> Taking time to learn about the specific interests and needs of a small startup with little budget is probably overkill, so we just get the “spray and pray” treatment I guess.
> Do you have a good strategy for identifying open-minded companies that are willing to learn about new approaches?
The answer to both your questions is segmentation, segmentation, segmentation.
The trick with segmentation is to find clusters of companies who are likely to share like-minded problems, hone your messaging and positioning to reach them (Basecamp is a classic example of how to do this well, they have always had a very clear idea of who Basecamp is for and who it is not for), and then identify the _individuals_ within those organizations who are most open to change.
Again, the temptation is to head straight to the C-suite - this is usually a bad place to start. C-suites are time poor, usually quite cynical about new software, and removed from the problems of the people on the front line. Usually better to start in middle-management with PMs, and arm them to build a business case to take further up the org.
Don’t forget to sell to the stakeholders under the management team as well. I may be just another DevOps guy in my company, but my opinion holds sway in purchasing decisions even if I don’t control the budget - as do the other lead devs on the team.
> Do you have a good strategy for identifying open-minded companies that are willing to learn about new approaches?
The answer to both your questions is segmentation, segmentation, segmentation.
The trick with segmentation is to find clusters of companies who are likely to share like-minded problems, hone your messaging and positioning to reach them (Basecamp is a classic example of how to do this well, they have always had a very clear idea of who Basecamp is for and who it is not for), and then identify the _individuals_ within those organizations who are most open to change.
Again, the temptation is to head straight to the C-suite - this is usually a bad place to start. C-suites are time poor, usually quite cynical about new software, and removed from the problems of the people on the front line. Usually better to start in middle-management with PMs, and arm them to build a business case to take further up the org.