Know-How Exchange : Strategy

I am a strong believer that B2B startups require more sales than marketing at first. below are some blog posts I wrote a while back that talk in general about what activities I would suggest doing and not doing.

https://expandabroad.blogspot.com/2005/08/what-b2b-marketing-activities-to-...

https://expandabroad.blogspot.com/2005/09/other-b2b-marketing-activities-to...

https://expandabroad.blogspot.com/2005/09/b2b-activity-not-worth-doing.html

Note - these are based on my US background and experiences. Might need some varying to make work for India.

Instead of trying to cast a wide net, start small. Pick one or two (local) hospitals. Find out what their needs are, and find out how well your software meets them. Next, what would it take to get these hospitals to switch to your software. Once you better understand their needs, how they find out about software, then you can create the appropriate strategy to sell to them.

Jay Hamilton-Roth is pointing you in the right direction. Start with one or two hospitals and see what it will take to get them interested.

In fact, you might consider approaching those first candidates with an information interview only. Develop a short list of your high-gain questions and interview the decision-maker about needs and attitudes, what they do now, what's on their wish list, how they make decisions on software, etc.

Don't even mention that you have a product you'd like to sell them. Just ask your questions, listen carefully to their answers, and take detailed notes. No selling. No hidden agenda.

Then, when you understand what makes them tick, make sure your software solution really matches what they think they need and set up a second meeting at which you show them what you have and ask them if it might solve a problem for them. Again, don't try to close the sale on the spot. Learn how they react, what questions they have, what they think of the solution, etc.

If it's as good as you say it is, they'll be asking YOU if/when they can buy it. If they don't, then you need to find out what else they would need in order to make it something they'd use.

Keep this up until you have the product and the presentation perfected. THEN you're ready for broader exposure.

Thank you all for your responses . I have got some great feedback .

Our firm was started in 2007 and our software is already running in hospitals in South India . So we have an excellent idea regarding their needs. Now we want to capture the North Indian Market . As of now the only way we are doing this is through going to each and every target hospitals and selling .
What are the other ways in which I can reach more number of hospitals/doctors in shorter time. (Social Networking/ Internet etc) .
Also what sort of channels can be used in this scenario . Few of our competitors have partnered with firms such as HP/Dell . Also some have started giving dealership.

What are the cost effective ways that a startup like ours can use to increase awareness about its product/company and reach out to a wider base of hospitals.