core-four

Core Four

Command: /core-four

From: $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi

When to use: Choosing your primary customer acquisition method, diagnosing why you're not getting leads, or deciding where to focus your advertising effort.

What it does

Maps your business against Hormozi's Core Four — the only four ways to let people know about what you sell — and identifies your highest-leverage acquisition channel.

The Core Definition

"There are only four things you can do to let other people know about the stuff you sell. Either do them and get as many leads as you darn well please, or get crushed by those who do."

The Framework

Two types of audiences × two ways to communicate = four methods:

Two Audiences:

• Warm — people who gave you permission to contact them (friends, followers, past customers, email list)
• Cold — strangers who have not given you permission (bought lists, platforms, ads)

Two Communication Paths:

• 1-to-1 (private) — one message to one person (call, DM, email)
• 1-to-many (public) — one message to many people (post, ad, podcast)

The Core Four:

Method	Audience	Communication	When to use
Warm Outreach	Warm	1-to-1	$0 budget, just starting, fastest path to first sale
Post Free Content	Warm	1-to-many	Have audience, want compounding long-term growth
Cold Outreach	Cold	1-to-1	B2B, high-ticket, no audience
Run Paid Ads	Cold	1-to-many	Proven offer, budget available, want to scale

The Key Insight

"If you aren't getting as many leads as you want, you're not doing the core four with enough skill or with enough volume."

There are no other methods. Every advertising tactic you've ever seen fits into one of these four boxes. The problem is almost never "I need a different strategy." It's almost always "I need more volume or more skill in the one I'm already doing."

Hormozi's Recommendation

Master one before adding another. Most founders do all four badly instead of one well.

Which to start with:

• $0 budget, no audience → Warm Outreach first
• Some audience, limited budget → Post Free Content
• B2B, high-ticket, have a list → Cold Outreach
• Proven offer, budget to spend → Paid Ads

Prompt template

My product: [describe it]
Price: $[X]/month or $[X] one-time
Current MRR: $[X]
Monthly marketing budget: $[X]
Current audience: [X followers / email subscribers]
What I've already tried: [list]

Apply the Core Four framework:
1. Which of the four methods should I focus on first and why?
2. What does "enough volume" look like for that method in my situation?
3. What does "enough skill" look like — what are the key metrics to track?
4. Give me a 30-day action plan for that one method
5. At what point should I add a second method?

Key principle

"Either do the core four with enough skill and enough volume, or get crushed by those who do." — Alex Hormozi, $100M Leads