THE ROSTER METHOD

The Complete Talent Management System

@imalexgunnar · OVO Talent

100M+
Follower Reach
42M
Views (Celsius)
#1
AE / 364 Reps
$0
Startup Cost

How I Went From Selling Stress Balls at Age 12

To Managing Creators for Nike & Gymshark

And how you can build the same thing — starting with $0, zero experience, and zero connections.

Here's What We're Covering

Phase 1

Build Your Foundation

Phase 2

Find Your Creators

Phase 3

Sign & Onboard

Phase 4

Land Brand Deals

Phase 5

Execute & Compound

Phase 6

Scale to Six Figures

I'm giving you the entire system. For free. Right now.

Phase 1

Build Your Foundation

"Most people skip this. That's why most people fail."

Pick Your Category

Choose ONE

Fitness · Beauty · Gaming · Tech · Food · Finance

I started with fitness because Colby was my first creator.

Why ONE?

Passion = you outwork generalists. You'll know the creators, the brands, and the trends better than anyone.

Your Credibility Stack

☐ Instagram bio → "Talent Manager"
☐ LinkedIn → "Founder, [Your Agency]"
☐ Portfolio deck (even with zero clients)
☐ Professional email domain
☐ Media kit template (Canva)
☐ Contract template (lawyer-reviewed)

People Google you before they respond to your DM.
Make sure they find a professional.

Commission Structure

Standard

20%

of every deal value

Sliding Scale

20% under $5K
15% over $10K

Retainer

$500-2K/mo
per creator

The Gymshark deal for Colby? Yearly six figures. 20% recurring.

The MVO — The Sentence That Started OVO

"I will find and close brand deals for your content, taking 20% of each deal. Zero upfront cost."

That's what I said to Colby. He said yes. The Gymshark deal followed.

$0 to start. No product. No inventory. Just relationships and emails.

✅ Phase 1 Complete — Niche chosen, credibility built, pricing set, legal ready

Phase 2

Find Your Creators

"200 million creators. ~10,000 managers. 20,000:1 ratio."

Creator Tier System

Nano (1-10K)

Easy to sign, small deals. Good for practice.

Micro (10-100K) ★ START HERE

Sweet spot. They NEED you. $500-5K per deal. Most are unmanaged.

Mid (100K-500K)

Real money. $5-25K per deal. Sign after you have 2-3 micros.

Macro (500K+)

Premium. $25-100K+ per deal. Need a track record first.

Colby had ~50K followers when we started.

20-Minute Research Process

1. Engagement rate — likes ÷ followers. 3%+ good, 5%+ great
2. Consistency — posting 3+ times per week?
3. Brand fit — would Nike want this creator?
4. Growth — gaining followers or plateauing?
5. Current management — check bio for "mgmt" email → move on
6. Red flags — bought followers? Controversial? Inactive?

The 4-Part Creator DM

1. PERSONALIZED HOOK
"Hey [name], your [specific video] was crazy — the [detail] had me hooked."

2. CREDIBILITY DROP
"I run OVO Talent — we work with brands like Gymshark and Celsius."

3. VALUE-FIRST OFFER
"I have 3 brand contacts in [niche] looking for creators right now."

4. SOFT CLOSE
"Open to a 15-min chat? Zero pressure."

8 DM script variations in the program

The Pipeline Math

50 researched 30 DMs 15 replies 5 calls 3 signed

3 creators on your roster. 30 days. From scratch.

Repeat monthly. 90 days = a real agency.

Phase 3

Sign & Onboard

"Don't sell management. Sell a deal."

The Signing Secret

Instead of saying:

"I'd love to manage your brand deals"

Say:

"I have a contact at Nike looking for fitness creators.
Can I pitch you to them?"

You're not asking to be hired. You're offering them money.

The Signing Call — 22 Minutes

Rapport (5 min)

"What got you into creating?" "What's your dream brand deal?" Just listen.

Diagnose (10 min)

"What's holding you back from brand deals?" Let them tell you the problem you're about to solve.

Prescribe (5 min)

"Here's my 30-day plan: build your media kit, pitch 10 brands, get you on 2-3 calls."

Close (2 min)

"Want me to start this week?"

No hard sell. They ask YOU.

First 7 Days Onboarding

Day 1 — Welcome call. Get all social logins + analytics. Set expectations.
Day 2-3 — Full content audit. Top 10 posts. Unique value proposition.
Day 4-5 — Build their media kit. Stats, demographics, rate card.
Day 6-7 — 10 target brands identified. 3 pitches sent.

