Don't start a business before you do this

I made my first cold call in 2016. After talking with some manufacturing promoters, I had some unique insights in the freight forwarding (FF) space and was excited about investigating related business opportunities. I tested some hypotheses with dozens of prospects and stakeholders in India. I knew that the world of trade would eventually adopt modern technology, however the Indian FF market did not seem to be the beachhead market just then. Since American businesses are ahead of the curve in tech adoption and I was living in San Francisco then, it only made sense to test my hypotheses with FFs here.

However, how was I going to find some freight forwarders here who had a burning need and would be willing to work with me to give me feedback and develop a product? I have a deep network in India in the manufacturing, trade and freight forwarding space thanks to my family and friends. It had been a piece of cake to ask for some introductions, get connected instantly and have dozens of people from CEOs to line managers spend hours with me sharing their pain points and helping me out (I am extremely thankful to everyone who was so kind to me). On the other hand, my network in the US in the industry was extremely limited.

So I decided to do the only reasonable thing there was to do. I Googled 'how to do cold calls' and discovered Steli Efti's invaluable blog. I followed the advice I found, wrote a script, made a lead list of FFs and started dialing. And after getting hung up on innumerable times, facing difficult gatekeepers, hearing countless objections, I managed to have honest conversations with 20 FFs that I was looking for.

In the process, I taught myself how to sell to anyone. I taught myself to really listen to customers, to do discovery and to pitch my product. I taught myself how to deal with uncomfortable situations, with a lot of rejection and to think on my feet. I taught myself skills without which it is impossible to start a business.

If you want to start a business, first do 20 successful cold calls to sell anything at all. You'll have to sell your vision to a new co-founder, the superstars you want to hire, your first investors and believers and of course to your early customers. The confidence and skills you build will carry you a long, long way.

#sales #coldcalling #startingup