☎️⛔️ When to take "no" for an answer?
Hi Indies,
I'm trying to validate a new niche product for the US healthcare space 🏥👩⚕️. The idea is already somewhat de-risked as I know a failed startup that built something similar.
Instead of building a prototype (fun!), I'm reaching out to potential users (less fun!)
I identified 20 potential users, added them all on LinkedIn and sent cold emails & follow ups.
Results:
- LinkedIn connections: 3
- Email responses: 0
- Interviews: 0
What would you do:
- Is it time to take "no answer" as "no"?
- Should I double or triple my outreach? How much is enough?
First of all, good job that you're validating before building! 👍
Something to keep in mind: Everybody hates cold emails and LinkedIn cold messages are even worse.
As far as I can tell, you haven't actually spoken to anybody yet. Can you find a way to achieve that, to have a real conversation? Maybe post to a forum where your customers hang out, maybe run a blog with an interview series and ask validation-related questions off record, maybe get a friend to introduce you to someone who would be a good customer. Just actually talk to them.
I'd say it's not really possible to make a proper judgement without having a real conversation. Cold email conversion rate is not really a good measurement.
That said, finding people to talk to also helps you find viable marketing channels for the future. The way you reach them now might be your future sales or marketing channel.