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How do you do #2? Do you have a solution in mind and then look for customers or is it a matter of asking people what their problems are or a bit of both? Do you
by gcheong 16y ago
How do you do #2? Do you have a solution in mind and then look for customers or is it a matter of asking people what their problems are or a bit of both? Do you do cold calls?
- edw519 16y agoHow do I find customers? I just talk to people. All the time. I allow my inquisitive nature to take over. But most importantly, I really care. A mentor of mine once told me that lots of people need what we provide, so it's our responsibility to find them and see what we can do to help. If I'm in someone's business (even as a retail customer), I often ask to watch as they enter data into their customer facing system. This invariably leads to some discussion and who knows what else. I attend events and network regularly, even if it's just staying in touch with acquaintances and asking what others are up to. Email works really well for this. I don't have a solution in mind because I want to listen to the other's problems first. If something I have written (generally small business or e-commerce) sounds close to what can help them, I may go down that path. Anything else, I pass, but gladly provide a referral to someone who can help, if I know of any. I don't cold call in the pure sense. That's just not my nature. If I ever got good at that, then I wouldn't need to be a programmer, I'd just sell someone else's product. I found an old semi-related post of mine that may also be helpful: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=182400 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=182400
- kristiandupont 16y agoSteven Blank and Eric Ries talk about a "customer development process" - you might want to look that up. I am going through it myself these days and it feels like they are talking directly to me.