How does one generate leads for offshore software startups even if you do not have any previous experience and clients?
I am building a software development agency focusing on MVP products to help customers to build their early products and help out to mature their software/products.
I would recommend potentially figuring out what companies have recently raised funding, especially where such funding might be based on an idea/lacking an MVP.
I run who raised?, a subscription service providing monthly lead lists for agencies and service-providers looking for new clients who are looking to outsource.
A few extra details that might help:
If you would be interested in seeing an example, happy to connect with you on Twitter (can see your profile here is linked to your Twitter).
No worries if you're not interested in my business' lead list - still happy to chat more about what your focus area is, etc.
how can your service help us? as a software development agency
I provide leads for hundreds of companies each month as part of my business.
Happy to chat on Twitter, etc, to see whether the lead list I provide might be of use to you!
Possibly worth checking out what the lead list/data looks like on my website: whoraised.io
Have a good day :)
I would say if you have no experience then I would reach out to people I know and provide the service to them for free or at low cost. If you do not know anyone that might need it, then you need a bit of outreach to your target market offering them free value upfront, or if possible carry out the full service scope for free or again at a really low price.
However, when reaching out to people you don't know offering cheap services, make it clear that you're only doing it because you're just starting out, and you're doing for an exchange of a case study and an honest testimonial. Since people will be skeptical about low prices. This will build the case studies that you can then use to sell.
TL;DR is that you need to offer tons of no cost/low cost value upfront, before you can charge premium.
Plus you need to be patient, and keep reaching out to people.
I can support your strategy really well. that's somehow what I wanted to implement; however since we are a software development agency, and we are trying to reach someone who is nontech has the fund to build something but not the team or skill or maybe time.
In this case, you need to identify where nontech founders hang out and start reaching out to them. This could be here on indie hackers or other groups and forums.
Scope who's asking for help and answer their questions, and after you build some connection with them, you can direct message them with the offer in my comment. This way, you can help them out and get your first case study. Then you can use that to cold email your target market.
Another route is to collect email addresses from LinkedIn for companies in stealth mode or still in beta who don't have the team, skill, or time. Aim for 15 - 20 Maybe 30 new leads a day in this category, since they are hard to find but not impossible. You can use tools like salesQL or hunter.io to scrape their email. And if you are taking this route, personalize the email and make sure not to use words like "Free, cheap, gift, or low cost" plus state an advantage that you can bring to the table other than it comes at no cost for them.
At the end of the day, you need 2 - 5 case studies that you can use to sell. I would even start outreach after my first case study. But just remember that the market is highly competitive, so you need to put more hours into outreach. And when you do get someone you can help, exceed their expectations.
Wish you good luck!
It is very hard.
Why would they pick you vs someone with references, 10 years exp and the same price?
You need an edge.
how can I find an edge?
AI is hot right now.
Create MVPs for basic AI apps.
Share them on social media.
Of course it isn't that simple, but i ain't a guru selling a course so figure out the steps in between.
Maybe try building up some presence on various international communities... for example.
for example?
be active within communities like Indie Hackers, share your expertise, help others...