How to Get Your First Customer When You're Unknown (Stop Hiding Behind Research)
A client I'll call Ben has spent four months creating the perfect customer avatar. He knows his ideal client is a 35-year-old marketing manager named Jennifer who drinks oat milk lattes, shops at Zara, and reads Huffpost on her commute.
Ben can tell you Jennifer's pain points, her buying triggers, her preferred communication style, and probably her star sign. He's researched where she hangs out online, what influencers she follows, and which LinkedIn groups she joins.
He's never asked anyone to buy his marketing consultancy services.
When I asked Ben how many potential customers he'd actually spoken to, he looked confused. "But I don't have any connections in the industry. I'm completely unknown. No one knows who I am."
Ben isn't unknown. Ben is hiding.
The "Unknown" Excuse
Here's what I see constantly: people who claim they can't get customers because they're "unknown" while simultaneously doing everything possible to stay unknown.
They research their target market instead of talking to their target market.
They perfect their website instead of sending emails to potential clients.
They create content for an audience that doesn't exist yet instead of reaching out to the audience that's right in front of them.
You're not unknown. You're invisible by choice.
And you're using "being unknown" as a socially acceptable reason to avoid the uncomfortable reality of asking people to pay you money.
What You're Really Avoiding
Let's be honest about what's actually happening here.
You're not struggling to find customers because you're unknown. You're struggling because finding customers requires you to:
Put yourself out there and risk rejection
Have conversations where people might say no
Ask for money before you feel "qualified" enough to deserve it
Deal with the possibility that people won't value what you're offering
Research feels safer. Creating customer avatars feels productive. Building the perfect website feels professional.
But none of it gets you paying customers.
The Research Trap (Again)
I can predict exactly what Ben has been doing for four months:
Analysing competitors to see how they get customers
Reading articles about "customer acquisition strategies"
Joining Facebook groups about marketing to small businesses
Following Instagram accounts that teach "how to attract your ideal client"
Maybe even taking a course on "finding your first 100 customers"
Notice what's missing from this list? Talking to actual humans about whether they want to buy what he's selling.
Ben has become an expert on customer research. He's terrible at customer conversations.
This isn't a knowledge problem. This is an execution problem disguised as a research project.
The "No One Knows Me" Myth
Here's the uncomfortable truth: you don't need to be known by thousands of people. You need to be known by one person who has money and a problem you can solve.
Most successful businesses start with the founder's immediate network – friends, family, former colleagues, people they went to university with, neighbours, people from their gym, their kids' school parents, their partner's work contacts.
You're not completely unknown. You know people. Those people know other people. Those other people know other people.
Six degrees of separation isn't just a theory – it's your customer acquisition strategy.
But admitting you could start with people you already know means admitting you've been hiding behind the "unknown" excuse instead of doing the scary work of selling.
The Visibility Choice
Every day, you make dozens of choices about whether to be visible or invisible:
You could post about your services on LinkedIn, or you could scroll through other people's posts instead
You could email your former colleagues about your new business, or you could wait until you're "more established"
You could comment thoughtfully on industry discussions, or you could lurk and read without contributing
You could reach out to potential customers directly, or you could wait for them to find you somehow
You're choosing invisible every time. Then wondering why no one can see you.
How to Get Your First Customer in 14 Days
Stop researching. Stop perfecting. Stop waiting to be discovered. Start talking to humans.
Days 1-3: List Everyone You Know
Write down every person you know who either:
Has the problem you solve, or
Knows someone who has the problem you solve
Include everyone: university friends, former colleagues, family friends, people from your old job, parents from your kids' school, people you met at networking events, social media connections who seem like actual humans.
Aim for 50 names. If you can't think of 50 people, you're being too picky.
Days 4-7: Start Conversations
Email, message, or call 10 people from your list. Not to sell to them – to have conversations.
"Hi [Name], I'm starting a marketing consultancy helping small businesses get more leads. I know you work in [industry] – any chance you'd be up for a quick chat about the challenges you're seeing with marketing right now? I'm trying to understand the market better."
Half won't reply. Three will say they're too busy. Two will agree to chat.
Those two conversations will teach you more about your market than four months of customer avatar research.
Days 8-14: Ask for the Sale
After each conversation, if they have the problem you solve and seem interested, ask if they'd like help.
Not in six months when you're "ready." Not after you've built the perfect sales process. Now.
"It sounds like lead generation is a real challenge for you right now. I actually help businesses solve exactly this problem. Would you be interested in discussing how I could help?"
Some will say no. That's information, not failure.
One might say yes. That's your first customer.
The Follow-Up Strategy
Ask everyone you speak to: "Do you know anyone else who struggles with [problem you solve]?"
Most people know at least two or three others who might be interested. One conversation becomes three potential customers.
This is how businesses actually grow. Not through fancy marketing funnels or viral social media content. Through humans talking to other humans about problems and solutions.
What Actually Happens
When Ben finally started having these conversations, here's what he discovered:
His perfect customer avatar was completely wrong. The people who actually wanted his services were small business owners, not corporate marketing managers.
His pricing was too low. The business owners he spoke to had bigger budgets than he'd assumed.
His service offering was too broad. People wanted help with one specific thing, not general "marketing consultancy."
He got his first customer in week two. Not because he was suddenly "known," but because he'd finally made himself visible to one person who needed what he was offering.
The Questions You're Avoiding
Before you go back to researching your target market, ask yourself:
How many people have you actually asked to buy from you? Not people who might buy someday. People you've directly asked to pay you money for your service.
What's the real reason you haven't started these conversations? Not the practical reasons – the emotional ones. What are you afraid will happen?
If you had to get one paying customer by the end of next week, what would you do? Your brain will immediately know the answer. That's the thing you should do now.
Who's the first person you're going to message? Not later. Now. Before you close this browser tab.
Stop Researching Your Market. Start Talking to Your Market.
You don't have a visibility problem. You have a courage problem.
You don't need better marketing strategies. You need to start marketing.
You don't need to be known by everyone. You need to be useful to someone.
Your first customer is probably someone you already know, or someone they know. But you'll never find out if you keep hiding behind research and waiting to be discovered.
Still convinced you need better marketing strategies before you can get customers? A Clarity Sprint will show you exactly who to talk to and what to say. Stop researching – start selling.
Ready to build a systematic approach to finding customers? Start & Sustain Mentorship gives you a step-by-step plan to go from unknown to booked out in 90 days.
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