Anyone ever tried this subtle trick from The Mom Test?
In the Mom Test @robfitz suggests flipping your mindset so that instead of going into discussions looking for customers, you're looking for advisors.
I think this is a great piece of advice. My mom, who is also an indie hacker, has often told me that potential customers can basically "smell" someone who is "salesy" or "needy" and that it's a great way to lose a customer. I've struggled myself with how to be direct and clear without being either of the former. It seems like simply looking at potential costumers as advisors is a cool shift in mindset that allows you to maintain equal footing in the conversation and not forfeit the power. I'm excited to try this.
Anyone out there have any experience with this?
Steli Efti gave similar advice on the last IH podcast episode He said that a great trick when doing sales as a founder early on is to ask potential customers for advice instead of money. I've also heard the same tip for raising money from investors.
People love to be helpful and to show off their knowledge, so it's a great way to get in the door!
This podcast is amazing! The 1,2,3 trick is awesome.
Feels disingenuous. I really don't like it when people come to my workshops under the pretense of learning how to code (I run weekly coding workshops in Washington DC) then afterwards, try to get me to join their cool, exciting startup or worse - ask me for a job. This basically guarantees I will never do whatever the other person actually wants.
I prefer the straight-up approach. I am selling something, here it is. Either you want it or don't and if not, no hard feelings. Sure, some people get turned off by that but those people were never going to be sales anyway. I just move on to the actual sales. The key here is to expect the rejection, it's gonna happen no matter what.
Good points here. The straight-up approach is always commendable. And if you expect a certain amount of rejection anyway and you're therefore not attached to a particular outcome it probably negates the "needy" vibe anyway. Thanks for your input!
@harrydry has written about this when pitching by email. https://marketingexamples.com/coldemail/advice-emails
Love that. I don't have experience with it yet but I like that it changes the energetics of the conversation into something more collaborative.