Spiral Approach to Early Stage Startup Sales
Early sales, particularly Enterprise sales, are EXCEPTIONALLY HARD for STARTUPS.
The biggest issue is that founders spend too much time with customers who AREN’T READY TO BUY.
Here is a simple framework for how to think about YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.
It starts & ends with a spiral analogy…
1. Start From End State
Visualize it’s 5 years from now and you are super successful - you’ve sold to all of the 1000 customers you targeted. Now arrange them on a spiral and mark then 1, 2, 3, etc on the inner part and 998, 999, 1000 all the way on the outer part.
2. Go Back to Now
So here is the thing - you ARE NOT meeting these customers in this sequence. You are meeting these customers in a different order. You are meeting the first 1000 customers in the order you initially targeted them and got intros, not in the order they will ultimately become your customers.
3. Who Is Ready To Buy?!
Your job is to figure out WHO IS READY TO BUY NOW.
In others words - WHO WILL BE ON THE INNER PART OF THE SPIRAL.
Figuring this out is crucial - you need to NAIL PREQUALIFYING AND CLOSING your first customers.
And also …
4. Figure Out Who Is NOT READY TO BUY NOW
Just as it is critical to qualify, it’s even MORE CRITICAL TO DISQUALIFY early customers because you can WASTE A TON OF TIME on customers that will land on the outer ring of your spiral.
5. Why Don’t They Buy Now?
Customers aren’t ready to buy for a million reasons - from no budget to more commonly that later adapters want to see you grow first before trusting you. They want early adapters to go first!
Think on it - SALES ARE ABOUT BOTH NEED AND TRUST!
6. What To Do About The Ones That Aren’t Ready To Buy?
Simple - put them into a queue and reach back out later. Establish a cadence and check-in. You know the time will come because these customers are on the spiral- they will buy, but later!
7. Why Use a Spiral Analogy?
Why am I using a spiral as a visual instead of a line ?
To capture that you are growing and selling to more and more customers as you grow.
The main thing is of course to SEQUENCE THE CUSTOMERS CORRECTLY.
So if you like the line better - use it.
8. So How Do You Disqualify?
It depends on YOUR SPECIFIC CUSTOMERS, but common ones are:
Lack of budget or economic buyer
Lack of champion
Organizational politics
You are just too early and too risky!!!
9. How Do You Qualify?
Ask them to pay you!
Get an LOI
Watch for speed, responsiveness, and eagerness on their end.
Don’t be hopeful - be definitive and deliberate!
Summary
The biggest sales mistake founders make at early stage is SPENDING TIME WITH CUSTOMERS WHO ARE NOT READY TO BUY!
The spiral analogy helps you think through that- focus on qualifying and selling to the right customers first.
Adapt it and get early sales faster!
