The Startup Ideas Podcast
How to get your first customers (even with ZERO audience)
Mon, 16 Dec 2024
Join me as I chat with Jonathan Courtney, Co-Founder and CEO of AJ&Smart, as we dive deep into various lead generation strategies. Jonathan shares his strategies and frameworks for building a client pipeline without having a large online following. 00:00 - Intro03:13 - The Dream 100 Strategy11:01 - The Canvas Strategy (for reaching out)18:12 - Go Where Your Audience Lives27:21 - The Power of Strategic Gifting36:33 - Content Creation (if you choose to)40:47 - Key Mindset Shift around Content Creation1) The Dream 100 Strategy:• Make a list of 100 people/orgs who already talk to your target audience• Research their platforms, reach, content• Focus on building relationships with them• Can start with just 10-20 namesExample: Web design agency targeting founders? Start with podcast hosts, community leaders2) The Canvas Strategy (for reaching out):• Don't just ask for favors• Focus on providing extreme value first• Make thoughtful, detailed pitches• Show you've done your homework• Be patient and play the long game3) Go Where Your Audience Lives:• Join paid communities ($149/mo is nothing if you land 1 client)• Lurk in Reddit threads• Answer Quora questions in detail• Participate in Discord servers• Be the MOST valuable memberNo promotion, just pure value.4) The Power of Strategic Gifting:• Doesn't need to be expensive ($5-50 can work)• Make it personal and meaningful• Think long-term relationship building• One mentor landed a huge deal with a $50k guitar gift• Small gestures = big memories5) Content Creation (if you choose to):• Focus on MASSIVE value over production quality• Create 5+ hour detailed tutorials• Answer common questions exhaustively• "Low quality, high effort" is the new formula• Example: mastering . com's 11-hour tutorials6) Key Mindset Shift:Stop obsessing over:• Social media metrics• Personal branding• Complex marketing funnelsStart focusing on:• High-leverage relationships• Direct value creation• Being present where your audience is7) The ROI is INSANE:• Single partnerships can generate millions• One webinar can outperform months of ads• Relationship-based leads convert better• More sustainable than viral marketing• Less stressful than being an "influencer"Pro Tip: Review your Dream 100 list every quarter. Most businesses forget this and focus on low-leverage tasks instead.Links Mentioned: The Dream 100 Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a7d1GSZoJq_pT2Ptbvc9HsZWPxNsQDhRcUvT6d1V2Jw/edit?gid=0#gid=0The Canvas Strategy Ep: https://youtu.be/fr5xG_bTV44Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideasLCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/BoringAds — ads agency that will build you profitable ad campaigns http://boringads.com/BoringMarketing — SEO agency and tools to get your organic customers http://boringmarketing.com/Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.startupempire.coFIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenbergInstagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/FIND JONATHAN ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JicecreamLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-courtney-4510644b/AJ&Smart: https://ajsmart.com/
Full Episode
Today's episode of the Startup Ideas podcast is well needed. It's about how do you get customers for your startup without a social following, without spending tons of money on ads, and just some really, really simple tips on how to do it. And we go through three ways on how to do it in this episode. And this is a tutorial. So by the end of it, you'll really understand how to do this.
We talk about a concept called the Dream 100, and we give you a spreadsheet for it. It's about how do you reach out to potential partners or people and leverage their audiences to be well-known. The second is, you know, how do you utilize groups and communities to get customers and leads?
And the last is thinking about how do you make high quality videos and coming up with ideas for content that's going to spread within the audiences you care about. This episode's with Jonathan Courtney, one of my favorite people to come on the Startup Ideas podcast show. You're going to love it. See you in there. What are we talking about today?
Today we're going to talk about how you get clients or how you get leads without needing to be a social media influencer, without needing to even use social media necessarily, and also without needing to create content. Thought that might be interesting for people. Like this kind of cold start problem of finding an audience, finding leads, finding, like building a list, but like out of nothing.
That could be interesting to your audience.
Okay, don't hit the desk because it picks it up.
Oh yeah, dunk, dunk, dunk, dunk, dunk. I saw one of the recent episodes and it just sounds like I'm drumming the whole time.
Don't do that. But this whole getting leads and customers, probably one of the biggest questions I get asked. I listen to the Startup Ideas podcast and I'm like, Great. Good for you, Greg, with your 500,000 followers or whatever. Easy for you to say you're going to go and create this startup and then people are going to go and use it. But we're keeping it real here. We're keeping it real.
We're keeping it real.
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