HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Treat Every IRL Conversation as Lead Gen

Treat Every IRL Conversation as Lead Gen is a first users & traction tactic for getting your first users: The founder landed his first paying client by casually mentioning what he was building to a stranger he met while walking his dog, who happened to be running a rebrand. Routinely telling people offline what you do surfaces buyers you'd never find online.

It's a strong fit for Agencies / services teams, and works especially well for Services, agencies, freelancers, and pre-launch founders. As a first users & traction play, plan for low effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

First users & tractionLow effortMedium

Why does first users & traction work for this?

First clients often come from random offline encounters, and you only catch them if you're consistently telling people what you're working on.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Agencies / services

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Treat Every IRL Conversation as Lead Gen" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Agencies / services — pick it when your product looks like that, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Treat Every IRL Conversation as Lead Gen" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low effort, and results tend to be medium.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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