Return-Path: Delivered-To: andrew@sterlingcal.com Received: from reseller401.webserversystems.com by reseller401.webserversystems.com with LMTP id GMzbMKw86WjSMQIAchKAPA (envelope-from ) for ; Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:04:44 -0500 Return-path: Envelope-to: andrew@sterlingcal.com Delivery-date: Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:04:44 -0500 Received: from o166.ptr78.mail.beehiiv.com ([159.183.29.70]:63824) by reseller401.webserversystems.com with esmtps (TLS1.2) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.98.1) (envelope-from ) id 1v7GXr-00000000dIt-41jn for andrew@sterlingcal.com; Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:04:44 -0500 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mail.beehiiv.com; h=content-type:date:from:mime-version:subject:reply-to:list-unsubscribe: list-unsubscribe-post:to:cc:content-type:date:from:subject:to; s=s1; bh=3yKsI+/VAZXq32nz944ac0VRrllM8bJOnyMgjigT9wA=; b=GOf8WmIjmA91IGp+rXahm5YZT3FN1JbGbaH2EMDk4rTndVVuTyShcRlxdr6Ug1fP3pq4 sNck2AOQccqy5ocMsEC8byq6lxnCCI7U9iKOYidydQoywNisPlxNA5gOwworVUOCXEu24p /UNq2brgnLV5JjxUGWD1n4E9rPKWVw/xPlfsXDcgN4ZYykjFUdgB95EKOPVNK9/t+HYSa5 54vBAKegj5CXioJF3IPWfLlxj+E2xNnyRM9LV8Pk2y0PFlYLVKFDlrXa4jFMPud48QzGFN 6qHDdbWeA5qm516213QYIVwN/DDzNCYNQvdegq40hlthdVAQYcd+rc8tjRriiUzw== Received: by recvd-7b5d7c7745-8h27s with SMTP id recvd-7b5d7c7745-8h27s-1-68E93C6D-CC 2025-10-10 17:03:41.17548239 +0000 UTC m=+11060997.834581818 Received: from NDAyMzQxODk (unknown) by geopod-ismtpd-12 (SG) with HTTP id 9eXbIiy1S8K7Wl_eCn190Q Fri, 10 Oct 2025 17:03:41.118 +0000 (UTC) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=941a961e7afd5561ad0f825bf9b9b3cac8c62c4817474a5e102d4141c5dd Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2025 17:04:33 +0000 (UTC) From: Collin Stewart Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: <9eXbIiy1S8K7Wl_eCn190Q@geopod-ismtpd-12> Subject: The Early Sales Playbook: Why Selling Too Fast Killed My Startup Reply-To: Collin Stewart Feedback-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?85bd1717-2a60-4c1f-92a0-cc79189125cb=3Anewsletter=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-?= =?us-ascii?Q?4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=3A23270855726497d?= List-Unsubscribe: =?us-ascii?Q?=3Cmailto=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d+1d17dc26-c1df-44e?= =?us-ascii?Q?0-812a-883b6ad5b6bc+85bd1717-2a60-4c1f-?= =?us-ascii?Q?92a0-cc79189125cb=40unsub=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=3E=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?_=3Chttps=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2Funsubscribe=2FeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbG?= =?us-ascii?Q?ciOiJIUzI1NiJ9=2EeyJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoi?= =?us-ascii?Q?MWQxN2RjMjYtYzFkZi00NGUwLTgxMmEtODgzYjZ?= =?us-ascii?Q?hZDViNmJjIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6Ijg1YmQxNzE3LT?= =?us-ascii?Q?JhNjAtNGMxZi05MmEwLWNjNzkxODkxMjVjYiIsI?= =?us-ascii?Q?mxhc3RfcmVzb3VyY2VfZ3VpZCI6IlBvc3Q6ODVi?= =?us-ascii?Q?ZDE3MTctMmE2MC00YzFmLTkyYTAtY2M3OTE4OTE?= =?us-ascii?Q?yNWNiIn0=2EGGj7fH8vMxm28srGgSZoa06um9pYgT?= =?us-ascii?Q?iVpqhEN6A=5FQAk=3E?= List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click sId: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-beehiiv-ids: =?us-ascii?Q?{=22account=5Fname=22=3A=22https=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2F=22=2C=22campaign=5Fid=22=3A=228?= =?us-ascii?Q?5bd1717-2a60-4c1f-92a0-cc79189125cb=22=2C=22c?= =?us-ascii?Q?ategory=22=3A=22newsletter=22=2C=22email=5Fgenerated=5F?= =?us-ascii?Q?at=22=3A1760115820=2C=22user=5Fid=22=3A=223c5b97ff-00a9?= =?us-ascii?Q?-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=22}?