The Story

I decided to call as many prospects as I could to learn more about my target market and develop some relationships. Learning the problems is the point of the interviews, even when you start with a set of hypotheses about their problems. I tried a simple call asking for a 10-15 minute interview as someone who had a business idea around solving their problems. I tried to script the interaction. I tried to ask the most important questions while they were on the phone. Most people expected a sales pitch. Even the polite ones checked out before I could get very far.

So I changed tack. Scripts, honesty, and a willing ear for their problems proved ineffective for me. Many people will tell you that prospects love to talk about their problems. They do — once they get to talking. Unfortunately, most people won’t unload their problems on strangers without first developing some level of trust. Smelling like a salesman torpedoes that potential relationship. It was imperative to build some trust up front.

I needed to build the relationship from my end first. I had to offer them value before asking for it. I could offer them education about their business. Delivering useful information to begin the relationship would get more positive responses. Unfortunately, I was cold calling these people in order to get educated. The next best option was one many people are familiar with, but isn’t always used in this context. Give something away for free. The trick was, what could I give them? I don’t yet understand them or their business problems.

I changed the script to something like:

Hi, <name>. I’m Robert. I run <name of blog> about the <industry> and I’m looking to have conversations with people about what they’ve learned running their businesses in <industry>. I’ll use the talk and a tour of your facility to write up a post on you guys and link you up on the blog.

Every person I got on the phone with this pitch said yes. I got so many yeses I had to stop calling people because the scheduled visits were running out too far in the future. I need content for my customer focused blog. They need exposure. This appears to be a great way to start a relationship with prospects. I don’t feel like I’m calling all of these people and simply asking for a favor. Prospects don’t confuse me with a salesman. I’m going to get a lot more information using this approach than I have with past tactics.

There were a few skeptics on the phone that wanted to know what I was getting out of the arrangement. I replied with the truth:

I am working on a business idea around software in <industry>. I am looking to validate a need for software by learning from people in <industry> before I build anything. I don’t have anything to sell. I’d like to know more about <industry> and I’m happy to offer some exposure to people for that much.

Counterpoints

Scale — Customer development does not need to scale well. You only need 10-20 data points at each stage. It could save you months or years of wasted development effort.

Biased response — Compensation can bias people’s responses. This is a real problem, but I’d rather have this to consider than no one to interview. I prefer a bias to needing 10x or 100x as many calls to get interview numbers. Many people use friends and family for early customer development. That can easily lead to bias as well.

No media outlet — There isn’t a reason you can’t put this on a blog that isn’t 100% focused on the niche. There is also no reason you can’t start a WordPress blog about your niche. Many people are happy to have the exposure with or without attached traffic. These posts are also a great way to get relevant back links from the interviewees. Those targeted links are great for SEO purposes.

Conclusion

Wins all around. They get exposure. I get back links, interviews, relationships, and content for my blog(s). It won’t work for every context, but I think it’s a great tool for the tool box. Happy hunting.