Customer Acquisition

Stop wasting time on directories if you have 0 customers

Why directories fail on relevancy, timing, and trust - and what actually works for getting your first paying customers

November 28, 2025 · 4 min read

If you're starting a B2B SaaS and check Reddit for advice, everyone says: "launch on Product Hunt, BetaList, and 47 other directories." I've built two B2B SaaS companies and took both from 0 to 100+ customers. This advice is fundamentally wrong for your first customer. Here's why directories are a distraction, not a solution - and what actually works.

Why Directories Don't Work: The Traffic Quality Problem

The first question you need to ask yourself: is the traffic from directories relevant for your product? Go look at who's actually browsing directories. It's mostly other founders promoting their own products. They're not there to buy - they're there to hunt for upvotes and competitors. The chances they become your customer? Nearly zero.

But let's say you somehow get relevant traffic. Even then, you need four things to perfectly align:

Build the right landing page for that traffic
Nail the messaging for your audience
Nail the design to build trust
Convert cold traffic with zero relationship

Do you see how many things need to work for you to get even ONE demo call from a directory? It's incredibly hard when you have zero social proof.

From the Video (00:54-01:24)

The traffic that you will get from the directory, is it the relevant one for your product or service? I mean, just on Product Hunt, majority of the other people that are just hanging out there are the founders also promoting their service themselves and it's highly unlikely they will be the ones buying.

The Three Pillars Every B2B Sale Needs

Every B2B purchase requires three fundamental elements:

Relevancy - Your product solves their specific problem

For example, if you're a last-mile delivery company, it's unlikely that a software company would need your services. Selling to them would be pointless.
Timing - They feel urgency RIGHT NOW

The business needs to be at the right stage to feel high importance and high urgency. A fresh e-commerce shop with zero sales has different needs than one with 100 daily sales. The first might handle delivery themselves. The second needs a scalable solution to get operations to the next level.
Trust - They believe you'll deliver and won't disappear

Your buyers are asking themselves: Will I be satisfied with the value? Will this person disappear after payment? Are my payment details safe? There's even a saying: "Nobody was ever fired for buying a Mercedes." That's the trust element at work.

Directories fail on all three pillars:

Relevancy: Wrong audience (founders browsing, not buyers searching)
Timing: Zero buying urgency (just casually browsing)
Trust: You're a stranger with a landing page

Key Takeaway : Key Framework

Relevancy + Timing + Trust = Why people buy. Directories give you none of these three.

From the Video (01:25-01:48)

Somebody needs to feel a huge sense of importance and urgency to buy something from you.

What Actually Works: Your Network

Almost every successful B2B company I know got their first 5 customers from their network - not from cold outreach, not from directories. From first or second-degree connections who already trusted them. First-degree connections are people you know personally very well. Second-degree connections are people that your first-degree connections know. You can ask your network for introductions if they're your ideal customer profile.

Why does this work?

Trust is your limiting factor, not reach.

Your network already knows:

You'll pick up the phone if something breaks
You won't disappear after they pay you
You actually care about their success

For my first customer at my current company, I manually triggered a Postman API call 400 times - with a stopwatch timing 55-second intervals because of API rate limits. That's the level of manual, obsessive work early customers deserve, and it's only possible when there's existing trust.

Example : Real Founder Example

I got my first customers by meeting them at local meetups. They already trusted me because I was part of their community. No landing page, no Product Hunt launch - just genuine relationships.

From the Video (06:39-07:04)

Almost every successful B2B company I know got their first five customers from their network, either first or second degree connections. Not from cold outreach, not from directories, from people who already knew them and trusted them.

Find prospects with the right timing

Dealmayker shows you who's ready to buy right now - so you can focus on building relationships with qualified prospects, not cold traffic.

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The First Customer Playbook

Here's the exact process that works:

List 10 people from your network who have the problem you solve
Think about friends, family, former colleagues, people from local meetups, online communities you're part of. Focus on people who genuinely have the pain point.
Message them directly
No fancy landing page needed. Text message, DM, email - whatever feels natural. Be human about it.
Offer white-glove service
You do everything for them: setup, data migration, workflow creation. Even if you're selling a $20/mo product. I've spent days (sometimes weeks) doing background work so the customer experience feels instant.
Get obsessed with their success
Onboard them personally. Check in weekly. Respond to questions within hours. Ask for feedback constantly. The feedback loop from your first customer is worth more than a thousand website visitors.
Ask for referrals
Once they're happy, ask them to introduce you to others who might have the same problem. Your first customer becomes your case study, your reference, your proof point.

Common Mistake : Common Mistake

Don't think about automation, scalability, or systems when you have zero customers. You're optimizing for level 100 when you're still at level 0. Focus on learning, not efficiency.

The One Exception: Directories for Backlinks

To be fair - directories aren't completely useless. Later in your journey (once you have 10-20 customers and a real website), submitting to directories can get you some early backlinks for SEO. But that's it. They're a low-priority SEO task, not a customer acquisition strategy. Use them for domain authority, not for getting your first paying customers.

Tip

Wait until you have product-market fit and social proof before investing time in directory submissions. Focus on relationships first, SEO later.

Your first customers come from trust, not traffic. Stop optimizing for scale when you're at zero. Forget about Product Hunt launches and directory submissions. Pick three people from your network who have the problem you solve and trust you enough to have a conversation. Reach out today. The milestone mindset matters: if you have zero customers, don't think about getting 100. Think about getting one. Then five. Then ten. Each milestone requires a different approach, but they all start with relationships.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Should I skip directories entirely for my B2B SaaS launch?

Not necessarily skip it entirely, but don't rely on it for your first customers. Directories can give you visibility and backlinks later in your journey (after 10-20 customers), but the traffic quality rarely converts to paying B2B customers. Focus on your network first, then use directories for SEO benefits once you have traction.

What if I don't have a big network to tap into?

You have more network than you think. Start with friends, family, former colleagues, people from local meetups, and online communities you're part of. Even if your network is small, focus on second-degree connections - ask your first-degree connections to introduce you to people who have the problem you solve. Quality matters more than quantity.

How many customers should come from my network before I try other channels?

Aim for at least 5-10 customers from your network before scaling to other channels. This gives you enough feedback to refine your product, understand your ICP deeply, and build case studies. Your network customers become your proof points that help you convert strangers later.

Why does trust matter more than reach for early customers?

With zero customers and no social proof, strangers have no reason to believe you'll deliver. Your network already trusts you - they know you'll answer the phone, won't disappear after payment, and care about their success. This removes the biggest barrier to early sales. Once you have proof from network customers, reach becomes more valuable.

Can directories work for certain types of B2B products?

Directories work better for low-commitment, self-serve products with very clear use cases. But for most B2B SaaS requiring demos, relationship building, or complex sales cycles, directories rarely deliver your first paying customers. The traffic lacks relevancy, timing, and trust - the three pillars every B2B sale needs.

What's the difference between getting customer 1 vs customer 100?

Customer 1 is an innovator - someone willing to take a risk on an unproven solution because they're desperate for it to work. Customer 100 is early majority - they want references, case studies, and proof from others. Different milestones require different approaches. Focus on the milestone you're at, not the one you want to reach.

Aleksa

Founder of Dealmayker

I'm Aleksa, founder of Dealmayker (bootstrapping it solo), building the future of B2B sales through contextual & emotional intelligence. On the journey to be a 1-person unicorn. Previously built Hyperaktiv and worked in B2B sales at SaaS & FinTech companies.