= x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-list-id: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-list-owner: x-newsletter: https://foundersedition.co/p/the-early-sales-playbook x-newsletter-id: https://foundersedition.co/ x-newsletter-signup: https://foundersedition.co/subscribe X-SG-EID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2E7ozyt+tmjDsHnEocxX8pymFA2v5OOh2V4Pdr6hGVjZo99sLHT4OeEg7as?= =?us-ascii?Q?oEFtQzIa0qAOkk1QezFA4qrCcff9558yNK8x6zQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?0aLhxDCyAuB9kgcSLas3IIKR+fvCUJBBs=2Fpyk5m?= =?us-ascii?Q?FfbSu79GGR07yDd+VxfYDINttnNhQEKS+CRbBDy?= =?us-ascii?Q?NBqmbyzT9uyU78Ma0fI6YUp0RsSpXK1VlBDdCB1?= =?us-ascii?Q?OqFc+pCnWcJ1wkOvgnrZiNwRz7saLmJnWThcLZp?= =?us-ascii?Q?0eXNBWJdYtuesKnoHWYa8qL6bn5Ul+uW9ITAW64?= =?us-ascii?Q?WUPHbnc4=3D?= X-SG-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2ESdBcvi+Evd=2FbQef8eZF3BpTL9BgbK5wfSJMJGMsmprD1ZcmFObA4po1bG?= =?us-ascii?Q?aUE6gycJ+LfRoc8X0Wm0MSorFVcoWHrIixZYD9z?= =?us-ascii?Q?w25Z143eglkAJWbQrLxndYtch6lhNuMZAjzTdhS?= =?us-ascii?Q?+p7WkO424Ipk13O34SdX8bx0Vq1+NisSaeD3=2F1m?= =?us-ascii?Q?PPwNnu3tBcCoFWfFcNPWKXCxqm4UzFl5CDhdWZL?= =?us-ascii?Q?4tAOaanq3GNbLmS3r9MVxi6i+2wvfkc81aYy8gm?= =?us-ascii?Q?U1=2FcLgHMCBLKeG8NJSbMj73q6T+SA9yrfDS=2FIBX?= =?us-ascii?Q?o3pHiUhS+XtBbNwONYDdloYwNXmzdPnSGXo3QkT?= =?us-ascii?Q?0ViPozbjCeZ61tcqHXK0OUicIlItv1U5OpeBCSS?= =?us-ascii?Q?MyTjQvet1IjhucX?= To: "andrew@sterlingcal.com" X-Entity-ID: u001.RuZ2+X9IBGtjUb8qq3teHQ== X-Spam-Status: No, score=4.4 X-Spam-Score: 44 X-Spam-Bar: ++++ X-Spam-Flag: NO --941a961e7afd5561ad0f825bf9b9b3cac8c62c4817474a5e102d4141c5dd Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Hello Andrew,=20 _**Book update**__: __Book update: We=E2=80=99re rolling into the last few = weeks before launch and are closing in on 220 books sold. To make the final= stretch special, I=E2=80=99m adding two new pre-sale bonuses =E2=80=94 ava= ilable only until October 27th at midnight._ _Cold Email Deliverability Guide =E2=80=94 Make sure your emails actually l= and. A simple, proven checklist to warm up domains, boost deliverability, a= nd avoid spam filters._ _Call Review GPT =E2=80=94 Paste your call transcript and get one clear, ta= ctical improvement for your next conversation. Your personal AI call coach.= _ _**Community update**__: our last Q&A before the book launch is next week, = Friday October 17th at 930am PT. __If you=E2=80=99ve already _[_pre-ordered= _](https://www.amazon.com/Terrifying-Art-Finding-Customers-Sleep-Deprived/d= p/1774586134)_, you=E2=80=99re in. If not, now=E2=80=99s the time. Send me = your receipt to get access. I=E2=80=99ll add these two to the pre-order ben= efits list in the next week._ _Onto the newsletter=E2=80=A6_ Most startups fail not because they can't sell, but because they sell too s= oon=E2=80=94or worse, too fast. My second startup went from $0 to $1M ARR in 90 days. Sounds impressive, ri= ght? It killed the company. We proved our hypothesis was correct. The problem was real, the solution wo= rked, and customers wanted it. But I made a critical mistake: I kept sellin= g our shitty MVP. The backend couldn't keep up. Our onboarding was a disast= er. And some idiot=E2=80=94me=E2=80=94kept hammering the gas pedal because = I wanted to hit $1M ARR as fast as possible. What happens when you take on more customers than you can serve and deliver= a mediocre experience? They churn. And they take your reputation, exciteme= nt, and positive word of mouth with them. Early sales aren't about revenue. They're about proof: proof of problem, pr= oof of value, proof of impact. The goal isn't scale=E2=80=94it's clarity. Y= ou're testing your hypothesis of value, and if you get it wrong, no amount = of hustle will save you. ## Start With the Right Problem: The HILS Test Find a High-Impact, Low-Satisfaction problem. This is your 10X=E2=80=94the = reason someone would risk working with a startup over an established compet= itor. Here's how to find it: Ask the magic wand question. "If there was a