How to Get Your First Customers

Do Things That Do Not Scale

Not scaling means not relying on methods or strategies that can be repeated and expanded at scale from the start. Instead, it means taking hands-on, non-scalable steps to acquire users or customers, give them an exceptional experience, and build a solid foundation. This may include recruiting users manually, speaking with them in person, and meeting their individual needs. For example, Stripe initially recruited users aggressively and set up their accounts personally instead of waiting for them to join the platform.

The do-things-that-do-not-scale approach creates a strong foundation for future growth. As the company grows and adopts more scalable strategies, it already has loyal users and a product improved through their feedback. This gives the startup an advantage because it understands its customers and has a product that meets their needs.

In short, doing things that do not scale is an important startup strategy. It focuses first on quality and customer satisfaction, building a foundation for sustainable growth at scale.

How to Make Sales

• You need to know your customers.
• This gives you control over your own future. Sales should be part of a founder’s DNA.
• Do not hire a sales team until you know how to sell yourself.
• Do not worry if you do not know how to sell. You can learn.
• Knowing the problem, your product, and the market makes you an expert.
• A love of solving customer problems is contagious.

How to Write a Great Sales Email

• Keep it short, with 6 to 8 sentences.
• Use clear language.
• Address the problem.
• Do not use HTML. Use plain text.
• Say that you are the founder and describe your success.
• Include your website.
• Ask for a call (the call to action).

Sales Funnel

The Founder’s Terms

• List potential customers.
• Email or message them.
• Schedule meetings.
• Share your price and close the deal.
• Earn revenue and keep the customer.

The Sales Terms

• Prospecting.
• Qualification.
• Sales call.
• Proposal sent.
• Sale.

Segmenting Your First Customers

Create columns for the information you want to track. Store all the information.

Your first customers should be the easiest ones to reach.

• Build a large list of potential customers and prioritize it.
• Do not be afraid to hear “no.”
• Sell to your network.
• Startups are the easiest category to sell to. Large companies have more bureaucracy and processes.
• Most people (95%) are not early adopters. Avoid them.

Charge for Your Product

You need to charge your first customer.

• If you do not charge, you do not have a company.
• Charging shows that you provide value.
• If they do not want to pay, move on.
• Do not offer free trials. Offer a money-back guarantee or the option to cancel an annual contract.
• Raise the price until customers complain but keep paying.

Work Backward from Your Goal

Track your progress. This gives you feedback on whether the process is working.

Initial sales outreach means the channel you use to contact your first customers.

• You do not know your conversion rate. That is why you need a CRM to track it.
• Outbound sales ultimately depend on numbers. You cannot close five customers with ten leads.
• Most founders do not work backward from their goal, so they do not make enough sales.

Common Sales Mistakes

• Founders do not send enough outreach.
• Believing something besides sales will solve sales problems.
• Outsourcing sales.
• Not qualifying customers well enough on the first call.

Useful Tools

Apps

• apollo.io
• close.com
• pipedrive.com
• hunter.io

Book and Podcast

• Founding Sales by Peter Kazanjy
• Lenny’s Podcast - lennysnewsletter.com

Summary