Return-Path: Delivered-To: andrew@sterlingcal.com Received: from reseller401.webserversystems.com by reseller401.webserversystems.com with LMTP id 8CZMBipaCWdxZQ0AchKAPA (envelope-from ) for ; Fri, 11 Oct 2024 12:02:34 -0500 Return-path: Envelope-to: andrew@sterlingcal.com Delivery-date: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 12:02:34 -0500 Received: from o13.ptr6032.mail.beehiiv.com ([159.183.141.176]:25272) by reseller401.webserversystems.com with esmtps (TLS1.2) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.96.2) (envelope-from ) id 1szJ29-003hYt-1C for andrew@sterlingcal.com; Fri, 11 Oct 2024 12:02:34 -0500 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mail.beehiiv.com; h=content-type:from:mime-version:subject:reply-to:list-unsubscribe: list-unsubscribe-post:to:cc:content-type:from:subject:to; s=s1; bh=MeZuV71MpVZz+9ZU5FOf4WwvFbHalGF/WIY9EHstvX8=; b=ecm1eHAwKZzykSQUM0NEjwkMrW6WhY+p1IWOsghzsI4HHIkrzV4Z5PlFHHWgwZ1lo6w/ 6q11Rm1IT7RBJYuY1UnCF572oLhm5I7We4wkQzv0ZpXqahropgPM+IxN0RmJP4Dcb2Jd05 8XoE6gu/RC62V/plE8nNIdu55PK1l9DV2/qj8SmXkiBUemc3WYl3k6D4/e5h4PIBbH7Cpj ZEg3kbe8uIJ4JZXjVQkxqfZPbtyiZ/8fg0SlKF2DaaZmLPl8Ug/uUUvQhtvckiNpFXlzoY BixgmqNJ0eOKfRrzl3kFGh0WDLRvuaqzLJ/YMOrOa+hnlqA8m20ryoDpwPn0gHXw== Received: by recvd-fdb77b5cb-v877w with SMTP id recvd-fdb77b5cb-v877w-1-67095A0E-64 2024-10-11 17:02:06.786597046 +0000 UTC m=+2502352.063042921 Received: from NDAyMzQxODk (unknown) by geopod-ismtpd-30 (SG) with HTTP id qyLvdOhxTsGuO9NtIuSPog Fri, 11 Oct 2024 17:02:06.742 +0000 (UTC) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=ce223966c167316f123e65897ec14505da97ddeb6ef283834ae432b3574d Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 17:02:21 +0000 (UTC) From: Collin Stewart Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: Subject: the middle Reply-To: Collin Stewart sId: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d Feedback-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?fdceb3f4-6f93-434d-b4b2-406b95fdd87f=3Anewsletter=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-?= =?us-ascii?Q?4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=3A23270855726497d?= x-newsletter: https://predictablerevenue-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/the-middle List-Unsubscribe: =?us-ascii?Q?=3Cmailto=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d+1d17dc26-c1df-44e?= =?us-ascii?Q?0-812a-883b6ad5b6bc+fdceb3f4-6f93-434d-?= =?us-ascii?Q?b4b2-406b95fdd87f=40unsub=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=3E=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?_=3Chttps=3A=2F=2Fpredictablerevenue-newsletter=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=2Funsubscribe?= =?us-ascii?Q?=2FeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9=2Ee?= =?us-ascii?Q?yJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoiMWQxN2RjMjYtYzFk?= =?us-ascii?Q?Zi00NGUwLTgxMmEtODgzYjZhZDViNmJjIiwicG9?= =?us-ascii?Q?zdF9pZCI6ImZkY2ViM2Y0LTZmOTMtNDM0ZC1iNG?= =?us-ascii?Q?IyLTQwNmI5NWZkZDg3ZiIsImxhc3RfcmVzb3VyY?= =?us-ascii?Q?2VfZ3VpZCI6IlBvc3Q6ZmRjZWIzZjQtNmY5My00?= =?us-ascii?Q?MzRkLWI0YjItNDA2Yjk1ZmRkODdmIn0=2EATC5LJ-?= =?us-ascii?Q?dqQo18yL6kmEnPmm9DZ5EUaj-RGSvsQI=5FC2M=3E?= List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click x-beehiiv-ids: =?us-ascii?Q?{=22account=5Fname=22=3A=22https=3A=2F=2Fpredictablerevenue-newsletter=2Ebeehiiv?= =?us-ascii?Q?=2Ecom=2F=22=2C=22campaign=5Fid=22=3A=22fdceb3f4-6f93-434?= =?us-ascii?Q?d-b4b2-406b95fdd87f=22=2C=22category=22=3A=22newsle?= =?us-ascii?Q?tter=22=2C=22email=5Fgenerated=5Fat=22=3A1728666126=2C=22?= =?us-ascii?Q?user=5Fid=22=3A=223c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137b?= =?us-ascii?Q?ca24b1d=22}?= x-list-id: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-list-owner: x-newsletter-signup: https://predictablerevenue-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-newsletter-id: https://predictablerevenue-newsletter.beehiiv.com/ X-SG-EID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2E7ozyt+tmjDsHnEocxX8pymFA2v5OOh2V4Pdr6hGVjZo99sLHT4OeEg7as?= =?us-ascii?Q?oEFtQzIa0qAOkk1QezFA4qrCcff9558yNK8x6zQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?0aLhxDCyAuB9kgcSLas3IIKR+fvCUJBBgrHy2m9?= =?us-ascii?Q?LhyPW9qyT6x6gC94thLMZY6UKS13LoUtjI=2F2QNP?= =?us-ascii?Q?jRYNDSK2=2FXF07zsO5=2FYfG8TfLkJtb7o=2F5L=2FUJ9D?= =?us-ascii?Q?bk7ajokUhlGXLaYxBwqa9hqsMGJ=2FIbgHCXbscOm?= =?us-ascii?Q?dvSQhkwEvgq36gpHA0f2SY7AXqL1x4rYa4+lIz8?= =?us-ascii?Q?=2Flr4drfY=3D?