
Ask HN: Side projects to generate leads for mobile app projects? - npankaj
I run a mobile app agency, sales is always challenging. It&#x27;s difficult to get leads about projects. People suggested that I try paid lead services - I didn&#x27;t and it is actually 0% effective.<p>I have come to realize that cold emailing doesn&#x27;t work. Also the work that our agency has got till now has all been through client references and from personal network. I do keep tapping these for leads but they are not very frequent.<p>I came across few strategies where the agency works on few side projects which can generate leads. A good example is by crew.co - they&#x27;ve create two such side projects:<p>1. How Much To Make An App - http:&#x2F;&#x2F;howmuchtomakeanapp.com&#x2F;
2. How to Build an Online Business - https:&#x2F;&#x2F;crew.co&#x2F;how-to-build-an-online-business&#x2F;<p>I am leaning to spend time building such a project. Could anyone recommend any similar ideas for such side projects?<p>Thanks!
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brudgers
Sales is challenging for every business. If all your work has come through
client references and personal networks, talking with clients and references
is likely to be a fruitful path to more work.

Well established and known consultants may occasionally get work solely off
their internet presence. But mostly their websites support their other
marketing channels: their websites provide more information to potential
clients that have heard of the consultant by other means (not via Google SEO'd
search).

Good luck.

~~~
npankaj
Thanks for replying.

> If all your work has come through client references and > personal networks,
> talking with clients and references is > likely to be a fruitful path to
> more work.

I do that already. I talk to my past clients frequently - I do believe that
they would recommend me whenever they get an opportunity - they've done so in
the past. But it looks like I'm facing a dry spell right now for about last 2
months - which is a really long time for me. I think I'm wasting my time :-/

That is why I think building side projects which generate leads for me can be
productive. Do you have any creative ideas for my side projects? I can build
mobile apps and web apps.

~~~
brudgers
My advice is to identify potential clients and cold call even though cold
calling is harder than doing something less effective. One way I've heard to
make dealing with the rejection it entails easier is to measure the number of
rejections rather than the number of leads.

In terms of what to build, build something that solves someone _else 's_
problem. Essentially, build a product. 'How much does an app cost' websites
don't do that because they're focused on solving your problem (getting
clients) rather than the clients' problems in their business domains.

To put it another way, build something that shows people that you have the
skill and knowledge to solve one of their business problems rather than
building something that generates leads.

~~~
npankaj
Thanks for the reply. I'll try to keep doing cold emailing, though sometimes I
feel that I'm just emailing a wall who never replies. I've read tons of books
and courses on how to write best emails and I do follow them - it's just that
clients already have a dev team or they are not looking to outsource at that
point of time - which boils down to unresponsiveness.

'How much does an app cost' websites do solve a problem - they give the
customer instant quote or estimate for their app. And it does also solve the
'getting clients' problem.

Ideally, I want to do something that's a win - win for both.

~~~
brudgers
I am not advocating cold emailing. I am advocating cold calling with a phone
or in person.

~~~
npankaj
Ok, I've never actually done cold calling. I don't like being on the receiving
end of cold calls - so I figure others wouldn't like it either. But in person
would be much better.

~~~
brudgers
People usually do not like it, that's what makes it hard work. It's also more
effective because it allows collecting more intelligence. The decision maker's
personal assistant knows something about the company and can provide valuable
insight to the organization and its pain points. The receptionist knows the
org chart.

------
soulchild37
Originally I did
[http://canyoumakeanappfor.me/](http://canyoumakeanappfor.me/) as satire and
surprisingly it brought me few freelance small task from other developers who
want to divide some smaller task to others.

~~~
npankaj
Thanks for sharing. How exactly did this bring your freelance tasks? I mean
you do not have any of your contact info on that page - so how would leads be
generated?

Another follow up regarding this, did you market this page? If yes, on what
channels and did you get a good response?

I do like the domain that you choose and the satire.

------
farm_code
Develop a prototype app for your targeted customer. We developed prototype
android app with data in JSON included in apk. We showed it to prospective
clients and landed project.

~~~
npankaj
Thanks for the comment. I try to make my proposals in detail - include designs
of the app that we're going to build. I haven't tried the prototype approach -
I might try it next time. Just to be clear, you develop the prototype for the
client's app, right? You would need access to the client's APIs, etc. which
you might not have in a sales phase. I think using mock data is another way
around this,

Follow up question, when you develop this prototype - In cases where the app
is not very big, doesn't the client think that almost 50% of the work is done
and hence may try getting this done in cheap?

~~~
farm_code
We hardcoded the data in the JSON. Just show the potential. They may not know
the exact requirements for the app. Also showing running app in real phone
opens lot of opportunities. My email is in profile. Ping me if you want to
chat.

~~~
npankaj
Sure, but I didn't find your email id in your profile.

------
logicspice_
we are develop Androd app develop for grow your business
[https://www.freelancer.in/u/phpMaestro.html](https://www.freelancer.in/u/phpMaestro.html)

------
npankaj
Why doesn't anyone comment on my posts :(

~~~
dang
Your previous two submissions probably weren't interesting enough—they read
more like requests for favors. People come to HN to gratify their intellectual
curiosity
([https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)),
so you need to offer them something in that spirit. This one does a much
better job of that!

~~~
npankaj
Thanks dang for commenting. I would like to see my past contributions - is
there a way to see them? I can't seem to find that option.

~~~
dang
See the links at the bottom of your profile page:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=npankaj](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=npankaj).

~~~
npankaj
Thank you, I got it!

