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This guide is based on Mixergy’s interview with Max Teitelbaum.

Max Teitelbaum didn’t have money to buy leads for his new business, so he won customers without spending a dime. It was all done by finding customers without funding, so we invited him to teach you how to do it.

Max is the cofounder of WhatRunsWhere, which helps companies spy on their competitors’ ads so they can buy more profitable display media.

Here are the actionable highlights from the interview.

1. Call customers who canceled so you can convince them to buy from you again

Max called people who had canceled after a free trial of WhatRunsWhere and invited them to sign up at a reduced rate, and it was easier to get them to sign up again than to close prospects who had never heard of his company.

Take Action:
Call customers who have canceled their subscriptions or stopped buying from you, tell them how you’ve improved your product since they stopped using it, and ask them to give it another try at a discounted price.

2. Email former customers so you can tell more of them about new features

When WhatRunsWhere had so many former customers that Max didn’t have enough time to call them all individually, he sent them emails about product updates and special offers.

Take Action:
Open an account with MailChimp, create a mailing list of customers who have canceled, and send them emails when you add new features to your product or offer discounts.

3. Guest-teach webinars to reach new audiences

Max appeared as a guest on webinars teaching people how to buy media, and he was able to convert webinar participants into new customers without paying anything upfront.

Take Action:
Contact the leaders of webinars that attract people in your target demographic and ask if they’ll let you talk to their audience for a couple hours in exchange for a referral fee if any audience members buy from you.

4. Write articles for other websites so you can advertise for free

Max wrote a guide to getting started in media buying and published it on the Blue Hat SEO blog, and it brought prospects to WhatRunsWhere’s website.

Take Action:
Write articles with tips that your target customers could use, mention your company and its website at the end of the articles, and distribute them to bloggers and online forums.

5. Take a laptop to trade shows so you can sign up new customers

If Max had brought a laptop to the first trade show he attended, he would have been able to close several customers, but he used a tablet that slowed down the signup process by more than 10 minutes, so he only got one person to sign up.

Take Action:
Bring a laptop to trade shows and use it to collect contact and payment information from customers, and don’t rely on smaller devices.

6. Respond to customers’ complaints yourself so they’ll stay loyal

A customer emailed WhatRunsWhere that he was leaving because of an issue with the operating system, but Max fixed the problem within 20 minutes and responded personally, and the customer stayed.

Take Action:
Answer some support phone calls and emails and interact with your customers, even if you have a customer support staff.

7. Use sales management software to keep track of prospects

Max uses sales management software to store notes about where prospects are in the sales pipeline, and this lets him see exactly what he needs to do next to follow up with each prospect.

Take Action:
Sign up with Pipedrive, enter contact information for your prospective customers, and update the entries whenever you make a sales call or close a sale.

Want to make sure you get results?

Watch the full interview now
Written by Sarah Brodsky, based on production notes by Jeremy Weisz