Free 60-Second Quiz

How much money are you
leaving on Bento?

Bento users report 10-20% bounce rates and 90% ghosting. Most are stuck in the volume trap. Find out exactly where you're leaking deals.

Built from 15 years at Criteo, Deel & Autodesk
Your progress 1 of 5
Money left on the table so far: $0/month
Scenario 1 of 5
You open Bento. You see a skincare brand in your niche. You're on the free tier with 20 pitches this month. Every wasted pitch is one less shot at a real deal.
What's the first thing you do?
Check if they work with UGC creators
Look at the brand card flags on Bento
Check their Instagram aesthetic
See if my style matches their feed
Start writing my pitch
Their page looks good enough, I'll just go for it
Check their follower count
Bigger brands = bigger budgets, right?
Correct -- you're ahead of 80% of creators
Signal 1: Check the brand card. If they work with creators, they have a budget, they know how to brief, and they know how to pay. Bonus tip: Add 3-5 creator handles in your niche to Bento's tracking. It surfaces every brand they work with -- instant qualified lead list.
This is costing you
Most creators skip this and pitch blind. Bento flags which brands work with creators. If they don't, there's no budget for you. You just wasted one of your 20 monthly pitches on a brand that was never buying.
~$400/month in wasted pitches
Scenario 2 of 5
The brand works with creators. Good sign. But before you spend 15 minutes writing a custom pitch...
What's the second signal you check?
Are they running paid ads?
Check Bento's ad spend flag or Meta Ad Library
Check their website -- do they look "big enough"?
Professional site = professional budget
I already checked Signal 1, that's enough
They work with creators, I'm good to pitch
Look at what other creators posted for them
Try to figure out their budget from existing content
Correct -- 2 signals confirmed
Signal 2: Ad spend = content budget. Bonus tip: Check Meta Ad Library for free. If the brand is running UGC-style ads, they're actively buying what you make. Some brands have 50+ active creatives running simultaneously.
This is costing you
A brand can "work with creators" but have zero ad budget right now. Checking ad spend takes 10 seconds and tells you if there's an active content budget. Without this signal, you're pitching brands between campaigns with no money to spend.
~$300/month in bad-timing pitches
Scenario 3 of 5
The brand works with creators AND runs ads. 2 of 4 signals confirmed. You're ready to pitch. The email Bento gives you is info@brandname.com.
What do you do?
Send the pitch to info@
It's the only email I have
Find the marketing manager on LinkedIn first
Get a verified decision-maker contact
Skip this brand entirely
No point if I can't find the right person
DM them on Instagram instead
Maybe they'll see it faster
Correct -- 3 signals, you should pitch this brand
Signal 3: One email to the right person beats twenty to generic inboxes. Bonus tip: Bento marks verified contacts. Filter for these ONLY when building outreach lists. A 2-minute LinkedIn check can also find the marketing manager's direct email.
This is costing you AND damaging your domain
Bento users report 10-20% bounce rates sending to info@ addresses. That's not just lost pitches -- it's roasting your email domain. Gmail flags you as spam. Future pitches to good contacts go to junk. Verified contacts get 7x more replies AND protect your sender reputation.
~$500/month in lost replies + damaged email reputation
Scenario 4 of 5
Your filtered pitch worked. The brand replied: "We'd love to work with you! Our budget is $200 for 5 videos + 12 months usage rights."
What do you say?
"That sounds great! Let's do it!"
A deal is a deal, I don't want to lose it
"My rate is $500 per video"
State my price and hold firm
"What's the full scope? Let me put together options."
Ask questions first, then present 3 packages
Decline -- $200 is insulting
I'm worth more than that
You know the 3-Option Menu. Most creators don't.
Ask about full scope, present 3 packages. Middle = your target rate. Brands pick the middle 70% of the time. Bonus tip: Name the options. "Starter," "Growth," "Scale." Named packages feel more professional than numbered tiers. Brands justify "Growth" to their team easier than "Option 2."
This is the most expensive mistake in UGC
I spent 15 years on the brand side at Criteo, Deel, and Autodesk. Our initial offer was never the real budget. We had 30-40% more approved for creators who pushed back with a framework. That $200 deal should have been $800. Most creators never push back.
$600 on THIS deal alone. $3,600+/year.
Scenario 5 of 5
Different brand. You sent a perfect pitch to a verified contact. 3 days pass. No reply.
What do you do?
Wait longer -- they'll reply when they're ready
I don't want to be annoying
Send "Just checking in!"
A quick nudge to remind them
Send a brand-specific concept as a value add
"I put together a quick concept based on your current ads"
Move on to the next brand
They're not interested if they haven't replied
You follow up properly. That puts you in the top 10%.
82% of deals close between follow-ups 2-7. Bonus tip: The Day 7 "walking away" message ("I'll assume timing isn't right") triggers loss aversion. More deals come from this email than you'd expect. Brands bookmark creators who handle rejection professionally.
You're leaving 82% of deals on the table
"Just checking in" is a guilt trip, not a follow-up. And waiting is worse. Most creators quit after one message. The creators closing deals have a 3-step follow-up sequence. The difference between 0 replies and 4 replies is usually just the follow-up.
4-6 lost replies per month
Your Bento Pitching Diagnosis
You're leaving approximately
$0
on the table every month
@explorewithjene
"Went from ghosted to 4 brand replies in one week using the filter."
@Ty__Murph
"Closed $800 on a deal I would have taken for $150 before this."

Your personalized Brand Filter is ready

Based on your answers, I built a custom filter that fixes exactly where you're losing deals. Plus 3 pitch templates better than Bento's paid ones and a follow-up sequence.

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