= X-SG-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2ESdBcvi+Evd=2FbQef8eZF3BpTL9BgbK5wfSJMJGMsmprAVgeiC8iaV7rEmQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?+cYi2k7vX2b7Ug7OxU6Ba=2FVw8FiLSvTBT4rrPvw?= =?us-ascii?Q?CiY+h4kSmcS7sFMnHKlVeoTjMR5hDYVjwjIMkup?= =?us-ascii?Q?RB8AytAciA5uCqpUcbWbxmg9no2rTYA30N4w4Gz?= =?us-ascii?Q?JXRFJYWIOfirgnYJ8lcgmGRTWsM0+rKsqYTNroF?= =?us-ascii?Q?CF=2F1sUt3d2p1=2FRvk=2FdCZXvLLNOggb+Rogx+DHc6?= =?us-ascii?Q?1l5WkqjNhRO7IOOAzahZJQ+0AA=3D=3D?= To: "andrew@sterlingcal.com" X-Entity-ID: u001.RuZ2+X9IBGtjUb8qq3teHQ== X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.3 X-Spam-Score: -42 X-Spam-Bar: ---- X-Spam-Flag: NO --ce223966c167316f123e65897ec14505da97ddeb6ef283834ae432b3574d Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Good morning Andrew,=20 I just went through something I=E2=80=99ve put developers through more time= s than I can count. I sent what I thought was my "first draft" to the edito= r last week and now I realize I need to make some major changes - a whole ~= ~feature~~ section is missing! I had to laugh when I realized it. Now, I=E2= =80=99m starting to really understand how frustrating it must be to work wi= th non-technical leaders who are constantly changing their minds. I woke up this morning with a graph in my head. On the left was the product= journey and on the right was the revenue journey but there was this gray a= rea in the middle where things were hazy. An idea I don=E2=80=99t think I= =E2=80=99ve been able to articulate well enough has been that there is sign= ificant overlap between the two journeys. At some point in the middle, you= =E2=80=99re doing both product and revenue work. This is where I got stuck.= On the one hand, I wanted customers and on the other, I recognized that we= didn=E2=80=99t know everything we needed to yet. I was stuck in this awkwa= rd messy middle, to paraphrase Scott Belsky.=C2=A0 _If you haven=E2=80=99t read Scott=E2=80=99s book, _[The Messy Middle](http= s://www.themessymiddle.com/)_, stop what you=E2=80=99re doing and go read i= t now. I don=E2=80=99t know Scott and there are no affiliate links here, it= =E2=80=99s just a great book. A note on how we each use the words: Scott=E2= =80=99s Messy Middle applies more broadly to the journey where I focus a li= ttle narrower on the gray area between finding a gap in the market and havi= ng a completed product with a sales motion behind it.=C2=A0_ TL;DR:=20 * Start selling is misleading advice=20 * You can sell in your customer development process but need to do it prope= rly=20 **The Middle=C2=A0** In previous iterations I had mapped out the journeys as two separate paths = for product and revenue. What struck me this morning was there was this mid= dle ground where you=E2=80=99re both trying to figure out what to build and= get some money from the process. The processes overlap! Many VCs I=E2=80= =99ve talked to will say this is the stage that you need to just sell more.= Which is terrible and great advice at the same time. It=E2=80=99s great ad= vice because you need to get revenue asap and it=E2=80=99s terrible advice = because you don=E2=80=99t have something to build a formal sales process be= hind. What you need to do is something in between both worlds.=C2=A0 =E2=80=9CSell more=E2=80=9D can be bad advice because when you switch into = sales mode too early, you lock yourself into a fixed path when you should s= till be exploring. In this mode, you're focused on selling the same product= to the same audience, which can close you off to valuable feedback. Instea= d, every potential customer interaction should be seen as a learning opport= unity. If they buy, that's just a bonus. A sales-first mindset at this stag= e can actually prevent you from gaining the one thing you need more than re= venue - insight. With only a few customers, you don=E2=80=99t know enough a= bout the market yet, and your product isn=E2=80=99t fully developed. Their = feedback is crucial for improving it. Additionally, taking a sales posture too early can mislead potential custom= ers. If you project too much confidence in your product, it may be disappoi= nting for them to realize how early-stage your company actually is. This ca= n damage the trust you=E2=80=99ve built with the prospect. You also risk gi= ving them the impression that your first version is the final version.=C2= =A0 On the flip side, =E2=80=9Csell more=E2=80=9D is also good advice because i= f you don=E2=80=99t start generating revenue, you won=E2=80=99t have a comp= any left to support the product. It=E2=80=99s easy to get stuck in =E2=80= =9Cit must be perfect=E2=80=9D mode, spending all your time building the pe= rfect first version, only to run out of cash before you can take it to mark= et. So, while learning is critical, balancing it with making sales is just = as important to sustain your business. Here=E2=80=99s where you can argue that I=E2=80=99m splitting hairs.** You = can and should sell as a part of your customer development process. It just= needs to be handled differently than in a pure sales process**. The primar= y goal of a customer development call is always learning. At the end of the= call you can have a few calls to action. I always ask for a referral to so= meone else to talk to. I also will ask if they want to see what we=E2=80=99= ve built or, if we=E2=80=99re super early, they want me to get in touch whe= n we have something ready to show. The ratio of learning/asking questions t= o talking about your product should be 98% learning and 2% asks for help. G= oing too hard on the sales process at the end of customer development calls= can make people feel like they=E2=80=99ve been bait and switched, which is= not a great place to start with a prospect.=C2=A0 How I think about this in practice is three different types of calls, Explo= ratory Customer Development, Focused Customer Development, and Sales. When = I=E2=80=99m getting started, everything is Exploratory. As my product becom= es real, I start switching from Exploratory to Focused. Once I have receive= d at least one case study and one referral from active customers, I start t= hinking about switching to Sales Calls.=C2=A0 Exploratory Customer Development:=C2=A0 * **Goal**: Find a gap you think you can solve. I usually run these as day = in the life interviews.=C2=A0 * **Call to Action**: Ask for a referral to someone else they might know th= at you can interview. I=E2=80=99ll also ask if they would be open to checki= ng out the tool when it=E2=80=99s ready.=C2=A0 Focused Customer Development Calls * **Goal**: Refine your thinking about a gap you=E2=80=99ve found. I also r= un these as day in the life interviews but I tend to steer them towards the= gap earlier in the conversation.=C2=A0 * **Goal**: I=E2=80=99m also trying to understand the impact solving the ga= p would have on their organization and all the variables that would go into= solving it.=C2=A0 * **Call to Action**: The call to action at the end of each meeting is a _v= ery soft_ ask if they=E2=80=99d like to take a look at what we=E2=80=99ve b= uilt so far.=C2=A0 * To be super clear, this meeting is 98% learning 2% demo max. I intentiona= lly structure it this way to avoid the bait and switch feeling. I will fram= e up the next meeting as a sales conversation with something like, =E2=80= =9CI=E2=80=99ll show you what we=E2=80=99ve built and if you think it might= work for your organization then we can talk about what that might look lik= e.=E2=80=9D This gives them a heads up that we=E2=80=99re transitioning fro= m learning to selling.=C2=A0 Sales Calls=C2=A0 * **Goal: **You know the gap that you solve, how your product solves it, an= d how you=E2=80=99ve helped your customers solve it before. Your goal is to= see if the prospect is experiencing the gap and, if they are, how they fee= l about solving it right now. * **Call to Action**: These look very similar to the Focused Customer Devel= opment Calls with one difference is the customer expects you to talk about = how you can help at some point during the call.=C2=A0 Here=E2=80=99s the picture with some rough milestones:=C2=A0 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfc10g1mYSkHPU= vlz3QIF4IXi-BM61jxKcyJczs9Pai8ROwGdoIj_HBafgREae1lqFXB-_KMUCMdvP8JkCwITSgSM= xuq6jkBwOMjFVDzqGiMUcHrzDUDY-7EZ2qHbSdp-zN_fM7_lcb4I-9NsdSwV0B02I?key=3D8aF= j-rkBigbGptODPukPgg) Caption:=20 Does this check with your experience or am I missing something? Are you cur= rently in The Middle? Let me know. Collin=C2=A0 =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94 You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience,= copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://predictablerevenue-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/the-middle --ce223966c167316f123e65897ec14505da97ddeb6ef283834ae432b3574d Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 the middle
<= /table>
3D""
<= /tr>=
<= td align=3D"center" valign=3D"top" style=3D"border:0px solid #FFFFFF;border= -radius:10px;background-color:#FFFFFF;" class=3D"c">

October 11, 2024   |   Read Online

the middle

<= table role=3D"none" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpaddi= ng=3D"0" align=3D"center">
<= td align=3D"left" valign=3D"middle" style=3D"overflow: hidden;">3D""=
3D"" 3D"" 3D"" 3D"" 

Good morning Andrew,

I just went through something I=E2=80=99ve put developers = through more times than I can count. I sent what I thought was my "fir= st draft" to the editor last week and now I realize I need to make som= e major changes - a whole feature section is missing! I had to laugh when I real= ized it. Now, I=E2=80=99m starting to really understand how frustrating it = must be to work with non-technical leaders who are constantly changing thei= r minds.

I woke up this morning with a gra= ph in my head. On the left was the product journey and on the right was the= revenue journey but there was this gray area in the middle where things we= re hazy. An idea I don=E2=80=99t think I=E2=80=99ve been able to articulate= well enough has been that there is significant overlap between the two jou= rneys. At some point in the middle, you=E2=80=99re doing both product and r= evenue work. This is where I got stuck. On the one hand, I wanted customers= and on the other, I recognized that we didn=E2=80=99t know everything we n= eeded to yet. I was stuck in this awkward messy middle, to paraphrase Scott= Belsky.=C2=A0

If you haven=E2=80=99t r= ead Scott=E2=80=99s book, The Messy Middle<= /a>, stop what you=E2=80=99re doi= ng and go read it now. I don=E2=80=99t know Scott and there are no affiliat= e links here, it=E2=80=99s just a great book. A note on how we each use the= words: Scott=E2=80=99s Messy Middle applies more broadly to the journey wh= ere I focus a little narrower on the gray area between finding a gap in the= market and having a completed product with a sales motion behind it.=C2=A0=

<= span style=3D"color:rgb(44, 62, 80);">TL;DR:

  • Start sellin= g is misleading advice

  • You can sell in your customer development process but= need to do it properly

= The Middle=C2=A0

In previous iterat= ions I had mapped out the journeys as two separate paths for product and re= venue. What struck me this morning was there was this middle ground where y= ou=E2=80=99re both trying to figure out what to build and get some money fr= om the process. The processes overlap! Many VCs I=E2=80=99ve talked to will= say this is the stage that you need to just sell more. Which is terrible a= nd great advice at the same time. It=E2=80=99s great advice because you nee= d to get revenue asap and it=E2=80=99s terrible advice because you don=E2= =80=99t have something to build a formal sales process behind. What you nee= d to do is something in between both worlds.=C2=A0

