Dan Mall+

Your Pitches Are Failing Because of This

It’s not your client’s budget. It’s your pitch. This video breaks down the simple two-part formula behind every winning pitch: Desire and Value Exchange.

The “Oil Change & Pizza” Problem

I once drove past a place with a sign that said “oil change and pizza.” I laughed. Then I kept driving. Oil changes aren’t bad. Neither is pizza. But I didn’t trust them to do either one well. Your agency is doing the same thing when you say yes to every client, every service, every scope. The agency owners I’ve coached past $1M didn’t get there by adding more. They got there by removing things until only the thing they were world-class at remained. Specificity is trust.

Why You Should Reject 50% of Paying Clients

Turning down business might seem bananas, but it’s one of the most important things to protect your agency’s quality and your team’s sanity. Qualification isn't just about their budget. It’s about whether you have what you need from them to actually deliver results. If that's not there from the start, walk away. Watch the full interview inside Field Guide, my self-paced video library for agency owners at $199/month. Cancel anytime. https://makemoremoney.design/field-guide #agencylife #clientqualification #businessstrategy #shorts

The Most Toxic Advice I Hear From Agency Owners

The idea of “getting paid what you’re worth” forces agency owners to put a price tag on themselves, which is a recipe for undercharging and burnout. The crucial mindset shift: stop pricing yourself and start pricing the value of the work and the opportunity for your client. This is the key to unlocking higher-value projects.

Wanna see how I coach agency owners on positioning?

If your brand feels scattered, this is for you. I hopped on the Design Systems House podcast and coached Donnie through his positioning live on air. This is the work I do every day.

The Only Two Prices You Should Charge

This “Full Price or Free” pricing model saved me from years of burnout and bad client work. It’s a simple framework that eliminates discounts, sets clear expectations, and ensures you’re always compensated properly for your value, whether that’s with money or with creative freedom.

How to Land a Dream Client

The how is in the full video: The RISKY Pitch Method That Lands Dream Clients: five signals every winning pitch sends, plus a secret sixth. https://youtu.be/JIIDxL9xPil

The RISKY Pitch Method That Lands Dream Clients

This is the exact method how to get web design clients (or any dream client) without cold calls, ads, or an audience: a love letter. 🗺️ Not sure this strategy fits your business phase? Grab the free Money Maker Map: 33 steps to grow your agency toward $1M, organized into 7 phases: https://makemoremoney.design/money-maker-map?ref=YT CHAPTERS 0:00 The 23-Year Mistake 2:10 What is a love letter? 3:20 The Five Signals (and One Secret) 5:17 The Website That Landed the Dream Job 7:13 The Guy Who Funnel Hacked Me 9:30 The Love Letter That Invented Its Own Project 10:42 What Phase is Your Agency In

Introducing Empathy Mode

32 Design Client Leads in a Day?!

If you’re lucky enough to get a big influx of leads, what do you do about it? Freelancer and agency owner coach Dan Mall shares 3 strategies for handling inquiries in a way that grow your business the way you want. ⏩ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:42 Don’t staff up 1:54 Do nothing 4:20 Raise prices 5:49 Money math === I help designers make more money and get their flowers. Need revenue fast without a funnel, large audience, or fancy pitch deck? Take my free “6-Day Revenue Roadmap” email course: https://make-more-money.link/viKZGyy Ready to do the work to take your freelancer or agency business to

How I Make Figma Auto Layout Super Easy!

I show you the few parts of Figma’s auto-layout functionality that I actually find useful and all the other stuff you can ignore. ⏩ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:38 Auto-layout: the quick version 7:08 Auto-layout deep dive === I help designers make more money and get their flowers. Take my free 6-Day Revenue Roadmap email course: https://makemoremoney.design/6-day-revenue-roadmap Follow Dan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmall/ Twitter: https://x.com/danmall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmallteaches Website: https://danmall.com/

What Great Companies Have In Common

11 companies beat the market by 300% over 15 years. What did they have in common?

How do you sell a $1.5 million website?

How do you sell a $1.5 million website? Promise the client they’d get $3 million in return. Your job is to figure out how they get $3 million in return. #danmallteaches #webdesign #digitalmarketing #ROI #clientacquisition #highendwebsites

Books that SECRETLY Inspired My Latest Design Project 🪻🌻💐🌷🌸

Good design inspiration doesn’t just come from Dribbble or Pinterest. Sometimes, it’s hidden in the pages of a book. 📚✨ These reads secretly shaped my latest design project in ways I didn’t expect. What has influenced your work lately?

