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Finding Your VentureAuthor: Brian Hayden
Lessons and Stories for Rising Entrepreneurs: Produced in partnership with University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship Language: en-us Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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29: Make the Most of Early Customer Pitches
Tuesday, 29 October, 2024
It’s been a while since we made an episode of Finding Your Venture. We’re back today to answer a really common student question from the course. Essentially the question is, “I don’t feel comfortable selling something we haven’t made yet.” And it’s a really common thing that comes up as the team is out pitching customers. I’m going to play this conversation I had with Bob Caspe – and I’m hoping it will re-frame yoru mindset about what’s happening in these early customer conversations. Like, what’s the point. Remember that ‘Search Selling’ is the term Bob and I use for starting with customer conversations and working backward from there. I’m asking him how to get the most out of these customer conversations and he tells a story that shows where the value is (and where it isn’t) My expectation for any customer pitch is that you won’t make a sale. But by pushing for one and listening to the customer’s feedback, you’ll triangulate more quickly to a better solution that a future customer WILL pay for. The clip I played in this episode is part of an entrepreneurship class that Bob and I are teaching together on HeatSpring. It’s called “Entrepreneurial Strategy” and we’re enrolling any of our current or past students into it for free. It’s a fun excuse to reconnect with each other and with people from Babson or Michigan or wherever. If you want to join just send me a note and I will make it happen. OK, that’s my pep talk. Go talk to some customers!
