How I land a meeting with any target customer I want!

I know a lot of people who are great at building innovative products, but that’s not enough. You need to be able to sell it. But before you can sell it, you need to know if what you are building is actually worth building.

…the most important tasks for an early stage company are to write code and talk to users. — YC’s Essential Startup Advice

So you need to have conversations with your target customers, lots and lots of conversations and figure out their pain points, needs, desires, what’s nice to have and what’s essential that they can’t live without. And keep building your product as you go.

How to reach out?

Ideally, you should start talking to customers before you even start writing any code. The question is: Well, how do you reach out to your target customers?

You can post about it on Facebook Groups, Reddit, Discord Channels, Forums BUT you need to have deep intimate 1-to-1 conversations with your users. So you can really make them open up and talk about their problems.

I usually use LinkedIn because the profiles are searchable and filterable, but you should be able to use this on the platform of your choice.

My 3 message hack!

Here is a simple hack I use to land a meeting with any target customer type I want in only 3 simple messages:

Message 1: “Hey <customer name>! This is <my name> , <job role> at <company>. Just came across your profile, would be great to pick your brain for 15 mins max for some advice for a product that I am working on in <subject>”

Why does this work?

You are introducing yourself in a semi-professional/semi-casual way. No long formal introductions, no hint of selling anything. You show that you are on the same level as them subtly. You are asking for advice, people like to give advice and teach others about their hard-earned knowledge. (Look at me trying to teach you). Also, it's important that you don’t give too much detail about what you are building. If you can describe it in 3 words, that’s enough. Any detailed information will likely put them off, you need to let the mystery summon their human nature of curiosity, and you’re more likely to get a yes.

NOTE: Your meetings will likely to well above 15 minutes but this lie is necessary to make them climb the first step of the “yes” ladder. Once in conversation, if you are really listening to their problems and showing that you’re understanding their needs (I’ll explain that in a bit how to do that), people generally don’t mind and even enjoy the conversations. My conversations are usually 15–30 minute long but sometimes go on for an hour!

Message 2: “Thanks for connecting. Are you free for a quick call this week?”

Why does this work?

Ask for a meeting as soon as they accept your connection request. No need to give any further details, unless they ask specifically. You will have plenty of time to explain what you are doing in the meeting but now is the time to keep it short and move fast before their enthusiasm to advise you wears off.

Don’t suggest a time just yet. You’re trying to make them reply to you first, so a connection can be established. Otherwise, it will feel like you’re shoving it down their throat, you need to make it feel natural and smooth.

Message 3: “Does <date> at <time> work? If you can provide me with your email, I’ll send you a calendar invitation.”

Why does this work?

Pick a time that you think would be convenient for first them and then for you. If you know who you are talking to you, you likely have an idea about their schedules.

Ask for the email straight away for two reasons:

1. You want to instantly lock it down in the calendar and send them an invitation, so there is less chance of them saying no. They will have this in their minds from now on.
2. Try not to let the messages be more than 3. This is not a forum. You need to keep the chat conversation to a minimum, to let the “unknowing” hold up, to make your impression concise yet strong, and not waste your time (and theirs).

How many people should I contact?

It depends on who is your target customer type. If it's someone who is comfortable talking to people, for example, a job interviewer, less. But for the shy types say a cliché programmer, many. Do it in bulk, and you will land a few customer calls every single working day of the week.

I usually copy these messages in a notepad as a template and then Copy/Paste is my best friend. I can contact up to 100 people in a 15-minute timeframe!

Things to remember

1. If they ask to explain what do you want to talk about, explain it. But always, ask for advice. Never even hint that they are your target customer type until it becomes obvious. At this point, they will already be asking you about pricing, product details, etc.
2. In such cases as above, messages can become longer than 3. Always end every message with a question to make sure that the conversation keeps flowing. End it with a period and your conversation will be dead. Once a conversation is dead, you can’t bring it back with the same momentum.
3. Imagine yourself on the other side, and how you will respond to the message to gauge if your message is good enough or not.
4. Never schedule a meeting after more than 2 days. Today is too early, tomorrow is best, the day after is bit of a drag. Afterwards, there is a high chance of them dropping off. Why? Momentum breaks and enthusiasm wears off.

I have got a meeting! What now?

Amazing! Now you need to make sure that you’re confident and well-prepared to have a deep conversation and ask all the important questions you have on your mind. Most people make a list of points that they want to talk to the target customer about. You can write them in a notepad or have a Google Doc open on the other screen. But to have a truly empathetic conversation, you need to make sure you maintain eye contact and show that you’re listening to your customer.

That’s tricky! So I have built an app that lets you do exactly that. Say hello to UltraNote!

UltraNote is a semi-transparent notebook that opens on the side of your screen. It lets to write your bullet points in advance, so you can’t talk to your customers while without needing to look away from your screen. It works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

You can drag, resize, minimize it and adjust the transparency to suit your comfort. It's available as a Chrome Extension or a MacOS app. You can download it today at: https://ultranote.co

Here is a quick demo: