I’ve helped 100s of B2B founders increase their revenue through The Revenue Accelerator.
One of the most common mistakes that I see founders make is messaging and marketing collateral meant to appeal to a wide audience of potential customers. The fear is that they will miss out on sales opportunities if their messaging is too narrow.
The truth is, not all revenue is equal – especially in the early stages of a startup.
Rather than casting a wide net and hoping to attract any customer willing to listen, focus on identifying your ideal customer profile—the individuals most likely to benefit from your solution.
Navigating Noise
Just ask yourself – how likely is it that all of your potential customers have the same problems? And, how likely is it that, among all of your potential customers, the reason they would buy a solution is the same, And, how likely is it that they are working equally hard at solving those problems?
Even though you were quick to answer that it’s highly unlikely that all of your customers are the same in those ways, by going to market with broad messaging and marketing strategies in hopes of filling the top of your funnel, you are treating all of the different individual people who might buy your product the same.
The Power of Precision
As a result, you may have filled the top of your funnel, but you’ve filled it with a lot of noise. Noise comes from customers who don’t currently share your worldview, who prioritize solving the problem that you are addressing relatively less than other customer types, who don’t experience the same amount of professional pain from not solving the problem as other customer types.
Instead, by honing in on a relatively small segment of your total addressable market – for now – you can tailor your sales efforts to meet their specific needs and preferences. Specifically, it allows you to identify what marketing collateral or sales efforts are actually required to earn their business.
Early-Stage Sales Collateral: Keeping It Simple
So, what are the essential components of early-stage sales collateral? It’s simpler than you might think. A functional website, professional email communications, and a concise pitch deck are often all you need to get started. Prioritize direct, hyper-personalized outreach to your target customers.
Of course, as your startup grows and matures, your sales strategies will evolve accordingly. As you start to work with larger accounts and enterprise opportunities, there may be expectations for more sophisticated collateral and refined marketing efforts. However, these should be seen as milestones to strive toward, rather than items founders feel they need to have in place to execute early commercialization efforts.
Effective sales for early-stage startups requires a laser focus on the essentials. By prioritizing the most direct path to revenue and resisting the urge to overcomplicate or overspend, you can position your startup for long-term success.
Less is More on the Path to Product-Market Fit
The next time you find yourself tempted to follow the latest sales trends, remember: along the path to product-market fit, less is more.
As a founder, your time and resources are precious commodities. By spending them on efforts that directly earn and grow revenue today, you’ll be well on your way to building a business that’s positioned to scale successfully tomorrow.