"This person works harder for me than anyone I've ever hired."
That feeling = retention forever.

Contract: The $120K Lesson

"I lost $120K when an international client refused to pay. Settled through courts. Now every contract is lawyer-reviewed."

Commission: 15-20% · Payment: 14 days · Duration: 6-12 months
Sunset clause: earn 3-6 months AFTER they leave
Exclusivity by category · 30-day termination notice

Full lawyer-reviewed template in the program

Phase 4

Land Brand Deals

"One email. Three lines. $40,000 Gymshark deal."

How Brand Budgets Work

40% — Paid Ads
25% — Influencer Marketing ← YOU'RE HERE
20% — Events & PR
15% — Content Production

$1M budget × 25% = $250K ÷ 12 = ~$20K/month for your creators

They HAVE the money. They're looking to spend it.
Find the Marketing Manager or Partnerships Manager on LinkedIn.

The 3-Line Email

This closed the $40K Gymshark deal

Subject: [Creator Name] + one metric

Body: One sentence about audience overlap

Close: Link to media kit

Three lines. $40,000.

12 email templates + the actual Gymshark email in the program

Rate Card Formula

Followers × Engagement × Niche Multiplier

100K × 4% × 1.5x (fitness) = $6,000 per post

Niche Multipliers

Finance: 2.0x · Tech: 1.8x · Fitness: 1.5x · Beauty: 1.2x · Comedy: 0.8x

Deal Types

One-off: 1x · 3-pack: 2.5x · Monthly: 3x · Ambassador: 10-15x

14 Variables Beyond Price

Rate · Usage rights · Exclusivity · Deliverables · Revisions · Timeline · Content ownership · Whitelisting · Approval process · Payment terms · Kill fee · Performance bonuses · Cross-platform rights · Affiliate commission

Brand says "too expensive"?

Don't lower the rate. Remove usage rights.

Price stays. Scope changes.

Phase 5

Execute & Compound

"85% of revenue comes from repeat brands."

Campaign Timeline

Day 1-3 Brief → review with creator
Day 4-7 Ideation + concept approval
Day 8-14 Creator films content
Day 15-17 Brand review + revisions
Day 21 CONTENT GOES LIVE 🚀
Day 28 Performance report
Day 65 Payment received (Net 30)

65 days from brief to payment. Run multiple = consistent income.

The Celsius Case Study

42,000,000

views on one campaign

That one number opened 10+ brand doors.

After 3 case studies, deals come to YOU.
That's the inflection point.

Phase 6

Scale to Six Figures

"This is multiplication, not motivation."

The Math

Month 3: 3 × 1 × $3K × 20% = $1,800/mo

Month 6: 5 × 2 × $5K × 20% = $10,000/mo

Month 10: 8 × 2 × $5K × 20% = $16,000/mo

Year 2: 15 × 2 × $8K × 20% = $48,000/mo

Plus sunset clauses that compound forever.

The 90-Day Attack Plan

Days 1-30

☐ Credibility stack
☐ 50 creators researched
☐ 30 DMs sent
☐ First creator signed

Days 31-60

☐ 3 creators signed
☐ Media kits built
☐ 20 brand pitches
☐ First brand meeting

Days 61-90

☐ First deal CLOSED
☐ First commission
☐ 5+ active convos
☐ VA hired

90 days. $0 startup. Just relationships and emails.

The 10 Fatal Mistakes

(I made 7 of these)

1. Signing creators you don't believe in

2. Undercharging because you're "new"

3. No sunset clause — $120K lesson

4. Pitching without a media kit

5. Ghosting creators between deals

6. Too many niches at once

7. Not tracking your pipeline

8. Comparing to established agencies

9. Waiting until you're "ready"

10. Quitting after 10 no's

You Now Have the
Entire System.

"I've sat in the same room as people way more talented than me and simply outlasted them."

What's in The Roster Method

The actual Gymshark pitch email ($40K deal)

8 DM script variations (word-for-word)

12 brand pitch templates (40%+ open rate)

Negotiation cheat sheet (14 variables)

Rate card calculator + deal tracker

Lawyer-reviewed contract template

49-lesson video course

Weekly LIVE coaching calls

Private community

Certified Talent Director™ credential

Comment "ROSTER" below

and I'll DM you the brand pitch email template

@imalexgunnar

Organic leads close at 14.6%. You're already warmer than 99%.