What you'll get
- 9 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 10 min read
- Week 1 plan (days 1 to 7)
- Account list columns (tab-separated)
- Week 2 plan (days 8 to 14)
- Tier 1 research card (fill in the brackets)
- Referrer note (send on day 15)
- Weeks 3 and 4 plan (days 15 to 30)
- and 3 more
How to use it
- Step 1: Name one owner for the whole plan, usually the founder or the head of sales, and block two hours a day for 30 days.
- Step 2: Work the weeks in order. Outreach in week 3 depends on the list from week 1 and the research from week 2.
- Step 3: Copy each week's plan into your calendar and the tracking sheet in Part 4 into a spreadsheet.
- Step 4: Fill in the tracking sheet at each weekly review, on days 7, 14, 21 and 28.
- Step 5: On day 30, decide which accounts stay, move up or pause, and start the next 30 days.
Why referrals slow, and what founders usually try instead, is covered in How to Get Clients for a Software Company in India. More guides for IT services firms sit under Sales for IT services.
To get clients for a software company after referrals dry up, stop waiting for enquiries and choose the companies you want. In 30 days you can name 40 to 60 accounts that resemble your best past clients, map who decides in each and approach several people per account by email, LinkedIn and phone.
Part 1: Week 1, which companies should be on your list?
Your next clients most likely look like your best past ones, or sit close to the people who used to refer you. Week 1 turns both into company names. The lesson Build your target account list covers the method in more depth.
Week 1 plan (days 1 to 7)
Day 1 List every client from the last three years. Mark the three to five you would
happily serve again: good fit, fair margin, a result you can describe.
Day 2 Write down what those clients share: sector, size band, geography, the system
they ran and the problem in their own words. That is your lookalike profile.
Day 3 Find 30 to 40 companies that match the profile, by name. Look at competitors
and peers of your past clients, members of the same industry bodies and
companies running the same system.
Day 4 List everyone who has referred work to you and every champion who has changed
job. Note where each works now and which companies they are close to. Add 10
to 20 of those companies to the list.
Day 5 Score every company on fit and timing. Sort them into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.
Day 6 Remove knock-outs: too small, signed with a competitor this year, outside the
region you can deliver in.
Day 7 Freeze the list at 40 to 60 accounts, 10 to 15 of them Tier 1. Name an owner
for every Tier 1 account. First weekly review.For day 2, the ICP builder turns your notes into a written profile. For day 5, use the target account selection scorecard or the account scoring tool.
Account list columns (tab-separated)
Account Source Lookalike of Referrer or connection Tier Fit score Timing note OwnerPart 2: Week 2, who decides inside each account?
A software project is rarely bought by one person. Week 2 finds the three or four people who decide in each Tier 1 account and one true reason to write to them now. The buying committee map lists the roles to look for and the trigger event list lists the reasons.
Week 2 plan (days 8 to 14)
Day 8 Start Tier 1 research. For each account, name the budget owner, the day-to-day
owner of the problem, the technical evaluator and procurement.
Day 9 Continue Tier 1. Note how each person describes their priorities in their own
posts, interviews and job adverts.
Day 10 Finish Tier 1. Flag every account where you have fewer than two names.
Day 11 Check every Tier 1 account for a trigger: a new CIO or CTO, funding, a new
site, a hiring burst, a regulatory deadline, a system at its limit.
Day 12 Write one true reason to talk now per Tier 1 account, and the past project you
will cite as proof.
Day 13 Tier 2: name two core roles per account. Tier 3: name one role per account.
Day 14 Draft the week 3 messages: a LinkedIn note, a first email and a call opener for
each role. Second weekly review.Tier 1 research card (fill in the brackets)
ACCOUNT: [name] TIER: 1 OWNER: [named person]
Looks like: [past client] Connection: [referrer or former champion, if any]
Budget owner: [name, title]
Day-to-day owner: [name, title]
Technical evaluator: [name, title]
Procurement: [name, title]
Trigger: [what happened, and when]
Reason to talk now: [one true sentence]
Proof to cite: [past project, in one line]Part 3: Weeks 3 and 4, how do you reach them and follow up?
Start with the people who already trust you, then approach each account on more than one channel. The timing below follows the 17-day multi-channel outreach cadence, fitted to the month. For the wording, start from the cold email templates for named accounts and the follow-up email sequence after no reply.
Referrer note (send on day 15)
Subject: [Account 1] and [Account 2]
Hi [First name],
Since we finished [project] for [their company], we have done similar work for
[similar client]. Two companies on our list look much as [their company] did before
that project: [Account 1] and [Account 2].
Do you know anyone at either? If so, I can write a short note for you to forward,
so it takes you two minutes. If not, no problem at all.
[Your name]Asking about two named companies gets a more useful answer than "do you know anyone who needs software".
Weeks 3 and 4 plan (days 15 to 30)
Day 15 Send the referrer notes. Send LinkedIn connection notes to Tier 1 budget and
day-to-day owners.
