[noashavit]

Have you considered offering them something for their time? Something as simple as a gift card to a coffee shop, so you can have virtual coffee and chat about their pain points?

I know you don't want to sounds sales-y, and there are ways to offer this without sounding like a salesperson. Just an idea

[sircastor]

And be upfront about it - tell them that you're in the research phase and you're just trying to gather information, and it's not a sales call.

[falcor84]

Exactly this. People's time is money; pay them what their time is worth.

[acureau]

This has the side effect of incentivizing bullshit submissions. This may work better for something that is rigid, like answering some multiple choice questions.

[yr1337]

I do not want to incentivize people to give me BS feedback just to get paid. If they need money or a gift to tell me about their pain point, it's not a pain point.

[IanCal]

Why should they spend their time talking to you though? You're asking busy people to help you come up with a business idea for free.

> If they need money or a gift to tell me about their pain point, it's not a pain point.

This just doesn't follow. There are issues I face, but still have no incentive to spend time explaining them to you.

[prewett]

"Kvetch and eat: aspiring entrepreneur wants to make practicing medicine easier. Will buy steak dinner if you complain about things that drive you nuts about practicing medicine. Side effects may include catharsis and hope for the future."

If you phrase it that way, it sounds like win-win. Free dinner AND I get to complain with no social downsides!

[noashavit]

Love this ^^

Yeah the coffee was just an idea to plant the seed that you value their time and feedback. It can be a steak dinner / massage to unwind from all the pain they experience around "X", etc.

Be careful how you position this so it does not come out as "paying for their time" and more like you value their time, this way you can weed out those that just want the incentive

[ametrau]

Do you think doctors will care about coffee vouchers or will they correctly think it’s weird and patronising? Cold calling is a gift solicitation. Making it transactional from the start is mistaken.