Even though you don’t really want a [[Formality|Formal]] first meeting when interested in learning and asking [[Questions]], sometimes it can’t be avoided. Framing it in the right way can help a ton. If you don’t have a set reason why you’re chatting, it by default turns into a sales meeting which is bad. - Customer will close up about pricing - Attention shifts to you instead of them - Going to be terrible because you aren’t ready Usually these meetings will start with - “Uh. So..” - “How’s it going?” ## Framing There are two big opportunities to frame the meeting 1. When the meeting is setup 2. When the meeting is starts By saying “Can I interview you” or “Can I get your opinion on what we’re doing” or “thanks for agreeing to this interview” becomes super formal, boring, and salesy. There are 5 key elements in framing an initial meeting properly 1. Don’t mention your idea 2. Mention the stage you’re at and that (if true) you don’t have anything to sell 3. Show weakness and give them a chance to help by mentioning the specific problem you’re looking for answers on. This will also clarify that you’re not a time waster 4. Put them on a pedestal by showing how much they, in particular, canhelp 5. Explicitly ask for help AKA **Vision / Framing / Weakness / Pedestal / Ask** or the mnemonic “Very Few Wizards Properly Ask (for help).” > Hey Pete, > > I'm trying to make desk & office rental less of a pain for new businesses (vision). We’re just starting out and don’t have anything to sell, but want to make sure we’re building something that actually helps (framing). > > I’ve only ever come at it from the tenant’s side and I’m having a hard time understanding how it all works from the landlord’s perspective (weakness). You’ve been renting out desks for a while and could really help me cut through the fog (pedestal). > > Do you have time in the next couple weeks to meet up for a chat? (ask) And > Hey Scott, > > I run a startup trying to make advertising more playful and ultimately effective (vision). > > We're having a load of trouble figuring out how all the pieces of the industry fit together and where we can best fit into it (weakness). You know more about this industry than anyone and could really save us from a ton of mistakes (pedestal). > > We’re funded and have a couple products out already, but this is in no way a sales meeting -- we’re just moving into a new area and could really use some of your expertise (framing). > > Can you spare a bit of time in the next week to help point us in the right direction over a coffee? (ask) Are great example cold outreaches when [[Finding leads]]. Once you get these, you have to take control and ask the right [[Questions]] otherwise they’ll drill into your idea and turn the meeting into [[bad data]] with [[false positives]]. - To do this just sort of paraphrase what you first said in the email and drop into the first question - You need to set the agenda and be in control (without being a jerk about it) - Have a plan. Know what you want to ask. **The point of cold calls and cold emails is to stop having them.** Don’t go into these discussions looking for customers - go in search of industry and customer advisors. You’re just trying to find people who are helpful, knowledgable, and excited about your idea. - Have a “let-me-find-out-if-you-are-a-good-advisor-by-asking-questions” meeting, not a “customer-learning-but-I-really-want-to-do-sales” meeting ## How many meetings is enough - One criteria is to keep talking until you stop hearing new information - If you’ve had 10 conversations and your results are all over the map, your customer segment might be too vague - You’re mashing together feedback from multiple different types of customers - There’s no “set amount of meetings” - Keep having convos until you stop hearing new stuff