=E2=80=9CSell more=E2=80=9D can be bad advice because when you swi= tch into sales mode too early, you lock yourself into a fixed path when you= should still be exploring. In this mode, you're focused on selling the= same product to the same audience, which can close you off to valuable fee= dback. Instead, every potential customer interaction should be seen as a le= arning opportunity. If they buy, that's just a bonus. A sales-first min= dset at this stage can actually prevent you from gaining the one thing you = need more than revenue - insight. With only a few customers, you don=E2=80= =99t know enough about the market yet, and your product isn=E2=80=99t fully= developed. Their feedback is crucial for improving it.

Additionally, taking a sales posture too early can mislead po= tential customers. If you project too much confidence in your product, it m= ay be disappointing for them to realize how early-stage your company actual= ly is. This can damage the trust you=E2=80=99ve built with the prospect. Yo= u also risk giving them the impression that your first version is the final= version.=C2=A0

On the flip side, =E2=80= =9Csell more=E2=80=9D is also good advice because if you don=E2=80=99t star= t generating revenue, you won=E2=80=99t have a company left to support the = product. It=E2=80=99s easy to get stuck in =E2=80=9Cit must be perfect=E2= =80=9D mode, spending all your time building the perfect first version, onl= y to run out of cash before you can take it to market. So, while learning i= s critical, balancing it with making sales is just as important to sustain = your business.

Here=E2=80=99s where you ca= n argue that I=E2=80=99m splitting hairs. You can and should sell as a part of your customer developm= ent process. It just needs to be handled differently than in a pure sales p= rocess. The primary goal = of a customer development call is always learning. At the end of the call y= ou can have a few calls to action. I always ask for a referral to someone e= lse to talk to. I also will ask if they want to see what we=E2=80=99ve buil= t or, if we=E2=80=99re super early, they want me to get in touch when we ha= ve something ready to show. The ratio of learning/asking questions to talki= ng about your product should be 98% learning and 2% asks for help. Going to= o hard on the sales process at the end of customer development calls can ma= ke people feel like they=E2=80=99ve been bait and switched, which is not a = great place to start with a prospect.=C2=A0

Exploratory Customer Development:=C2=A0

  • Goal<= /span>: Find a gap you think you can= solve. I usually run these as day in the life interviews.=C2=A0

    =

  • Call to A= ction: Ask for a referral= to someone else they might know that you can interview. I=E2=80=99ll also = ask if they would be open to checking out the tool when it=E2=80=99s ready.= =C2=A0

Focused Customer De= velopment Calls

  • Goal: Refine your thinking about a gap you=E2=80=99ve found. I a= lso run these as day in the life interviews but I tend to steer them toward= s the gap earlier in the conversation.=C2=A0

  • Goal: I=E2=80=99m also trying to understand the impact= solving the gap would have on their organization and all the variables tha= t would go into solving it.=C2=A0

  • Call to Action: The call to action at the end of each meeting is = a very soft ask if they=E2=80=99d like to take a lo= ok at what we=E2=80=99ve built so far.=C2=A0

  • To be super clear, this meeting = is 98% learning 2% demo max. I intentionally structure it this way to avoid= the bait and switch feeling. I will frame up the next meeting as a sales c= onversation with something like, =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll show you what we=E2= =80=99ve built and if you think it might work for your organization then we= can talk about what that might look like.=E2=80=9D This gives them a heads= up that we=E2=80=99re transitioning from learning to selling.=C2=A0=

Sales Calls=C2=A0

  • Goal: You know the= gap that you solve, how your product solves it, and how you=E2=80=99ve hel= ped your customers solve it before. Your goal is to see if the prospect is = experiencing the gap and, if they are, how they feel about solving it right= now.

  • Call to Action: Th= ese look very similar to the Focused Customer Development Calls with one di= fference is the customer expects you to talk about how you can help at some= point during the call.=C2=A0

Here=E2=80=99s the picture with some rough milestones:=C2=A0

=
3D""<= /td>

Does this check with your experienc= e or am I missing something? Are you currently in The Middle? Let me know.<= /span>

Collin=C2=A0

<= /td>
<= /tr>
3D"y=3D"=
 

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