How Do I Get My First Customer?
From the Morning Norm at Inc.com
Posted at 2:16 PM

I recently got this question from a reader named Doug:
Hi Norm,
I'm a typical start-up and can't seem to get my "first customer." I've started a thermography company (infrared inspection), and I provide preventive maintenance inspections. This is the problem: I've never had to start with no customers before, and I have a real hard time cold calling. Any thoughts on getting my first few customers to start the ball rolling?

It's a great question. And it goes to the essence of starting a business when the real question is, Can I sell my product or service to a customer at a decent profit so I can build a company and attain critical mass. Let me explain that. I define critical mass this way: With the amount of capital you are able to raise, can you get to breakeven cashflow before you run out of money? Before I start a business, I always ask my friends and colleagues if they would buy this product or service. And would they be willing to pay X amount of dollars for it?

Here's an example: In the year 2000, I heard about a business called document shredding. And I learned there were two ways to do it -- on site or off. To do it on-site, you needed a piece of equipment that cost $250,000. To do it off-site, you had to build a facility that would cost close to $750,000. With my partners pressuring me to make up my mind, I decided that I had to first find out if I could sell the service at a profit. I used an outside service to do the actual shredding. I quickly found that I could sell the service, and I also figured out that I'd make just as much money by neither buying equipment nor building a facility but by partnering with somebody who already had a facility in place. Today, this business does millions of dollars with great growth margins. But I didn't start it until after I got my first customer.

Back to Doug's question. He says he's already started the business, but I don't think a business is a business until you make sales. So Doug, if I were you, I'd start networking with friends, other business people. I'd go to local groups, such as your local chamber of commerce, where you can meet a lot of people and I'd try to sell your product. If you find you really can't do it, if you're just not comfortable cold calling, there's another solution: Hire somebody who can.

Try giving some free demos to clients. Give them just a free taste of what IR can do for them. They usually will get hooked and want more done on more equipment. You then give them a price and get the job. They will also start introducing you to different supervisors and management persons within their company to explain what it is you are doing. This is your way of making the solid personal contacts.