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355 points rasulkireev | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.204s | source

Hey HN,

I am a solo founder that just finished writing code for my project (MVP) and am ready to find clients.

- for the sake of the question, my clients will be small physical businesses. Think, Family Doctor's Office, Local Cafe, Small barber, etc.

I will be developing a blog for SEO purposes and doing other things to promote my business online. However, I believe the key to success here will be "Cold Sales". I have never done that before. So, if you could recommend a book, a blog post, other online resources, or you just have a random advice that I could learn from, I would be very thankful.

Suffice it to say I will be starting out ASAP, even though I don't know anything. I believe practice is the best teacher. However, if there are any resources that could help me get up and running quicker that would be awesome. Thanks a ton in advance.

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BlueTie ◴[] No.33225164[source]
Hi there - one of the few pro sellers on HN here.

You're planning on prospecting into one of the most rejection-heavy domains out there with small physical business. These people get dozens of calls per day from companies they've never heard of - many of whom are trying to rip them off - and even the best ones (Groupon, Yelp, google ads, etc.) are basically just rent-seeking. Oh, and most have gatekeepers who don't care the slightest bit about your pitch.

Because of that I'd stay away from all this "smile and dial" advice. You'll have no chance. Go out there and hit the pavement and meet these people at their establishments at off hours. If you catch the owner in there at a good time - do your best to inform them of your products benefits and come up with a really good offer to get started (something that loses you money and time). Free Trial, free month of services, whatever makes sense based on the context of your business. The goal is NOT to make money or build a book of business at this point - it's to get a person happy with your software to sell to later.

If the owner is too busy or whatever - have some stuff printed out for them to read later that you can drop off. Ideally with a small gift (coffee, food, candy, etc.) and come back in a few weeks to see if you catch them at a better time (again with a gift, until they talk).

A solid entry level book would be Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount.

Good Luck.

*edit to fix book name

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MollyRealized ◴[] No.33227891[source]
As someone who as an admin was a gatekeeper to an individual with greater deciding power, I'll underscore the power of the small gift. A bit of candy, a plate of cookies, etc. did stick you in my mind.
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1letterunixname ◴[] No.33228006[source]
Reciprocity is powerful. Be nice, generous, and act as grandma would've wanted mostly. Gratitude. Listening. And avoiding creating situations of patronizing flattery or bribery. Professional = being cool. Winternals (before being acquired by Microsoft) sent me a calendar pages / family photos flip holder. It was definitely more thoughtful than a coffee mug or generic swag.

That's another thing: swag. Make it awesome (hopefully not overpriced) and desirable because it's a statement about the venture. Like branded pens that use Mont Blanc refills.

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fortysixdegrees ◴[] No.33230139[source]
Just remember that is as far as I know a US only thing.

You'll be embarrassing yourself in most western countries with the swag/gifts approach.

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1. 1letterunixname ◴[] No.33230231[source]
Vendors typically send swag like coffee mugs, T-shirt, or cookies around the holidays to their valued customers. Nothing much but it's obviously an opportunity to gently ping the customer mid sales cycle. In the US, vendors typically take prospective customers (leads) out to above-average meals for business meetings. It's transparent but both the sales person and the prospect are getting a treat on the vendor's client entertainment budget. Would you say "no" out of rigid ethical purity or go along and still insist on more features, more due-diligence, more demos, and lower pricing?