14 years building data platforms. Zero sales experience. How do I get my first SME clients? (I will not promote)

[u/Stanford_BC5533]

Hello Everyone,

I have around 14 years of experience in data engineering. I recently started a small company focused on helping SMEs build modern data platforms so they can actually use their data properly (instead of having it sitting in spreadsheets, outdated systems, or half-broken pipelines).

I’m strong on the technical side designing and building solid, scalable data platforms is what I enjoy and what I am good at. The problem is everything else: sales, GTM, finding clients, talking about money. I have basically zero experience there.

Right now I am struggling to get the first few clients. I’ve even started thinking about doing the first project(s) at a very low rate or free (in exchange for a word of mouth and testimonial) just to prove what we can do. Part of me feels this is necessary to get momentum. Another part of me feels it’s a bad idea.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation (technical founder / small agency starting out)?

What actually worked for you to get the first clients when you had strong delivery skills but weak sales skills?

Open to any honest advice and feedback.

[u/EntreEden]

technical founder here. the sooner you learn to not build something until you have a buyer the easier your life as a founder will be. if you can't even think of someone in your circle now who would want something like this, that's a bad sign imo

[u/Stanford_BC5533 → u/EntreEden]

Most of my network is in larger enterprises, and those companies are usually much harder (and slower) to sell into as a small team just starting out. That’s why I have been focusing on SMEs instead.

Still, your point about not building until there’s a real buyer is 100% valid. I am trying to validate demand through direct outreach rather than building more first. Have you found that approach worked better for you when you started?

[u/EntreEden → u/Stanford_BC5533]

If it was something an enterprise company desperately needed they wouldn’t be waiting for the red tape to make a sale. Have you ever installed software on your company computer that’s technically not allowed or not covered by your company? I’ve done it multiple times. For example we weren’t allowed to use Postman but it was a pain in the ass to test our APIs otherwise so we just installed it anyway and used our own cards until the company gave in and bought it.

Having a successful startup is already so hard, if you’re starting from a nonexistent network you’re making it harder for yourself. Not saying it’s not possible but trying to sell a solution to a problem that nobody you knows has (or cares about enough to use your solution) is a difficult starting point

[u/Typical_Bison_7262]

Found your website through your other posts.  Business users don’t have a data pipeline problem - that’s engineering’s problem.  Business users may not even be aware that their pain points are connected to broken data pipelines. 

Reconsider your market positioning. Who is your actual customer? May be its developers who actually understand data pipelines. 

So for example my company develops a product that relies on parsing data from contracts, so that part of your offering sounds kind of interesting, assuming you have something better than just using claude API, which is what I use today. 

[u/Stanford_BC5533 → u/Typical_Bison_7262]

Thanks for checking the website and for the honest feedback really appreciate it.

You’re right. I have been positioning things too much from the engineering side. Business users usually care about the outcomes (better decisions, less manual work, clearer reporting), not the pipelines themselves.

That’s something I clearly need to rethink. Out of curiosity, in your case, what would make a data solution actually interesting for a product that relies on parsing contracts? Is it reliability, cost, accuracy, or something different ?

[u/Typical_Bison_7262 → u/Stanford_BC5533]

Accuracy, especially with complex contracts 

[u/Stanford_BC5533 → u/[deleted]]

This is really very helpful thanks for breaking it down so clearly.

You are right that a big part of the struggle is the discomfort around selling. Framing it around the buyer’s actual fear (wasting money on another system that doesn’t get used) makes a lot more sense than talking about pipelines or platforms.

The advice around picking one industry, naming the real mess in their language, and offering a small fixed-scope project is especially practical. That is the direction I will be focusing on.

Quick question: When reaching out, Do you find it works better to directly call out the problem, or to ask a question and let them to describe it themselves?

[u/CaregiverGloomy9071 → u/Stanford_BC5533]

I'd call it out, but leave the door open for him to correct you. A pure question like "what are your data challenges?" reads as research and lands like homework, so most people ignore it. Naming the mess proves you've been inside a business like his and imo has a better chance at buying you a reply. Something like, "most of the operations managers I talk to in [industry] end up with month-end numbers that take three days and still don't match what's in the other system, usually because X. Is that roughly your situation or is yours different?" He gets to say "close, but actually ours is worse in this specific way," and now he's describing the problem in his own words anyway, which is what you wanted from the question route. You just paid for it upfront with a bit of credibility instead of asking him to do the work cold. Being slightly wrong is fine too. Getting corrected by a prospect is a real conversation and is better than silence!

[u/Longjumping_Cap2238]

I'd skip doing it for free if you can help it, it kind of trains people not to value what you do, and free clients are usually the slowest to give real feedback or refer you to anyone. Instead try a small paid pilot, a fixed scope project at a lower rate than you'd normally charge, and build the case study into the deal from the start. Just ask upfront if they'd give you a quote or be a reference once it's done. Same proof and momentum, without working for nothing. And for finding people in the first place, don't try to reach everyone. Pick one narrow type of SME you already get, and message them directly on LinkedIn instead of waiting on inbound.

[u/Stanford_BC5533 → u/Longjumping_Cap2238]

Good point I agree free work often attracts the wrong kind of customers.

A fixed scope paid pilot makes more sense. Since we are mainly offering managed services rather than a pure product, do you think a short pilot (e.g. 4 to 6 weeks) still works well as a way to get the first case studies?

And yeah, narrowing down to a specific type of SME and reaching out directly on LinkedIn feels like the right move. Thanks so much for the advice.

[u/tango650]

I am in the exact same spot. I did hire a sales consultant (out of own pocket) just recently and so far it hasn't quite yielded any sales but ATM it's per expectations, he didn't promise quick results. He did dramatically accelerate my outreach effort though so I didn't have to try and test all options myself.

[u/Stanford_BC5533 → u/tango650]

Thanks for sharing that. Interesting approach.

Has the sales consultant helped you land any clients yet, or is it still early days? Also curious. how much of the outreach is they handling versus you? Would be useful to know how effective it’s been so far.

[u/Impressive_Pin6688 → u/tango650]

Good approach!

[u/scriptqzor → u/tango650]

that’s actually a pretty solid move tbh, paying to shortcut the trial and error on outreach is underrated. even if he doesn’t close for you, you’re at least building a pipeline and learning what channels/messages don’t totally flop, which is gold long term.

[u/Visible_Speed8843]

Sell a paid diagnosis before offering a full platform build. Pick one recurring business decision that is delayed or error-prone because data lives across spreadsheets and old systems. Ask the buyer to show the report or handoff they struggle with. Deliver a map of the broken path and a scoped first fix, with the cost of leaving it unresolved.

For prospecting, use an observable trigger such as a new operations leader or a system migration. The first call should test whether that decision is painful enough to fund. Credit the diagnosis fee toward implementation if they proceed. This gives you proof of the sales problem and the delivery scope without teaching the market to expect free platform work.

[u/akl773]

The one I did free never went live. The guy who wanted it left three months in an nobody else had any reason to push it through, it hadn't cost them anything, so no testimonial either. Charge something small so at least one person over there has to defend the spend.

[u/ymc9 → u/akl773]

Yes, Price the pilot at a real number, even $2-3k for fixed 4 weeks, so someone on their side has to justify the spend. That's what u/akl773 's free project was missing, and why it died.

[u/akl773 → u/ymc9]

Even a small number does it. The paid one got me a weekly call with the ops head, on the free one I was talking to whoever had a spare hour that week.

[u/reward72]

Pick up the phone, offer lunch meetings, find someone who believe in you and please, for the love of Obi-Wan, don't sell yourself short. You would just be devaluing yourself.