The WarPlan Podcast

Episode: Interview With Daniel Dixon

Host: Joshua Latimer
Guest: Daniel Dixon (CEO, SendJim)
Date: February 20, 2026

Episode Overview

In this energizing and candid discussion, Joshua Latimer brings on his longtime friend and business partner, Daniel Dixon, CEO of SendJim, to delve into the current landscape and future of small business marketing. They examine the “mental war” of business, rising lead acquisition costs, how AI and data are transforming local marketing, and unlock the crucial mindset and practical strategies that separate thriving business owners from struggling ones. The conversation highlights actionable techniques—including the FRAP method—for maximizing customer value, advanced yet practical direct mail strategies, and how to future-proof a local business in a fast-evolving, competitive economy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of the Market: The Local Business Landscape

• Rising Costs and Uncertainty: Businesses are facing higher costs for everything, especially in digital marketing. Uncertainty in the broader economy and technological shifts (AI, layoffs) are pushing professionals into the home services sector. ([02:00])
• New Talent Flooding In: “There’s never been a better time for home service companies… Super smart people with Ivy League MBAs are leaving Wall Street and coming to the home service industry.” — Daniel Dixon ([03:36])

2. Mindset Shift: Value Over Cost-Cutting

• Stop Focusing on Cheap Leads:
  • “The goal is not to make marketing cheaper. The goal is to make your customer more valuable.” — Joshua Latimer ([04:56])
  • Dixon advises to develop a business model where you “want to spend as much money as possible [on marketing] because I know I can provide tremendous value and charge more.” ([06:07])
• Unlimited Marketing Budget – If the Math Works:
  • “I tell these people, I have an unlimited budget as long as you can get me leads at this price.” — Daniel Dixon ([06:54])

3. The “FRAP” Method: Doubling Revenue by Maximizing Customer Value

• FRAP Defined:
  • Frequency: Get customers to buy more often
  • Recency: Encourage prompt and repeated engagement
  • Average Ticket: Increase transaction sizes
  • Premium Pricing: Charge more for exceptional value
• Practical Example:
  • Josh: “If a restaurant’s average customer eats there once a month, but you get them to come every two weeks, that one thing doubles the entire business.” ([07:40])
• The Leaky Bucket:
  • Neglecting existing customers leads to churn eating into new customer gains. “You can only add water in so fast when there’s enough holes in the bucket.” ([12:48])

4. Why Most Business Owners Get Stuck

• Addiction to Customer Acquisition:
  • Dixon: “We get addicted to this—acquiring customers. But we have this massive database… we don’t market to them.” ([10:13])
  • Businesses often neglect the real goldmine: past customers.

5. Making Marketing Work (and Work for You)

• Unit Economics Matter:
  • If you’re spending more than your per-customer profit to acquire customers, “you’re burning cash.” ([09:10])
  • Revenue growth is only meaningful with profit and strong customer lifetime value.
• “Marketing is Everything”:
  • Latimer: “We are marketers who happen to sell tacos or window cleaning. Everything is marketing.” ([08:00])

SendJim: Next-Level Local Marketing Tools

A. Fundamentals that Still Kill

• Neighbor Mailing:
  • “The neighbor of your customer is more likely to buy your product than probably anyone else in the city.” ([17:50])
  • Hyper-targeted, automated direct mail to past customers’ neighbors yields a high ROI.
• Ringless Voicemail and Texts:
  • Dixon: “Being able to record a voicemail and send that to your customer base… you can generate 300–400× ROI.” ([19:25])
• Rainmaker Campaigns:
  • Three emails, three voicemails, three texts over three days—”it just murders it.” ([19:40])

B. Data and AI-Powered Targeting

• Radius Bomb & “Predictive House-Level Targeting”:
  • Draw a map, select ideal customer demographics, mail only to ultra-targeted homes—future versions use AI and personality data for 4× better response. ([20:59])
  • “We believe you’re going to get four times better response out of your mail than ever before.” — Daniel Dixon ([22:14])

C. Social Proof Automation

• Review-Driven Postcards:
  • Automatically send postcards to customer’s neighbors with the actual review printed on them.
  • “Social proof is so powerful… Now you can get [a review] on a card to their neighbors, automatically.” ([29:26])

D. Advanced Automation & Personalization

• Automated Gifts (Brownies, Dog Treats, etc.):
  • Fully automated, can trigger on events (like an invoice paid over $X), makes your business unforgettable. ([36:23])
• Physical Retargeting (Coming Soon):
  • Identify anonymous website visitors and add them to a drip postcard sequence, similar to digital ad retargeting. ([34:49])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Competing in the New World:
  “It’s not a nice to have, it’s a have to have. It’s becoming more competitive because of the level of acumen… you’re now competing with MBAs from Princeton in your local market.” — Joshua Latimer ([23:14])
• On Profit:
  “Profit inside of a business is unnatural. If you don’t force profit, [your business] will just gobble up everything.” — Joshua Latimer ([28:27])
• On Direct Mail:
  “As digital ads get more expensive, mail is going to continue to stand out.” — Daniel Dixon ([36:21])
• On Failure and Learning:
  “Don’t be afraid to fail… Failure on testing something should be part of your business plan.” — Daniel Dixon ([42:51]) “You win some, you learn some.” — Quoted by Joshua Latimer, referencing Mattress Mack ([44:35])
• On Pricing Fears:
  Joshua Latimer: “There’s more elasticity in your pricing than you think… Raising your price isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.” ([38:48])
• On Market Opportunity:
  “95% of businesses are resting on their laurels. Go out there, take it from them. Disrupt your market.” — Daniel Dixon ([42:11])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:00 – State of business costs & intro to Daniel Dixon
• 03:30 – Why highly educated professionals are entering home services
• 06:30 – Unlimited marketing budget—if your business model supports it
• 07:40 – FRAP explained (Frequency, Recency, Average Ticket, Premium Pricing)
• 10:13 – Addiction to customer acquisition & neglecting past clients
• 12:48 – “Leaky bucket” analogy—a million in new sales can be lost to churn
• 17:50 – SendJim’s neighbor mailing & data targeting features
• 19:20 – Ringless voicemail/text campaigns & proven ROI
• 20:59 – Radius Bomb: AI-enhanced targeting
• 29:26 – Automating reviews on postcards/social proof
• 34:49 – Physical retargeting: mailing to website visitors
• 36:23 – Sending automated brownies, dog treats, and gifts
• 38:48 – Raising prices is a necessity, not an option
• 42:11 – Daniel’s outlook for business owners in 2026
• 42:51 – Embracing failure and iterative marketing
• 44:35 – “You win some, you learn some.” – handling marketing failures

Encouragement & Closing Thoughts

• Optimism for 2026:
  “There’s more opportunity than ever to stand out… Go out there, take it from them.” — Daniel Dixon ([42:11])
• Advice for Nervous Entrepreneurs:
  “Don’t be scared to fail. Try new things… Failure should be part of your business plan. Go out, ask people who’ve done it, minimize your risk, and learn.” — Daniel Dixon ([42:51], [44:49])
• Mindset Reminder:
  “Weaponize your brain. If you want to have what others don’t, you need to know what others won’t.” — Joshua Latimer ([00:05])

Resources & How to Learn More

• Learn more or schedule a demo of SendJim: sendjim.com
• For mindset and advanced marketing concepts:
  • WarPlan Coaching: warplan.com
  • Money Lever Podcast: Short 10–15 minute episodes on money and marketing

Final Encouragement

“You’re our people. There’s opportunity everywhere if you’re willing to know what others don’t. Get in community, embrace profit, and make your next move smarter than your last.” — Joshua Latimer ([27:29])