I hate myself. I’m trying to grow my client base by proactively cold-calling and cold-emailing and cold-visiting dozens of likely prospects. There just appears to be no other way to do this in my area. I don’t have the thousands of dollars per month required to get traction in online ads. Why do I hate myself? Because I have to stoop as low as the sales bros I can’t stand to be around. Feeling like a car salesman in a cheap pinstriped suit. I got into tech so I wouldn’t have to do this crap. But how am I supposed to get clients without the shuck and jive of being a salesman? Ugh.

What are you doing? Freelance software development?

I've had success in taking on contracts from people that I know and then building on that (because they then talk to people *they* know etc).

For example, at a gathering of friends - I overhear one talking about how much trouble their company has getting sane software out of an Indian outsourcing form. I wander over and sympathize (since i've also had to deal with useless indians in my career) and then use it as an opportunity to let them know I can probably do a better job. I sweetened the deal by offering to prove my skills by doing a free demo, which they loved and now I have heaps of ongoing work.

I think what i'm trying to say is that I didn't have to resort to used car salesman tactics because I let my work speak for itself, if that makes sense :)

@unsignedint normally that’s how i do it as well. But that has been a dry well for me lately, and I need cash, so I find myself dialing for dollars (or emailing)