6 ms·

I am going to be blunt. If you can’t get the people you used to work for to hire you or recommend you to their contacts then you are going to fail. Get on the p

I am going to be blunt. If you can’t get the people you used to work for to hire you or recommend you to their contacts then you are going to fail. Get on the phone to everyone you have ever worked for (assuming you left a good impression) and chase those leads.

ghoshbishakh 6y ago
Our existing client is very happy with our quality of service. However we never approached them directly about referring or providing us leads. Show we do that?
- spiderfarmer 6y ago
  Call them.
- barry-cotter 6y ago
  You should ask for referrals and you should also ask if you can use them as a case study for your website. After referrals and case studies you should probably divide your time between sales calls, cold emails and content marketing, i.e. white papers on technical topics, blog posts, short videos on your topic of expertise. Better badly produced videos that a potential customer can find than planned well produced ones they can’t find. If you’re confident enough in your skills as a trainer giving classes/courses in person is a wonderful way to build a name and helps a great deal with the book. It is very good to have a book you authored on the topic, even if it is a slim book. Slim books can be the basis for expensive courses, which both make money and serve as advertising.
cryptica 6y ago
Exactly. For the past decade, we have been in a declining economy with no upward mobility for individuals. So anyone who has money now already has an existing network of suppliers to keep their business running smoothly. They don't need new suppliers. Those who have money by now don't need your expertise. If you don't have connections by now, you have no chance. The game of capitalism is over and the results are in. If you're a billionaire, congrats, you won the game! If you don't have your own successful business, you lost the game!
- ghoshbishakh 6y ago
  The existing big players have all the customers. But the reason for that in this niche is the clients are hospitals, clinics etc., who are not always willing to search for better and affordable alternatives than what everyone around them is using.
  - cryptica 6y ago
    That's the reality in every industry right now. The financial structures and power structures have interlocked. Companies will use inferior products because their business relationships are not based on merit but on personal connections between company directors. Companies everywhere are using inferior products and inferior processes. It's obvious even in academia. Social networking is the only force which drives business nowadays. Social networks are not based on skills, they're based on kin selection. If you want to get business from psychopaths, you need to be a psychopath (or act like one). Faking psychopathy worked for me. My bosses didn't like me for years when I was a nice guy trying to make things better, never promoted me then one day I blew up and quit the company in a really bad way which probably scared the crap out of them, then they ended up indirectly helping me with my next venture. Maybe they did it out of fear but it worked. It's not about value creation, it's about being an asshole. Assholes respect assholes.
    - tweetle_beetle 6y ago
      It sounds like you are talking about the present as being the peak of "it's who you know". But has this ever not been true? I feel like what you are describing could easily apply to hundreds if not thousands of years of business history (admittedly not necessarily across all cultures).
    - xnyan 6y ago
      In my observations of cutthroat corporate politics, I’ve seen that assholes have do have real powers, but as with many strong emotional features it leaves one more vulnerable to manipulation. Real assholes are real predicable, that works out ok if you are already in a position of power or are up against others not trying to play the game, but not if you are trying to maintain or gain on other psychopath types.

ghoshbishakh 6y ago

Our existing client is very happy with our quality of service. However we never approached them directly about referring or providing us leads. Show we do that?

spiderfarmer 6y ago
Call them.
barry-cotter 6y ago
You should ask for referrals and you should also ask if you can use them as a case study for your website. After referrals and case studies you should probably divide your time between sales calls, cold emails and content marketing, i.e. white papers on technical topics, blog posts, short videos on your topic of expertise. Better badly produced videos that a potential customer can find than planned well produced ones they can’t find. If you’re confident enough in your skills as a trainer giving classes/courses in person is a wonderful way to build a name and helps a great deal with the book. It is very good to have a book you authored on the topic, even if it is a slim book. Slim books can be the basis for expensive courses, which both make money and serve as advertising.

cryptica 6y ago

Exactly. For the past decade, we have been in a declining economy with no upward mobility for individuals. So anyone who has money now already has an existing network of suppliers to keep their business running smoothly. They don't need new suppliers. Those who have money by now don't need your expertise. If you don't have connections by now, you have no chance. The game of capitalism is over and the results are in. If you're a billionaire, congrats, you won the game! If you don't have your own successful business, you lost the game!

ghoshbishakh 6y ago
The existing big players have all the customers. But the reason for that in this niche is the clients are hospitals, clinics etc., who are not always willing to search for better and affordable alternatives than what everyone around them is using.
- cryptica 6y ago
  That's the reality in every industry right now. The financial structures and power structures have interlocked. Companies will use inferior products because their business relationships are not based on merit but on personal connections between company directors. Companies everywhere are using inferior products and inferior processes. It's obvious even in academia. Social networking is the only force which drives business nowadays. Social networks are not based on skills, they're based on kin selection. If you want to get business from psychopaths, you need to be a psychopath (or act like one). Faking psychopathy worked for me. My bosses didn't like me for years when I was a nice guy trying to make things better, never promoted me then one day I blew up and quit the company in a really bad way which probably scared the crap out of them, then they ended up indirectly helping me with my next venture. Maybe they did it out of fear but it worked. It's not about value creation, it's about being an asshole. Assholes respect assholes.
  - tweetle_beetle 6y ago
    It sounds like you are talking about the present as being the peak of "it's who you know". But has this ever not been true? I feel like what you are describing could easily apply to hundreds if not thousands of years of business history (admittedly not necessarily across all cultures).
  - xnyan 6y ago
    In my observations of cutthroat corporate politics, I’ve seen that assholes have do have real powers, but as with many strong emotional features it leaves one more vulnerable to manipulation. Real assholes are real predicable, that works out ok if you are already in a position of power or are up against others not trying to play the game, but not if you are trying to maintain or gain on other psychopath types.