How Designers Get High-Paying Clients (245-person 2-Hour Q&A)

Designers: I want to help you make more money. I’ve run a 7-figure agency and do high 6-figures every year as an independent consultant, all working about 30 to 50 hours a week. I know a thing or two about making money, and I’d love to tell you everything. Here’s a recording of a big Zoom meeting I had with 245 friends talking about things like: • ​Difficulty finding clients • ​Knowing what to charge • ​Making the jump to freelance • ​Creating offers • ​Warm vs. cold outreach ⏩ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:45 - Zoom meeting starts 00:09:08 - How to Land a Million Dollar Project 0

Change: A Short Film about Fall Foliage

There's something magical about autumn. The hills whisper of reds, oranges, and golds—nature’s way of reminding us how beautiful change can be. Our little crew—a mix of old friends and new faces—is on a mission to capture this transformation.

Now Hiring: A Designer Who Can Ship

Now hiring: a designer who can ship. Wanna work for and with me? I’m looking for someone who can free me up of the tactical digital design work I currently do. I’m a designer who ships stuff, so, in order for you to free me up, you have to be a designer who ships stuff too. Types of projects I’d put you in charge of (depending on your skillset): • Create social media graphics • Design and build landing pages and microsites • Edit videos • Set up third-party software & apps • Marketing + email automations Compensation: $3k/month for a remote contract position, paid on the 1st of the month.

Self-branding is hard! #danmallteaches #branding

A Dinner with Dan Mall at Config 2024, presented by Omlet

A 6-course dinner at 3 Michelin-starred Quince in San Francisco for design system enthusiasts during Figma’s Config 2024 conference. Proudly presented by Omlet (https://omlet.dev/), which provides component analytics and insights to help you drive design system adoption. Learn more about design systems in my online course: https://designsystem.university/courses/design-systems-101 🔗 LINKS Buy my “Design Systems in 90 Days” workbook: https://designsystem.university/courses/design-system-in-90-days Enroll in my free “Make Design Systems People Want to Use” course: https://designsystem.uni

Studio Hoops: A Basketball Event with Dan Mall at Config 2024, presented by Wix Studio

A basketball event during Figma’s Config 2024 conference. Proudly presented by Wix Studio (https://www.wix.com/studio), a platform built for agencies and enterprises to create exceptional websites at scale. 🔗 LINKS Get my weekly newsletter: https://danmall.com/newsletter/ Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danmall Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmallteaches/

A Dinner with Dan Mall at RenderATL 2024, presented by Omlet

A 4-course dinner at Michelin-starred Atlas in Atlanta for design system enthusiasts during the RenderATL 2024 conference. Proudly presented by Omlet (https://omlet.dev/), which provides component analytics and insights to help you drive design system adoption. Learn more about design systems in my online course: https://designsystem.university/courses/design-systems-101 🔗 LINKS Buy my “Design Systems in 90 Days” workbook: https://designsystem.university/courses/design-system-in-90-days Enroll in my free “Make Design Systems People Want to Use” course: https://designsystem.university/co

The Struggles & Triumphs of Creating a Design System Practice

Learn more about design systems in a brand new book by Dan Mall called “Design That Scales: Creating a Sustainable Design System Practice!” https://designthatscales.com/ Design systems realize extraordinary value when they’re an established practice within an organization, but that’s a status few teams achieve. Watch the recording of this free event, moderated by Design System University founder Dan Mall facilitating a conversation between Malika Chatlapalli (Senior Product Designer, Obama Foundation), Ayisha Chowdhury (Front-End Developer, Scholastic), and David Preston (Senior Brand Designe

What would you pay for design system training?

I’ve been quietly working on a monster of a new #designsystems course, and it’s almost done. I’m aiming to launch it at the beginning of the new year. It’s 80 separate modules, and over 10 hours of videos to watch. Don’t know how to make a #designsystem in Figma? This course will teach you how from scratch… no prior Figma experience needed. Don’t know how to make a #designsystem in code? This course will teach you how from scratch… no prior coding experience needed. I want everyone who wants to learn more about design systems to be able to do so, no matter how much you know or don’t know