Thinking of becoming the next Netflix? Get ready for a tough race

Of course, the days of cold calling are over. But also the days of cold emails, Linkedin messages and social selling. Now if you wish to make the most of a business trip and get to meet as many people as possible, you better start preparing your agenda at least 3 months before through mutual connections. First, research the people that you really want to meet. Secondly, see if you share mutual colleagues and friends with them. Finally, ask these for a short intro! Because here is where the chain starts: if they accept to meet you through somebody else at least for a 5-minute coffee, the chances of sharing with you later other contacts increase.

Although these sort of entrepreneurial and working meetings are quite new in some countries, where the startup ecosystem is gaining momentum, they are quite an ‘old friend’ for US citizens. And obviously, here people do not want to waste time listening to ventures that do not interest them. The clock is always ticking! Therefore, try to locate in the room the person that would probably be more interested in your venture. If there is none, at least try to find the one that would be more willing to help you meet other people — for instance, if you are looking for potential investors, maybe the person greeting everybody knows quite a few of them… Otherwise, you will only spend time shaking hands and smiling, which I am sure is not the outcome you would expect.

When you really connect with someone and you feel that he/she is not convinced that your venture will work, ask them directly why. Receiving feedback is definitely one of the best outcomes I got. Maybe your audience loves your product, but they are not quite sure about the way you are targeting it or trying to enter the market. The ambiguities and risks they perceive can help you improve, although you might not gain a new investor or partner at that moment.

This is one of the main advices I got from some professionals. If you are planning to grab the attention of big key players of the industry — something usually common considering the power of US majors — maybe it would be wiser to work first with some of their smaller subsidiaries in other markets. By demonstrating this, you have a powerful sales argument and the best brand ambassador you could ever have! Maybe one day anyone working for these subsidiaries presents your venture to some peers in the US market. A great start, don’t you think?

Related posts:

Hallucigenia is such a peculiar animal that even the name of its genus (Hallucigenia) means “Hallucination”. The name of its species (sparsa), is in reference to “Canadia sparsa”, a name originally…

The Most Beneficial Mantra. “Tibetan Prayer” is published by Arun Rajappa in Prayer & Faith Poetry.