Who to contact to get projects for a start-up software company?

I've worked for bigger organizations like banks, insurance companies and telecom companies. They had a few so called 'preferred suppliers'. If you are not a preferred supplier, you won't get a project. I don't know if every bigger organization in the world does it like this, but in the Netherlands they do.

You could contact one of these preferred suppliers and be hired by them as a subcontractor. This will get you inside and from there you could start creating a network. You might even see opportunities.

There is one golden rule: the moment you mention the name of your company, you are selling. I know it will come as a shock to some, but nobody likes to talk to salespeople.

If you just started (I don't know if you have any track record), maybe starting at the bottom and focus on small ones first. There is still enough money to be made there (I mean, helping others achieving their goal).

first contact with your friends who are working now in software side and also you will find many website development projects for the company who want to make their business gobal.start with them and try to get atleast one person in your hand who work for any company by getting projects. you can get this by contacting with each and every friend and discuss them about your stating of the company. you have a result.

Be prepared to fight through receptionists, assistants, managers, and a number of technical staff. They will indicate who makes the decisions if you ask. Rebecca has some good ideas on ways of identifying these people.

Getting to the decision maker as soon as possible is important especially with traditionally structured corporations (they may not be as open to email). You want to know that someone who can approve this purchase (not to be confused with the person/persons who do the recommending) is on board. This will tell you the company is committed to the project and not just thinking about it.

The next steps will involve dealing with the 'recommenders' who are responsible for the details and other technical aspects of the project. They're usually easier to get a hold of because this type of stuff is what they do. Just don't forget about getting back to the decision maker to see that the company is still serious.

Beware of the gate-keepers who try to stall you. It may be a sign that you are not a top candidate (And you are wasting your time.) or that the project is slipping in priority.

If you are trying to market by e-mail, I have a couple of suggestions for you. First of all, make sure you have a qualiity e-mail address. By quality I mean preferably something with your own domain name on it (ie Hiren@hirensoftware.com) This will immediately get you more credibility then using a generic ISP address. If you don't already have a unique domain name, there are several providers, including Microsoft, who can set you up with one.

My second suggestion is that you research the local companies and find the name of CIO's and other managers via a web-search or business directory. This site, LinkedIn, and several other sites provide information like that via the net. You need to find the BDM (what I like to call the Big Decision Maker). While you might not get a response at first, don't give up! Also don't forget the internet has made the world a small place, you're not just limited to local companies.

In answer to your question, I have to refer to a product I'm familiar with.

For example, with the e-mail marketing service available to Office Live Small Business subscribers, you can send an informative newsletter, promotional offer, product launch announcement or company update directly to a client’s inbox. If done right—meaning you let people subscribe and easily unsubscribe to your e-mails—these communications build relationships and loyalty with existing customers, expose your business to new prospects, bring people to your website and even drive direct sales.

In my opinion, I'd say you can multi-mail all those people, but please do personalize them, don't mass mail. Send an individual mail to each one of them spaced a bit apart. Then put the date on your Outlook (or other calendar) and follow up within 6 months, referencing your previous mail.

If you need more information, please feel free to e-mail me, so we're not cluttering up this forum.