Key Takeaway: Transition from learning to action by seeking clear commitments and advancements from customers to distinguish real leads from false positives.
Key Points:
- Commitment and Advancement:
- Commitment: A customer gives up something valuable (time, reputation, or money), signaling they are serious.
- Advancement: Moving the customer to the next stage in your sales funnel, closer to a deal.
- Both help avoid "zombie leads"—interested but non-committal customers.
- Examples:
- Commitment: A pre-order or agreeing to test a prototype.
- Advancement: Introducing you to a decision-maker or setting up a team trial.
- Good Meeting vs. Bad Meeting:
- A good meeting results in a clear commitment or next steps.
- A bad meeting ends with compliments or vague promises, such as “Let me know when it launches.”
- Fixing Bad Meetings:
- Push for something concrete: “Would you be open to a trial with your team?” or “Can you introduce me to the budget owner?”
- Rule of Thumb: If there’s no clear next step, the meeting was pointless.
- Currencies of Commitment:
- Time: Sitting down to provide feedback or using a prototype for an extended period.
- Reputation Risk: Introducing you to peers, bosses, or decision-makers.
- Money: Pre-orders, deposits, or paid trials.
- The more valuable the currency they give, the stronger their commitment.
- Focus on Early Adopters ("Earlyvangelists"):
- First customers are highly emotional and deeply invested in solving the problem.
- Characteristics:
- They acknowledge the problem and are motivated to fix it.
- They’ve tried makeshift solutions.
- They have the budget and urgency to act.
- Example: A customer willing to fund a trial even when your solution is still a prototype.
- Avoid Blind Pitches:
- Begin meetings with open-ended questions to learn specific customer needs, even when introducing a product.
- Example: Instead of starting with, “We do X—do you want to buy it?”, ask, “How do you currently handle Y?”
- This approach increases understanding and avoids binary yes/no outcomes.
- Learn from Rejections:
- Rejections help you refine your approach and identify non-customers.
- Push for decisions to separate valuable leads from time-wasters.
Rule of Thumb: Meetings should lead to a clear next step or rejection; customers must give up something valuable to show they’re serious. Learning is the primary goal; revenue is a byproduct.