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If you aren't mentioning your idea or that you are working on something, what is the subject of the call? I think I'm not understanding how a cold call like thi

If you aren't mentioning your idea or that you are working on something, what is the subject of the call? I think I'm not understanding how a cold call like this would work.

cercatrova 9y ago
When you're validating an idea, you don't want to lead people on and get vacuous "yes"es, as in if I ask someone if they like my idea, they will most likely say yes, for one of three reasons: 1) they want to appease me, especially if they're family or friends 2) they like the idea in their minds but that may not be exactly what you have in mind 3) their idea is the same as in your mind, but they don't have the propensity to buy. You want to listen to what their true needs are instead of shoehorning your product into their problem. You want to build the product from the ground up so to speak. Sometimes, you guess their needs completely right and your product is exactly what they're looking for. However, this is extremely rare because the odds that ex nihilo you got something that fits their needs exactly is 1/infinity. This does not mean that you cannot tweak your existing product to fit their needs, but it is simply better for both you (no prior sunk cost) and the customer (can get something that actually solves their problems) in the long term.
- revicon 9y ago
  yes, the goal behind what you are trying to accomplish makes sense. I think I'm still not understanding how you are making a cold call, over the phone, to a complete stranger, and somehow getting them to start talking about problems they may have without there being a purpose (from their point of view) to why they're talking to you in the first place.
  - cercatrova 9y ago
    I usually tell them that I'm doing research in the field and need first hand interviews, or something similar. If you can find a story or reason that is plausibly true about why you want to interview them, then that works as well.

If you aren't mentioning your idea or that you are working on something, what is the subject of the call? I think I'm not understanding how a cold call like this would work.

cercatrova 9y ago

When you're validating an idea, you don't want to lead people on and get vacuous "yes"es, as in if I ask someone if they like my idea, they will most likely say yes, for one of three reasons: 1) they want to appease me, especially if they're family or friends 2) they like the idea in their minds but that may not be exactly what you have in mind 3) their idea is the same as in your mind, but they don't have the propensity to buy. You want to listen to what their true needs are instead of shoehorning your product into their problem. You want to build the product from the ground up so to speak. Sometimes, you guess their needs completely right and your product is exactly what they're looking for. However, this is extremely rare because the odds that ex nihilo you got something that fits their needs exactly is 1/infinity. This does not mean that you cannot tweak your existing product to fit their needs, but it is simply better for both you (no prior sunk cost) and the customer (can get something that actually solves their problems) in the long term.

revicon 9y ago
yes, the goal behind what you are trying to accomplish makes sense. I think I'm still not understanding how you are making a cold call, over the phone, to a complete stranger, and somehow getting them to start talking about problems they may have without there being a purpose (from their point of view) to why they're talking to you in the first place.
- cercatrova 9y ago
  I usually tell them that I'm doing research in the field and need first hand interviews, or something similar. If you can find a story or reason that is plausibly true about why you want to interview them, then that works as well.