Best sales strategies for a small pentesting service?
Hey all! I recently launched my own small pentesting service geared towards people building apps with Al tools (think lovable/ cursor/bolt/claude, etc.). Im working with both founders that are technical and non technical. I've been at somewhat of a crossroads, as l've tried a handful of tactics to no real avail.
I tried a strategy before where i would source people from builder communities (such as the ones above), and with DMs ive had patchy results. Some replies, but had a few people call me out for being "too direct". Basically, came to find out that a security sales strategy leading with findings first comes off as threatening from just a cold message alone, and this seems to be the default outreach method for most people in the security consulting space.
I then resorted to just starting simple conversations, mapping out peoples stacks and giving pointers where needed. Good, since it gets them talking and builds trust, but pitching this way is a bit more difficult and the reply rates are notably lower.
Honestly, I've got the pentesting stuff down pat but the sales part of this journey is definitely not within my domain of strengths. Im not going to pretend i know what im doing in this domain, as i don't really have a clue.
Just curious from fellow tech sales people (cyber, all the better), what seems to work for you? Any suggestions for alternative strategies or avenues ?
Thanks in advance!
(EDIT: grammar, didn't proof read this originally)