[downandout]

I'd be interested to hear what kind of success he has with this approach. Some would see it for what it appears to be. I assume many more would consider it unprofessional at best and begging at worst. I tried a similar approach a while back (pitching services while highlighting a personal financial need) and received overwhelmingly negative responses - around 15:1 negative to positive. Sadly, most people just don't care what you need and seem to be offended if you tell them.