Day 16 Tier 1: first email to the budget owner. The trigger, what it may mean, one
question.
Day 17 Tier 1: first email to the day-to-day owner, with proof from a similar project.
No request attached.
Day 18 Tier 1: call the day-to-day owner. One question about the trigger.
Day 19 Tier 2: LinkedIn note and first email to both core roles.
Day 20 Answer every reply and accepted connection within one working day.
Day 21 Third weekly review. Fill in the tracking sheet.
Day 22 Tier 1: email the technical evaluator about what the change means for their
systems.
Day 23 Tier 1: second email to the budget owner. A new angle, never "just checking in".
Day 24 Tier 1: call the budget owner. One question, or ask who owns the problem.
Day 25 Tier 2: follow-up email with a short example from a similar client.
Day 26 Tier 3: one email to one role, with one useful piece of content.
Day 27 Tier 1: a short voice or video note to the person who has engaged most so far.
Day 28 Fourth weekly review. Move accounts up, hand them to a named seller or pause them.
Day 29 Pause every account where three roles have not responded. Record it and set a
date to look again next quarter.
Day 30 30-day review: which sources, tiers and messages started conversations. Rebuild
the list for the next 30 days.Part 4: What should you track each week?
Count accounts, not sends. The sheet below tracks the same five measures we report on our own engagements: accounts in outreach, coverage of the buying committee, active buying committees, active conversations and pipeline.
Weekly tracking sheet (tab-separated headers)
Week Accounts on list Tier 1 accounts Accounts in outreach Roles named Roles contacted Active buying committees Active conversations Accounts penetrated Pipeline value Referrer introductions NotesWhat each column means
Roles contacted People in the buying committee who have received a touch
Active buying committees Accounts where two or more people have engaged
Active conversations Two-way exchanges with someone in a buying committee
Accounts penetrated Accounts where a real conversation about a real need is under way
Pipeline value The value of opportunities inside named accounts onlyExpect small numbers. BEST SAP, which sells SAP finance add-ons, worked a list of 800 accounts with Intandemly and penetrated 22 of them. Each of the 22 was a company chosen in advance.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Corvane Systems is a 45-person software company that builds claims systems for insurers. Referrals from two former clients carried it for four years and then slowed. Its founder, Priya Nair, runs the plan herself. All names and numbers are invented.
Tracking sheet at day 28, filled in
Week Accounts on list Tier 1 accounts Accounts in outreach Roles named Roles contacted Active buying committees Active conversations Accounts penetrated Pipeline value Referrer introductions Notes
4 48 12 31 96 71 3 4 1 One opportunity, value not yet scoped 2 Both introductions came from day 15 referrer notesWeek 1 found 14 of the 48 accounts through a former champion who had moved to a broker. Two of the four conversations began with introductions from referrers, both at companies Priya chose in week 1. The list told her whom to ask about, and the research told her what to say once the door opened.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Asking referrers for "anyone". Name the two companies you want to reach.
- Skipping week 2. Outreach without a mapped committee becomes one email to one person, and one silence ends the account.
- A Tier 1 too large to research. If the owner cannot research every Tier 1 account within the month, the list becomes a lead list with a Tier 1 label.
- Pitching in the first touch. Open with the trigger and a question. The proof comes next.
- Judging the month by signed projects. Software buying involves several people and a budget cycle. Judge the first 30 days by accounts in conversation.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
How do you get clients for a software company when referrals stop?
Choose the companies you want instead of waiting for enquiries. Name 40 to 60 accounts that look like your best past clients or sit near your referrers, map the three or four people who decide in each, then approach them by email, LinkedIn and phone with proof from similar work.
How do you get projects for an IT company without buying leads?
Start with what you already have: past clients, former champions who have changed jobs and the people who referred you. Each points to companies you can name. Ask referrers about two specific accounts, research who decides and write to each person with a reason that is true now.
How long before a 30-day client plan produces new projects?
The first month builds the list, the research and the first conversations. Signed projects usually take longer, because several people and a budget cycle are involved. Plan in quarters and judge each month by accounts in conversation, not emails sent.
Read next
Related articleHow to Get Clients for a Software Company in India After Referrals Dry UpRead →More from the Academy
Target Account Selection Scorecard
For founders and sales leaders who have an ICP on a slide and need a ranked list of named accounts.
You leave with a one-page ICP, an 11-point weighted scorecard and three tiers.
Buying Committee Map
For sellers working a large account through a single contact.
You leave with nine roles to look for, a map you can paste into a spreadsheet, a brief for each person and a coverage check that shows where the account is exposed.
17-Day Multi-Channel Outreach Cadence
For sellers who email twice and give up, or never stop.
You leave with a 17-day plan of 12 touches, stop rules, lighter versions for Tier 2 and Tier 3, a tracker and one calendar filled in.
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