3 builders who never spoke to each other

Diagnose the business before picking a tactic

Ask who the customers are, what share of visitors match that profile, what you want them to do and what they actually do, before choosing any channel, because ten minutes of that can reveal the tactic was never the problem. State the single problem the business is working on in one line and point everything at it, and be able to size the market you are aiming at even if you never raise. Cut in large chunks rather than trimming, treat anything needing a long presentation to explain as a liability, and give a chosen system months before abandoning it.

The method

1. 01

   Diagnose the business problem before choosing a marketing tactic: ask who the customers are, what share of visitors match that profile, what you want them to do, and what they actually do.

2. 02

   Cut in large chunks rather than trimming details, and read strong internal resistance as a signal you have found the removal worth testing.

3. 03

   Treat any process that needs a long presentation to explain as a maintenance liability, however clever it looks.

4. 04

   Give a chosen system three to six months before deciding to abandon it, and only design your own hybrid if you are confident enough to.

5. 05

   When you suspect a go-to-market trend is real but cannot tell if you are fooling yourself, email a handful of investors one direct question about the demand they are seeing.

What it returned

• 10%

  Ten minutes of those questions with one agency's client revealed that under 10% of visitors matched the customer profile, and half of those left through an irrelevant dead-end page that happened to be the first menu item; twenty minutes produced several specific changes worth testing.

• His example is a proposed sales process requiring an hour-long presentation.

• Three to six months.

• He emailed five investors and got four confirmations plus one neutral answer.

Sources

• How do I build something people want?Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Finally, tell people about it! · undated
• Tipping Over – The Bootstrapped FounderArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · 2024-07-12
• Digitizing a Startup & Making $170,000/MonthMehdi Kajbaf · failory.com · What were the biggest challenges you faced and obstacles you overcame? · undated
• Should You Hire a Freelancer or a Consultant?Greg Kogan · gkogan.co · 2015-11-18
• I Changed My Mind About Product-Led GrowthGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · 2021-02-12
• Removing stuff is never obvious yet often betterGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · Dare to question and remove · 2024-08-25
• Simple Systems Have Less DowntimeGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · Principles for Simple Systems · 2020-03-02
• Commit to a SystemGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · 2018-02-23