problem I could solve for you, what would it be and why?" Then score it: * On a scale of 1=E2=80=9310, how important is this to you? * On a scale of 1=E2=80=9310, how satisfied are you with how you're current= ly solving it? You're looking for problems that score 8+ on importance and 4 or below on s= atisfaction. That's your HILS problem. But don't stop there. Dig into the impact: * What happens if this doesn't get solved? * What's the cost to your organization? * What's the personal impact on you=E2=80=94career, stress, promotion? Make sure you can tie the impact to an increase in revenue, a decrease in c= osts, or a decrease in risk. Write down their answers, we'll come back to t= hem later when we put together the value equation. Don't chase feature parity with incumbents. Solve one pain 10X better and t= hey'll forgive everything else. Once you've identified a HILS problem with one customer, validate it with 3= =E2=80=935 more similar companies. Keep this group small so you can stay su= per hands-on. This stage is about calibration before scale=E2=80=94testing = your value hypothesis before chasing volume. You need to prove the problem = is real across multiple customers, not just one outlier. Here's what I should have done with Carb: We had a HILS problem nailed. But= we skipped calibration. We onboarded ten customers right away. They told t= en more friends, and I onboarded them too. Our onboarding team, software, a= nd infrastructure couldn't keep up. The customer experience suffered=E2=80= =94but I kept selling, treating $1M ARR like a scoreboard instead of a sign= al to slow down. I was either greedy, driven by ego, or just foolish. Likel= y a cocktail of all three. ## Design Partnerships: The One-Month Proof Never start with a paid pilot. Start with a design partnership. The goal of a design partnership is twofold: prove that you understood thei= r pain correctly and can solve the HILS problem, and gather metrics on the = value you create so you know how much to charge when you get to pricing the= pilot. Keep them short=E2=80=94one month max. These are experiments, not something= that's good enough to charge for yet. If you're comfortable charging, you = probably waited too long to get the software in front of people. Treat design partnerships as low-risk, low-pressure experiments for the buy= er. Define clear success metrics up front. The goal is to get to a "yes or = no" quickly. Either you've proven you understand the pain and can solve it,= or you know what to change. Track everything: time saved, costs reduced, revenue increased, risks mitig= ated. You'll need these numbers to price your pilot. What I'll do next time: Keep the first three customers a small, tightly ali= gned group. Scope the design partnership for a month. If it works, great. I= f it doesn't, move on to test the next thing. The goal isn't to scale yet= =E2=80=94it's to learn quickly. ## The Checkpoint I Skipped Before moving from proof to pilot, pause and ask: Can we deliver a good eno= ugh experience to turn these customers into case studies? If I can't convince my first three customers to do a case study, either I h= aven't solved their pain well enough, or I picked the wrong design partners= . That's the moment to reset=E2=80=94not to scale. This is the step I missed. Instead of pausing to validate success, I kept a= dding customers. What looked like growth was actually acceleration toward c= ollapse. ## The Value Equation Remember those impact questions from your HILS discovery? And the metrics y= ou tracked during your design partnership? This is where they come together= . You earn the right to charge once you've proven measurable value. That happ= ens in the pilot stage. Take the value you measured in the design partnership=E2=80=94whether it's = time saved, costs reduced, or revenue generated=E2=80=94and multiply it by = 12 months. That's the annual value you're creating. Now charge 5=E2=80=9310% of that number. Why so low? Because early pricing isn't about margin=E2=80=94it's about pro= ving ROI and winning trust. If you save a customer $500K a year, charging $= 25K=E2=80=93$50K makes you a no-brainer. They get a 10X=E2=80=9320X return.