Ben is a machine-learning engineer who sells specialized AI and ML work on Upwork at $200 an hour. The talent was never in question — at that rate, the only thing standing between Ben and a full calendar was the sales motion itself.
Before Earlybird, finding work was a second full-time job. I was good at the work — I just couldn't be first to every posting, every time.
Running inside Ben's own Upwork account, Earlybird ran the entire top of funnel. It learned Ben's niche from a handful of jobs he marked, then surfaced better-fit work faster — no keyword lists. It sent original proposals within 10 minutes of each posting, in Ben's voice and first in the inbox, around the clock. And it replied to every lead in minutes, following up until the call was booked.
From 108 proposals came 17 replies and 2 closed projects worth $26,259 in net revenue — against a proposal spend of roughly $216. That return came while Ben spent his hours on $200/hr model work instead of prospecting.
Now I just open my calendar and close. Earlybird finds the jobs, sends the proposals, and books the calls — I haven't sent a manual bid since June.
12 recurring retainers booked without writing a single cold proposal.
$21,821+ closed across 16 projects from 553 proposals.
A $216 proposal spend returned $26,259 in closed work. Here's exactly what changed when Earlybird took over the top of his funnel.
