The most important thing [for a startup founder]

The top tip "email to create an ice-breaker on the cold call" is very important.

I spent a lot of my professional life fundraising for startups. For 4 years my target was wealthy individuals, capable of donating at least $50k. Last year I founded my startup on the restaurants market and I continue to do a lot of cold calling. So I developed this process (start in (i) if you don't know the name of the decision maker, start in (iii) if you do):

(i) Call to the general contact number and ask for the <job title> of the company. In my case, the keyword is "responsible for the marketing", as restaurants have diverse structure, this could the owner, a manager, the cousin of the owner... Be sure to get the name, even if you can't get the person on the phone.

(ii) Call again with the name. Now you have more chance to get him on the phone. Keep calling until you get. Pitch briefly what you are selling (in one sentence) and what he is gaining with it (in ~five sentences). Ask for a meeting. The most important is ask for a meeting.

(iii) Often you will get a meeting. The same number of times you get a clear "no". But most of times he will ask to send an email. So send an email giving new information about how he can get value from what you are selling. Keep it brief, it is better to give new information, than a deeper explanation about what you said on the phone. The deeper explanation will be on your website, if he is willing to learn more. If you have the decision maker name (and hopefully his email), you can start with this email. As the "ice-breaker" mentioned on OP. Be sure to mention that you are asking for a meeting on the email too.

(iv) Call him in no more than two days after you sent the email. Ask if he got the email and ask for a meeting. Again. By now, if he is still refusing a presential meeting, you probably will never get one. Be prepared to quit on a prospect with no remorse.

This is the basic routine. But in any of these steps you might generate a real conversation (even if you never get to the meeting). And that is when you will learn about your customer, your market, your substitutes, etc.

Also regarding learning, my top tip: write down any Tough Questions you are asked. With time (and a lot of try and error) you will learn the best answers. Then you write your Sales FAQ. A very important document to read and refresh the memory before any sales call or meeting.

It may seems obvious, but it is extremely hard to accomplish. It is easy to convince yourself that you are so busy building other things (product, company culture, brand, marketing strategy, vision, etc.) and you forget to talk with the customers.

Being busy with day-to-day activities is a major reason why large companies fail to innovate.

Always good to get a reminder to talk with the customers.

Gary Vaynerchuk did a cool video demonstrating this principle of picking up the phone a couple of years back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgvjT6W31hM

This advice also applies to business development, fundraising, and generally closing deals. It's easy to stew and agonize over an email draft for days and even easier for the recipient to ignore or blow past your key message once you've sent it. Just pick up the damn phone and close the deal.

This is just a re-hash of "get out of the building." Good advice, but still, nothing new...

Great idea. Pls keep the posts coming. Sometimes certain things need to be restated once in a while.