I think you might be surprised at how well cold contacting works. There is no question it is a skill not everyone possesses and, especially with email, there is

I think you might be surprised at how well cold contacting works. There is no question it is a skill not everyone possesses and, especially with email, there is a fine art to being a good seller and sounding spammy. For me, if the email sounds like a product I may be interested in now or think I may be interested in the future I will tend to look at the site at least. If I like what I see I may file it away for later use or possibly forward to someone I know. If I really like what I see I may research the company some more, see if I personally know anyone using their products or if there are any reviews of the product/company. From there I may decide to respond to the email right away or file away for later use. I would say though that on average 8 out of 10 times I will make it to the website to see what the product is. Most good cold emails know you may at least have some relation or use for their product. What does turn me off is a constant barrage of emails or calls trying to force sell me on the product. If I hear from you more than 2 or 3 times and I haven't responded you may get either a nasty response from me to stop calling/emailing or just get a rule created to auto delete your messages. Another good avenue is to check Meetup.com for events in your area. Try to attend as many as you can where you think the audience may be in your target market or at least have contacts within your market. Signup for notifications of upcoming events in your area as well. I have had great success meeting people at random events that I hadn't even thought to attend. Even if you don't get a sale out of the event, making one new contact at each event can pay off huge down the road.