebuilding the website, spending on ads, or worrying about LinkedIn, I'd look hard at what's already there:

  • Upcoming courses
  • Open seats
  • People who've taken a course before
  • Organizations that have hired you
  • Anyone who asked and never booked
  • Referrals
  • People who already know your name

The question I'd keep asking

What is the shortest path between today and another $1,000–$2,000 of booked business?

For right now, I'd look there before adding another channel.

What I understood is coming up

  1. A near-term open session
  2. November Wilderness First Aid
  3. The company conversations you've started

Correct me if I've got any of this wrong — I was taking notes fast.

02 Waypoint

Go after companies more deliberatelyThis looks like the clearest near-term opportunity to me.

You're already reaching out to companies. What I'd change is having an actual list to work from and making more than one attempt per company. Two groups seem worth separating, because the buyer and the reason are different.

Field and safety training

Companies I'd start with

  • Arborists
  • Tree companies
  • Forestry
  • Logging
  • Utilities
  • Infrastructure crews
  • Field service

Broadly: any team whose people work outside, away from an ambulance.

What you'd sell them

  • Wilderness first aid
  • First aid built around their work
  • Navigation
  • Scenario-based training

Teams and experiences

What you'd sell them

  • Navigation experiences
  • Outdoor team days
  • Practical wilderness skills
  • Custom group training

Same teaching, different buyer, and usually a different budget. I'd want to find out which of the two is easier to sell before we lean on either one.

We don't need a big list to start. Twenty or thirty companies that make sense, and the right person at each one, is enough to learn something.

03 Waypoint

Look at who you've already worked withOne thing we didn't really get into on the call.

Before putting all the energy into finding brand-new companies, I'd also want to look at the organizations and people you've already worked with. I don't know yet how big this is for Wayfinder, but it's cheap to check, so I'd check it first. The questions I'd ask:

  • Could one participant turn into a booking for their whole team?
  • Could an organization you've already taught use a custom session?
  • Is there somebody they could introduce you to?

If there's business sitting in relationships you already have, that's worth finding before we build a much bigger pipeline. If there isn't, we'll know quickly and we'll stop looking there.

04 Waypoint

Make Wayfinder easier to findUnderstand what's working before paying for more.

You said Google is already bringing you business, which is why I wouldn't jump to paid ads. I'd want to see what's actually happening first:

  • What searches bring customers
  • Which pages people actually land on
  • Which services deserve their own page
  • How the company offerings are described
  • Local search
  • How Wayfinder shows up in AI-assisted search
  • Whether the name confusion can be reduced
  • What people do once they're on the site
Worth containing

The Wayfinder Outdoor / LinkedIn confusion is real and annoying. I'd treat it as a cleanup job with a start and an end, rather than letting it eat the time that could go into the company work.

The change I'd make

Less marketing, more going straight at people

Marketing builds awareness over time, and it's fine. But going directly at a small number of companies tells us what's working in weeks instead of months, and it's the part I can actually help you get organized.

Effort spread across

  • Posting in a lot of places
  • Tweaking LinkedIn
  • Guessing at SEO
  • One email, then nothing
  • Ads before we know what converts
  • Outreach when there's a free evening

The relationship part is yours. I'd use AI for the research and the record-keeping around it.

What I'd try instead

Six steps, none of which need new software to start.

  1. Build the first real target list
    Start with 20–30 organizations that actually make sense. If it works, we expand from there.
  2. Find the actual person at each one
    Not the general inbox. Who that is depends on the size of the company.
    • HR
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Operations
    • Field leadership
    • Owner / GM
  3. Find a reason to be reaching out
    A mutual connection, a shared client, a crew you drove past. Ten minutes per company, not an hour.
  4. Reach out, then follow up
    If you're mostly sending one email now, I'd test a simple rhythm and see what these buyers respond to.
  5. Get on the phone
    This is the part you don't need help with.
  6. A group booking or a custom session
    And if it goes well, ask who else they'd point you to. That part costs nothing.

Draft

You've probably already sent something like this

So take this as a version to test against whatever you're sending now, not as a fix.

To: [Name] · Safety / Operations

Subject: Question about first-aid training for your field crews

Hi [Name] —

I'm Ali from Wayfinder Outdoors. I teach wilderness first aid and navigation, including custom training for crews that actually work outside.

I came across [Company] and was curious how you're handling first-aid training for your field teams right now.

I can build sessions around the situations your people actually run into rather than just putting them through a generic public class.

If that's relevant, happy to talk.

Ali

And if you're mostly sending one email now, I'd try a follow-up rhythm and see what happens. I have no idea yet which of these matters with these buyers, which is the reason to try it.

Not yet

What I wouldn't spend on right now

None of these are wrong. I'd just want to know more before any of them get money or a weekend.

If we work together

Where I think I'd actually be useful

You're already doing the parts I can't do for you. You know the work, you can teach, and you're already willing to talk to people.

Where I think I can help is the stuff that tends to fall apart when you're busy: finding the right companies, finding the actual person inside them, doing the research, getting the first draft done, keeping track of follow-up, and looking at what's happening with you so we aren't just guessing.

I can do a lot of that between our calls. Then when we meet, we're looking at something real and deciding what to do next instead of starting from a blank page.

What I'd take on

  • Research companies and contacts
  • Help build the first lists
  • Work through Wix / Google data
  • Draft outreach and follow-up
  • Keep track of what we're learning
  • Bring the next decisions to our calls

What stays with you

  • Tell me what feels like a real fit
  • Approve or adjust what goes out
  • Have the actual conversations
  • Teach the work
  • Tell me what's happening in the field

If we do this right, you should end up knowing how the whole thing works, rather than needing me forever to operate it.

A possible October

Roughly what a first month looks like

You're not starting from zero, so I wouldn't spend the first month planning. I'd want us reaching out in the first week.

Week 1

Pick the targets and get messages out

  • Which kinds of companies, and what you'd sell them
  • Build the first list and find the actual people
  • Write the messages together
  • First batch goes out this week

Week 2

Follow up and get on calls

  • Work the follow-ups
  • Take the conversations that come back
  • Fix whatever obviously isn't landing
  • Second batch out

Week 3

Widen whatever is working

  • More of whichever group replied
  • Go back through people you've already taught
  • Tighten the pages people land on before booking

Week 4

Look at what happened and decide

  • Who replied, and what they wanted
  • Which companies are worth chasing
  • What we do more of in month two
  • Which parts you run yourself from here

Four weeks won't guarantee revenue. It should tell us who replies and what they're interested in, which is more than either of us knows right now.

Before October

If you happen to have half an hour

Write down 5–10 organizations you've already worked with, or would genuinely like more of. That's enough for us to have something real to start with.

And if September is too nuts, don't worry about it. We'll do it together.

That's where I'd start.

Ali — I think there's plenty here to work with.

You're already getting customers through Google. You've already got companies hiring you for group work. And you're already reaching out to businesses yourself.

I don't think you need to reinvent Wayfinder. I think we can get more deliberate about who you're going after, and make the sales side take less random effort.

No decision needed right now

You're slammed through September anyway. Take a look at this when you have time. I'll check back in around September 28 like we said.

If you've had a chance to look at the numbers by then, we can spend 20 minutes deciding whether working together in October actually makes sense.

If it does, great. If it doesn't, you still have the map.

— Graham

Cell 252-286-8899 call or text, whenever