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Ask HN: How to get important people to talk to me?

6 points by k33n ↗ HN
I've been working for a small company developing a Web app for the past 6 months or so, and before they hired me, I was working on it by myself. They've lost interest in funding it, partially due to financial reasons, but I'm still really excited about the product which is very close to being functionally complete.

Now that I've lost my job with this company, I plan to keep working on this product until it's done, but I feel that a major part of ensuring its success is to speak to business decision makers in my metro area (Atlanta) to get as much feedback as possible. I'd like to know if they'd buy it, and if not, their reasons. I'm willing to make whatever changes will make it more appealing to my potential customers, which are online advertising firms.

I guess my question is, how should I go about getting these people to agree to meet with me? Should I join local organizations of which they are likely to be a part? Should I just call their companies directly and come right out and ask for a meeting? Maybe it's as simple as that, but I suspect it might not be.

4 comments

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knipknap
"How to make friends and influence people" should be mandatory literature for everybody who interacts with people as part of his job.
JayNeely
If you know who they are, specifically, just call them or e-mail them. Say something along the lines of:

"Hi [their name], you don't know me but I came across your name on [LinkedIn / their site / industry site], and was impressed by [whatever made you want to call them]. I was hoping to get your advice on a service I'm creating for online ad agencies, would you be interested in meeting up and chatting about the industry? I'd be happy to take you out to lunch sometime this week."

Be prepared to answer follow-up questions about the kind of service you're building. At the meeting, I wouldn't ask if they'd buy it, and if they say no, ask what their reasons are (it comes off as defensive, and potentially overbearing). I'd discuss the service, then ask first: "Are there any problems you see with my sales strategy? Any reasons an agency like yours wouldn't purchase it?"

I'd also ask what the biggest selling points they see are, and what they think you could do to make it even more marketable (note that the answers to this question are often not actually in your best interest).