Sales cure a multitude of ills. That’s what my CPA always says, and I can tell you from experience that he’s right. It’s sickening to think how many entrepreneurs have killed their businesses by continually building instead of selling.
Build, sell, sell, sell. Build, sell, sell, sell. Repeat.
It sounds simple. And it is. You have to fight the instinct to keep building so that you can start selling. Habitual “builders” may have a great product, but they don’t have the sales to garner the investment/debt needed to continue…
Samples lead to sales
If you are building a product or service business, you need something to show your customer. It doesn’t have to be the final product, it just needs to be enough to get them interested in buying. Those potential customers can tell you what they want – so ask.
Customer-driven R&D
“What are you willing to pay for?” Some potential customers won’t give you a straight answer to that question; they’re afraid to get locked into a purchase. But if you couch it correctly, you can get great R&D feedback from the people most likely to write you a check.
You will have to get your target customers to pay you at some stage of the process. Otherwise, you’re D-E-A-D. So instead of spending two years and $200,000 – spend 6 months and $30,000. You will know sooner rather than later whether you have a profitable product or service.
Do you know any habitual builders? How do you plan to break the cycle?
About Alex Lawrence