= You get a customer who renews, expands, and refers. The math is simple. The discipline is hard. Resist the urge to charge more = just because you can. ## From Proof to Pilot Once you've proven you understand the pain and can solve it, move to a paid= pilot. Duration: 1=E2=80=933 months, with an opt-out clause and automatic rollover= into a monthly agreement. Include weekly check-ins with the day-to-day tea= m and monthly check-ins with the economic buyer. Define success metrics and review them every month. Make "proof of value" e= xplicit. Optimize for fastest time to value, not feature delivery. During pilots, get as close to the customer as possible. Go onsite if you c= an. "Hey, I'm going to be in town=E2=80=94can I swing by?" Watch them use y= our product. Learn what actually matters. ## Stop Selling. Start Learning. After 2=E2=80=933 design partners, pause new outreach. Focus entirely on making existing partners successful. The goal: 100% succe= ss rate and 2=E2=80=933 case studies to anchor future sales. Once you start seeing repeatable success, that's your handoff moment=E2=80= =94when it makes sense to begin building a sales motion or team. The hard-earned truth: If you take on more customers than you can serve wel= l and deliver a mediocre experience, they churn=E2=80=94and they take your = reputation with them. ## When You're Ready to Scale Once you have your case studies and proven value, you're ready to run disco= very with new prospects. But now you have a weapon: evidence. Ask the same HILS questions, but pay attention to whether they care about t= he specific problem you solve 10X better. Not every prospect will. Some wil= l score high on importance but already have a satisfactory solution. Others= will care about a different problem entirely. Your job is to find prospects who light up when you describe the pain you s= olve. The ones who immediately recognize themselves in your case studies. T= he ones who've been waiting for someone to finally fix this thing that's be= en driving them crazy. Early sales taught you what works. Now you're looking for more of the same= =E2=80=94customers who look like your lighthouse accounts, with the same HI= LS problem, ready to pay for the same 10X solution. This is when early sales becomes repeatable. ## Closing Thought: Early Sales Is an Experiment, Not a Process Your goal isn't scale=E2=80=94it's clarity. You're testing your hypothesis of value. Early sales are about learning fas= t, not selling hard. If your early customers renew, expand, and refer, you've found traction wor= th scaling. As Jerry Seinfeld said, "Pain is just the sensation of experience entering = the body." Sometimes, you only learn by living the mistake. I learned mine at $1M ARR. Learn yours at $0.=20 Collin=20 PS - a startup approached me about building my sales methodology into a set= of agents. Hit me back with the word =E2=80=9Cagents=E2=80=9D if you=E2=80= =99d be interested in having something that would work with your existing s= ystems (crm, email, cal, etc=E2=80=A6) but help you follow my sales process= .=20 =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://foundersedition.co/p/the-early-sales-playbook --941a961e7afd5561ad0f825bf9b9b3cac8c62c4817474a5e102d4141c5dd Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 The Early Sales Playbook: Why Selling Too Fast Killed My Startup<= !--[if mso]>96=
<= td align=3D"center" valign=3D"top" style=3D"border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;bo= rder-style: solid; border-color: #FFFFFF;border-radius:10px 10px 0px 0px;ba= ckground-color:#FFFFFF;" class=3D"c">

