Go where your customers physically gather

Go where your customers already gather rather than building your own audience

Targeted real estate agents on Facebook groups and physical events where they gather. Also used LinkedIn and Reddit to search for target customer communities

Became a 'fiend' for crypto conferences, showing up in person at events where Ethereum users gathered

First distribution was showing coworkers at full-time job who had the Excel formula problem. They were amazed and spread the word internally.

Channel #9 in framework: Attend or sponsor niche online and physical events where target customers gather to acquire pre-sale customers

VP of Sales was a salon owner for 10+ years who showed up to prospect salons with food, mimicking how the industry already did business, rather than cold-calling like SaaS competitors

Participated in fintech exhibitions as a core part of customer acquisition strategy alongside direct sales

Pitched in University of Michigan business classes with paper sign-up sheets, physically collecting emails from students in lectures and clubs

Spoke to an accountant every single day - not for sales but to deeply understand their challenges. Attended and covered industry events, becoming the top-rated speaker

Validated IACrea by physically attending real estate events, engaging in forums, and organizing webinars to connect directly with target customers before scaling

The Collison brothers went to where developers physically gathered (YC dinners, meetups) and personally installed Stripe on their laptops when they showed interest

Asked existing customers which trade shows they would attend and went to those shows. Spent $10K+ per show on booth and staff. Used events both for selling and for learning from customers face to face.

Attended networking events 1-2x per week in Austin, naturally talked about AI work rather than pitching, and cultivated deep relationships over volume