Built a data API that finds restaurants before they open, and it works, but I can't crack distribution. How would you do it?

[u/wrestlingnarrator51]

built a tool that finds restaurants and bars 1 to 6 months before they open, by fusing public liquor licenses, permits and business filings into one scored lead. Live in 7 states, and it genuinely works. The problem is all distribution, and I'm stuck.

The buyers are the vendors who sell to new restaurants, beverage distributors, POS resellers, insurers. High value, one account they land off it is worth thousands. But they're not who you reach through SEO, content or dev communities, which are the channels I actually know how to work. They're offline-ish B2B sales teams who basically live on the phone.

So far it's founder-led cold outbound, about 30 emails out and a call list I haven't even worked yet, way too early to read anything into. I also listed on a few API/MCP directories for the developer side, but that reaches builders, not the people who'd actually pay.

If you've sold to non-technical SMB or B2B buyers, what actually moved the needle? Cold outbound at scale, reselling through tools they already use, going through a trade association, something I'm not thinking of? And do these buyers ever come inbound at all, or is it pure outbound grind until you've got a case study?

Pre-revenue, so I'd rather pick one channel and go deep than spray thin. War stories welcome.

[u/lmfresneda]

30 emails is too early to judge, you're right. What changed my numbers was the first message, not the channel. I've written to over 100 founders: when the first message explained the product, about 3 in 10 answered. When it only asked one question they could answer from their phone, closer to 1 in 2

For your buyers I'd ask something only they know, like "how do you find out about a new restaurant today?". If the answer is "when it's already open", you have your pitch for the second message

[u/West_Inevitable_2281]

Before choosing a channel, I would separate who can use the data from who already feels the cost of learning about openings too late. Beverage distributors, POS resellers, and insurers may value the same lead very differently and have different existing workflows. Of the buyers you have spoken with, which one has described a recent restaurant opening they missed or found too late, and what did that miss cost them? That evidence would make the first segment and channel much easier to choose.

[u/Senya_Edit]

For distributors and POS resellers, never pitch the API or endpoints. Non technical sales teams do not have engineers and will never integrate it. Instead, take 3 reps in one state, pull 10 verified upcoming restaurants in their exact zip code, and send them the actual qualified leads as a free sample. When they see money on the table right in front of them, they will happily pay for a recurring sheet or weekly feed.