October= 10, 2025   |   Re= ad Online

The Early Sales Playbook:= Why Selling Too Fast Killed My Startup

3D"share
 
3D"share
 = ;
=3D"share
= 		 
3D"share
=
3D=
<= td class=3D"dd" align=3D"left" style=3D"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;wo= rd-break:break-word;">

Find a High-Impact, Low-Satisfaction problem. T= his is your 10X=E2=80=94the reason someone would risk working with a startu= p over an established competitor.

Make sure you can tie the impact to an increase= in revenue, a decrease in costs, or a decrease in risk. Write down their a= nswers, we'll come back to them later when we put together the value eq= uation.

Treat design partnerships as low-risk, low-pres= sure experiments for the buyer. Define clear success metrics up front. The = goal is to get to a "yes or no" quickly. Either you've proven= you understand the pain and can solve it, or you know what to change.

<= /tr>= = = =

Hello Andrew,

Book update: Book = update: We=E2=80=99re rolling into the last few weeks before launch and are= closing in on 220 books sold. To make the final stretch special, I=E2=80= =99m adding two new pre-sale bonuses =E2=80=94 available only until October= 27th at midnight.

= Cold Email Deliverability Guide =E2=80=94 Make sure your emails actually= land. A simple, proven checklist to warm up domains, boost deliverability,= and avoid spam filters.

Call Review GPT =E2=80=94 Paste your call transcript and get one c= lear, tactical improvement for your next conversation. Your personal AI cal= l coach.

Com= munity update: our= last Q&A before the book launch is next week, Friday October 17th at 930am= PT. If you=E2=80=99ve= already pre-ordered, you=E2=80=99re in. If not, now=E2=80=99s= the time. Send me your receipt to get access. I=E2=80=99ll add these two t= o the pre-order benefits list in the next week.

Onto the newsletter=E2=80=A6

=

Most startups fail not because th= ey can't sell, but because they sell too soon=E2=80=94or worse, too fas= t.

My second startup we= nt from $0 to $1M ARR in 90 days. Sounds impressive, right? It killed the c= ompany.

We proved our h= ypothesis was correct. The problem was real, the solution worked, and custo= mers wanted it. But I made a critical mistake: I kept selling our shitty MV= P. The backend couldn't keep up. Our onboarding was a disaster. And som= e idiot=E2=80=94me=E2=80=94kept hammering the gas pedal because I wanted to= hit $1M ARR as fast as possible.

What happens when you take on more customers than you can serve = and deliver a mediocre experience? They churn. And they take your reputatio= n, excitement, and positive word of mouth with them.

Early sales aren't about revenue. They= 9;re about proof: proof of problem, proof of value, proof of impact. The go= al isn't scale=E2=80=94it's clarity. You're testing your hypoth= esis of value, and if you get it wrong, no amount of hustle will save you.<= /span>

Start With the Right Problem: The HILS Test

Here's how to find it: Ask the magic wand question.

"If there was a problem I = could solve for you, what would it be and why?"

Then score it:

  • On a scale of 1=E2=80=9310, how important is this to you?

    • <= li class=3D"listItem ultext">

    On a scale of 1=E2=80=9310, how satisfied are you with how you'= ;re currently solving it?

You're looking for problems that score 8+ on importa= nce and 4 or below on satisfaction. That's your HILS problem.

But don't stop there. Dig in= to the impact:

  • What happens if this doesn&#= 39;t get solved?

  • What's the cost to your organ= ization?

  • What's the personal impact on you=E2= =80=94career, stress, promotion?

Don't chase= feature parity with incumbents. Solve one pain 10X better and they'll = forgive everything else.

Here's what I should have done = with Carb: We had a HILS problem nailed. But we skipped calibration. We onb= oarded ten customers right away. They told ten more friends, and I onboarde= d them too. Our onboarding team, software, and infrastructure couldn't = keep up. The customer experience suffered=E2=80=94but I kept selling, treat= ing $1M ARR like a scoreboard instead of a signal to slow down. I was eithe= r greedy, driven by ego, or just foolish. Likely a cocktail of all three.

Design Partnerships: The One-Month Proof

Never start with a paid pilot. Start with a design p= artnership.

The goal = of a design partnership is twofold: prove that you understood their pain co= rrectly and can solve the HILS problem, and gather metrics on the value you= create so you know how much to charge when you get to pricing the pilot.

Keep them short=E2=80=94= one month max. These are experiments, not something that's good enough = to charge for yet. If you're comfortable charging, you probably waited = too long to get the software in front of people.

Track everything: time save= d, costs reduced, revenue increased, risks mitigated. You'll need these= numbers to price your pilot.

