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Comment by neworbit | Hacker News Reader

Hundred, hell, I got four. (Not four hundred, four, trust me it's plenty - we sell Big Solutions Contracts.)

Start with your current connections.

Attend the conferences of the industry you're in. Ideally, present/speak at them.

Blog about solutions for your industry if you can do it without coming across as spammy.

Keep an eye out for articles/blogs/etc on problems that your offering solves. Follow up with people directly about that and/or post to the blogs saying "we do this and here's why we're great". (If you do this, absolutely do disclose that you're self promoting.)

Find someone with industry experience and/or a rolodex. Pay them a decent commission.

Find the right search terms to drive people to your site and make sure you have a clear description of the problem the customer is facing, with simple glossy answers for how you can help them fix it.

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Suppose you aren't directly in that industry...how do you do all of the above ?

For instance, in my case, I am trying to reach ad agencies, marketing firms, marketing agencies, etc.

But I am not 'very intimate' with that industry.

Blogging about the solutions for the industry, that makes sense...just trying to get more answers that relate to my specific situation (i.e. trying to break into an industry that I didn't necessarily come out of).

Assume I have no connections to any of the agencies I want to reach. How do I get to them ?

Thanks.

For instance, in my case, I am trying to reach ad agencies, marketing firms, marketing agencies, etc. But I am not 'very intimate' with that industry.

Well, in that case, you picked a kind of odd market, didn't you?

If you don't already have a very good idea of how to get intimate with at least one ad agency, you're barking up the wrong tree. If you've got no connections to any of the agencies you want to reach, what makes you think you know their problems well enough to have something to offer them?

Because I used to work with people that worked with ad agencies all the time. They always used to complain to me about this specific problem.

It was something I had to deal with, A LOT.

But I never dealt with the ad agencies directly. I do know that many of them have my particular problem.

I have also spoken to a few people that work at various agencies and they have confirmed that this a problem. But those leads haven't worked out.

Because I used to work with people that worked with ad agencies all the time.

There you go. Talk to those people, and have them set up some introductions.

I have also spoken to a few people that work at various agencies and they have confirmed that this a problem. But those leads haven't worked out.

But even if those leads don't "work out" in terms of sales, they should definitely be a source of information and contacts in terms of setting up the next prospect. The people who liked your solution but for whatever reason choose not to buy it can be a very valuable resource.

I have tried that route, but for a variety of reasons they never lead anywhere (as in, never got the referrals).

Mainly because my old colleagues are very busy, and disorganized.

But you know how people are, they always say they will refer you (and probably do have the best of intentions) but it just never works out.

So my network is pretty much tapped out. Trying to get beyond the network on my own...that's the tricky part.

I'm not speaking purely about referrals. I'm talking about learning from your would-be-but-not-now-customers how their acquisition process actually works. How do they find out about solutions? Are there trade journals they read? Conferences they go to? Blogs they follow?

In other words, you say "Bob, I understand that you're not interested in buying my solution now-- that's fine. But if I wanted to reach a dozen more guys in your position, what would be the best way to do it?"

Great advice. Never thought about that.

Thanks for that tip.

If it is important or interesting enough (or you are important or interesting enough) you will get traction. On average it takes at least 6 calls to reach someone. Most sales people give up after 1 or 2 tries. You must keep at it.

and never tell the screeners anything its a massive waste of time (better to just make another call) and closes more doors than it opens.

If you're chasing big accounts, you're going to have to talk to the exec asst--thats different.

Cold calling. It's boring. Some people are jerks. Try and get the person you are talking to remember when they were doing shit work getting their agency started.

Go to the library and ask the librarian to show you how to use reference usa (or email me: actionbrandon@gmail.com). You can search a massive database (for free) and get your hands on leads by city/zip/state and type of business, contact level, business size, and so on. Google "SIC codes" and find the code for the type of industry you want to target and filter reference that way. I think ad agencies are 7311, but I may be wrong.

Good luck

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