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Ask HN: Side projects to generate leads for mobile app projects?

2 points by npankaj ↗ HN
I run a mobile app agency, sales is always challenging. It's difficult to get leads about projects. People suggested that I try paid lead services - I didn't and it is actually 0% effective.

I have come to realize that cold emailing doesn't work. Also the work that our agency has got till now has all been through client references and from personal network. I do keep tapping these for leads but they are not very frequent.

I came across few strategies where the agency works on few side projects which can generate leads. A good example is by crew.co - they've create two such side projects:

1. How Much To Make An App - http://howmuchtomakeanapp.com/ 2. How to Build an Online Business - https://crew.co/how-to-build-an-online-business/

I am leaning to spend time building such a project. Could anyone recommend any similar ideas for such side projects?

Thanks!

21 comments

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npankaj
Why doesn't anyone comment on my posts :(
dang
Your previous two submissions probably weren't interesting enough—they read more like requests for favors. People come to HN to gratify their intellectual curiosity (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html), so you need to offer them something in that spirit. This one does a much better job of that!
brudgers
Sales is challenging for every business. If all your work has come through client references and personal networks, talking with clients and references is likely to be a fruitful path to more work.

Well established and known consultants may occasionally get work solely off their internet presence. But mostly their websites support their other marketing channels: their websites provide more information to potential clients that have heard of the consultant by other means (not via Google SEO'd search).

Good luck.

npankaj
Thanks for replying.

> If all your work has come through client references and > personal networks, talking with clients and references is > likely to be a fruitful path to more work.

I do that already. I talk to my past clients frequently - I do believe that they would recommend me whenever they get an opportunity - they've done so in the past. But it looks like I'm facing a dry spell right now for about last 2 months - which is a really long time for me. I think I'm wasting my time :-/

That is why I think building side projects which generate leads for me can be productive. Do you have any creative ideas for my side projects? I can build mobile apps and web apps.

brudgers
My advice is to identify potential clients and cold call even though cold calling is harder than doing something less effective. One way I've heard to make dealing with the rejection it entails easier is to measure the number of rejections rather than the number of leads.

In terms of what to build, build something that solves someone else's problem. Essentially, build a product. 'How much does an app cost' websites don't do that because they're focused on solving your problem (getting clients) rather than the clients' problems in their business domains.

To put it another way, build something that shows people that you have the skill and knowledge to solve one of their business problems rather than building something that generates leads.

npankaj
Thanks for the reply. I'll try to keep doing cold emailing, though sometimes I feel that I'm just emailing a wall who never replies. I've read tons of books and courses on how to write best emails and I do follow them - it's just that clients already have a dev team or they are not looking to outsource at that point of time - which boils down to unresponsiveness.

'How much does an app cost' websites do solve a problem - they give the customer instant quote or estimate for their app. And it does also solve the 'getting clients' problem.

Ideally, I want to do something that's a win - win for both.

brudgers
I am not advocating cold emailing. I am advocating cold calling with a phone or in person.
npankaj
Ok, I've never actually done cold calling. I don't like being on the receiving end of cold calls - so I figure others wouldn't like it either. But in person would be much better.
brudgers
People usually do not like it, that's what makes it hard work. It's also more effective because it allows collecting more intelligence. The decision maker's personal assistant knows something about the company and can provide valuable insight to the organization and its pain points. The receptionist knows the org chart.
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soulchild37
Originally I did http://canyoumakeanappfor.me/ as satire and surprisingly it brought me few freelance small task from other developers who want to divide some smaller task to others.
npankaj
Thanks for sharing. How exactly did this bring your freelance tasks? I mean you do not have any of your contact info on that page - so how would leads be generated?

Another follow up regarding this, did you market this page? If yes, on what channels and did you get a good response?

I do like the domain that you choose and the satire.

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farm_code
Develop a prototype app for your targeted customer. We developed prototype android app with data in JSON included in apk. We showed it to prospective clients and landed project.
npankaj
Thanks for the comment. I try to make my proposals in detail - include designs of the app that we're going to build. I haven't tried the prototype approach - I might try it next time. Just to be clear, you develop the prototype for the client's app, right? You would need access to the client's APIs, etc. which you might not have in a sales phase. I think using mock data is another way around this,

Follow up question, when you develop this prototype - In cases where the app is not very big, doesn't the client think that almost 50% of the work is done and hence may try getting this done in cheap?

farm_code
We hardcoded the data in the JSON. Just show the potential. They may not know the exact requirements for the app. Also showing running app in real phone opens lot of opportunities. My email is in profile. Ping me if you want to chat.
npankaj
Sure, but I didn't find your email id in your profile.