built an AI tool that auto-replies to Google reviews, and made 800 cold calls with 0 customers. what am I doing wrong?
hey everyone, i built a small SaaS, it uses AI to reply to google reviews, sends invites to happy customers, and generally manages your reputation online. ive made 800+ cold calls to many different types of business such as plumbers, landscapers, roofers, and…
hey everyone, i built a small SaaS, it uses AI to reply to google reviews, sends invites to happy customers, and generally manages your reputation online. ive made 800+ cold calls to many different types of business such as plumbers, landscapers, roofers, and so on, but ive closed 0 deals. im starting to think cold calling might not be the right channel. for those of you who have experience: what channel work best for you? should I continue cold calling? what do you recommend? thanks
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Every “solo preneur” I talk to this always seems to be an issue. Amazed at how many folks don’t understand you need to have customers (TAM/SAM/TOM excercise). It’s like starting a marathon by running off a cliff and wondering what happened.
Well he’s already got one of those
LMAO. Love this for you, AI bro.
I can sell you an AI tool that will make 800 cold calls with zero responses from customers.. are you willing to buy that to improve your business?
You may have made something that nearly nobody wants.
Does your software solve a real problem that people are willing to pay for and trust?
What did you learn from 800 cold calls? What improvements did you make to your approach based on those learnings? How are you picking these prospects? Are you going after businesses with a lot of reviews where they need automation? Do you have at least a demo video you can send them to see how it works?
honestly the reason cold calling isnt working here has less to do with cold calling as a channel and more to do with what youre asking a stranger to care about in that call. Plumbers and roofers and landscapers are literally in their truck or on a roof when you call, so even a good pitch is competing with their actual job in that moment, and "i built a tool that auto replies to your google reviews" doesnt sound urgent enough to pull someone off a ladder for. its a nice to have in their head, not a problem thats costing them money today, even though review management genuinely does affect how many calls they get. what id try instead of a cold pitch on the phone is leading with something specific about their business before you ever ask for the sale. pull up their actual google business profile before you call, see when their last review was, see if theyre responding to reviews at all, see if they have bad ones sitting unanswered. then your opener becomes "hey noticed you havent replied to any reviews since march and you got a 2 star one in june thats still just sitting there" instead of "i have a tool that manages reviews." Thats a completely different conversation because now youre pointing at something real instead of pitching a feature. i'd also test text before call for this specific audience. trades guys ignore unknown numbers constantly but will read a text between jobs, so a short text with the specific observation above, then a follow up call once theyve replied, will probably beat cold dialing blind. the 800 calls arent wasted exactly, but if you keep using the same script youll keep getting the same 0, so id change what you lead with before writing off the channel entirely.
Built something in the same shape, auto replies for instagram and whatsapp dms, so this might sting a bit. Plumbers and roofers are about the hardest possible first market for this. Theyre on a roof when you call and reputation software is a nice to have for them. The people who actually pay for review management are the ones whose whole business runs on walk in discovery. Dentists, med spas, gyms, restaurants. Before call 801 id go find 10 businesses that already reply to every review by hand. Thats your only proof anyone thinks this work is worth doing. Then the pitch is do you want those 40 minutes a week back, not let me explain what ai is.
Do you have examples of what the tool does that you can share with us? Is it just a generic Google review response? Or does it personalize the response in a way that sounds like a human being?
Doesn't sound like you're solving much of a problem.
On the flip side, the OP now has a new plumber, is getting their yard landscaped on Saturday, and a new roof next week.