What I'll do next time: Keep the first three customers a small, = tightly aligned group. Scope the design partnership for a month. If it work= s, great. If it doesn't, move on to test the next thing. The goal isn&#= 39;t to scale yet=E2=80=94it's to learn quickly.

The Checkpoint I Skipped

Before moving from proof = to pilot, pause and ask: Can we deliver a good enough experience to turn th= ese customers into case studies?

If I can't convince my first three customers to do a case stu= dy, either I haven't solved their pain well enough, or I picked the wro= ng design partners. That's the moment to reset=E2=80=94not to scale.

This is the step I missed= . Instead of pausing to validate success, I kept adding customers. What loo= ked like growth was actually acceleration toward collapse.

The Value Equation

Remember those impact questions= from your HILS discovery? And the metrics you tracked during your design p= artnership? This is where they come together.

You earn the right to charge once you've proven = measurable value. That happens in the pilot stage.

Take the value you measured in the design partn= ership=E2=80=94whether it's time saved, costs reduced, or revenue gener= ated=E2=80=94and multiply it by 12 months. That's the annual value you&= #39;re creating.

Now ch= arge 5=E2=80=9310% of that number.

Why so low? Because early pricing isn't about margin=E2=80= =94it's about proving ROI and winning trust. If you save a customer $50= 0K a year, charging $25K=E2=80=93$50K makes you a no-brainer. They get a 10= X=E2=80=9320X return. You get a customer who renews, expands, and refers.

The math is simple. The = discipline is hard. Resist the urge to charge more just because you can.

From Proof to= Pilot

Once you've= proven you understand the pain and can solve it, move to a paid pilot.

Duration: 1=E2=80=933 mont= hs, with an opt-out clause and automatic rollover into a monthly agreement.= Include weekly check-ins with the day-to-day team and monthly check-ins wi= th the economic buyer.

= Define success metrics and review them every month. Make "proof of val= ue" explicit. Optimize for fastest time to value, not feature delivery= .

During pilots, get as= close to the customer as possible. Go onsite if you can. "Hey, I'= m going to be in town=E2=80=94can I swing by?" Watch them use your pro= duct. Learn what actually matters.

Stop Selling. Start Learning.

After 2=E2=80=933 design partners, = pause new outreach.

Foc= us entirely on making existing partners successful. The goal: 100% success = rate and 2=E2=80=933 case studies to anchor future sales.

Once you start seeing repeatable success= , that's your handoff moment=E2=80=94when it makes sense to begin build= ing a sales motion or team.

The hard-earned truth: If you take on more customers than you can ser= ve well and deliver a mediocre experience, they churn=E2=80=94and they take= your reputation with them.

When You're Ready to Scale

Once you have your case studies and proven = value, you're ready to run discovery with new prospects. But now you ha= ve a weapon: evidence.

= Ask the same HILS questions, but pay attention to whether they care about t= he specific problem you solve 10X better. Not every prospect will. Some wil= l score high on importance but already have a satisfactory solution. Others= will care about a different problem entirely.

Your job is to find prospects who light up when you= describe the pain you solve. The ones who immediately recognize themselves= in your case studies. The ones who've been waiting for someone to fina= lly fix this thing that's been driving them crazy.

Early sales taught you what works. Now you&= #39;re looking for more of the same=E2=80=94customers who look like your li= ghthouse accounts, with the same HILS problem, ready to pay for the same 10= X solution.

This is w= hen early sales becomes repeatable.

Closing Thought: Early Sales Is an= Experiment, Not a Process

Your goal isn't scale=E2=80=94it's clarity.

You're testing your hypothesis of va= lue. Early sales are about learning fast, not selling hard.

If your early customers renew, expand,= and refer, you've found traction worth scaling.

As Jerry Seinfeld said, "Pain is just th= e sensation of experience entering the body." Sometimes, you only lear= n by living the mistake.

Collin

PS - a startup approached me about building my sales methodolo= gy into a set of agents. Hit me back with the word =E2=80=9Cagents=E2=80=9D= if you=E2=80=99d be interested in having something that would work with yo= ur existing systems (crm, email, cal, etc=E2=80=A6) but help you follow my = sales process.

3D"yt"3D"in"
 
<= /tr>

U= pdate your email preferences or unsubscribe here

© 2025 Predictable Revenue: Founders Edition =

#304 210 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 2J1, Canada

3D"beehiivPowered by = beehiiv