Yet another Saturday morning and Exotel office was abuzz with founder Shivku and Headstarters looking to have yet another session of clubs. This club was attended by Fungroo, Moxiter,Neyaath, AppAnalyz. After a brief round of introduction with focus on current challenges they are facing in their start-ups the session started with an initial talk by Shivku.
The main problems on the table were about finding new customers, right customers, pricing and payment models, scaling sales, up-selling, brand building. Sounds too much for a 3 hour discussion? One thing I've observed is that expanse of discussions is sort of unavoidable. The session started with Q&A, moved towards white board based gyaan session and ended up in gags and laughter about start-up life in general. At clubs it's not about finding the right way, it's about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Here are a few insights about B2B sales
Finding right customers?
Before looking for right customers start-ups should be worried about finding the correct product- market fit. Most start-ups spread their offering too thin by offering end-to-end or generic fit solutions. Though is feels good to be able to cater a bigger market, it's not a good strategy for startups. It is important to focus on one offering/domain and go deeper than wider. Start-ups should profile their customers, look for small wins and capitalize on them. Customer profiling is absolutely essential.Listen to the market and tweak offering regularly based on what market is asking for.
Initial Customers?
Having a nice and relevant network before starting up is a BIG help. It's easy to start with friends and acquaintances in need. Get the first 10 low hanging fruits first and after you've exhausted your network look for up-selling and referrals. Best bet is to get incoming sales queries which can only happen when you build the right brand. Look where competition is going and how are they educating the market.
Building the brand?
Sell yourself not products. The trust is what matters the most and it comes from being perceived as Subject matter experts. You should know your sh*t. Content marketing plays a big role. Answer relevant questions on Quora. Write blogs. Look for speaker slots at relevant events, trade shows.
Pricing and Payment model in India focused market?
The key insight was that customers don't care about the whole set of features. Start with basic model at lower price. While pricing - keep space for negotiation. Offer maintenance, training and other freebies instead of negotiating on price. Indian customers ask for one time upfront payment model. be prepared to offer it and leverage it.
Top metrics to focus on?
Y Combinator suggest having 10% m-o-m growth on any of your favorite metric is sign of healthy startup. There are other things to look for Churn%, CAC and LTV. The LTV/CAC > 3 is healthy. While calculating CAC take only Marketing and sales costs in to account.
Scaling?
Scaling up doesn't happen by working harder. It is important to AUTOMATE the sales process as much as possible. Make it DIY if possible. There are lot of tools that can be used. Here are some that Exotel uses.
The end notes from Shivku were that Start-up is a journey of discovering 'yourself'. Challenging your limits and finding your purpose. Gives me goose-bumps! When are YOU embarking on this thrilling journey?
The main problems on the table were about finding new customers, right customers, pricing and payment models, scaling sales, up-selling, brand building. Sounds too much for a 3 hour discussion? One thing I've observed is that expanse of discussions is sort of unavoidable. The session started with Q&A, moved towards white board based gyaan session and ended up in gags and laughter about start-up life in general. At clubs it's not about finding the right way, it's about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Here are a few insights about B2B sales
Finding right customers?
Before looking for right customers start-ups should be worried about finding the correct product- market fit. Most start-ups spread their offering too thin by offering end-to-end or generic fit solutions. Though is feels good to be able to cater a bigger market, it's not a good strategy for startups. It is important to focus on one offering/domain and go deeper than wider. Start-ups should profile their customers, look for small wins and capitalize on them. Customer profiling is absolutely essential.Listen to the market and tweak offering regularly based on what market is asking for.
Initial Customers?
Having a nice and relevant network before starting up is a BIG help. It's easy to start with friends and acquaintances in need. Get the first 10 low hanging fruits first and after you've exhausted your network look for up-selling and referrals. Best bet is to get incoming sales queries which can only happen when you build the right brand. Look where competition is going and how are they educating the market.
Building the brand?
Sell yourself not products. The trust is what matters the most and it comes from being perceived as Subject matter experts. You should know your sh*t. Content marketing plays a big role. Answer relevant questions on Quora. Write blogs. Look for speaker slots at relevant events, trade shows.
Pricing and Payment model in India focused market?
The key insight was that customers don't care about the whole set of features. Start with basic model at lower price. While pricing - keep space for negotiation. Offer maintenance, training and other freebies instead of negotiating on price. Indian customers ask for one time upfront payment model. be prepared to offer it and leverage it.
Top metrics to focus on?
Y Combinator suggest having 10% m-o-m growth on any of your favorite metric is sign of healthy startup. There are other things to look for Churn%, CAC and LTV. The LTV/CAC > 3 is healthy. While calculating CAC take only Marketing and sales costs in to account.
Scaling?
Scaling up doesn't happen by working harder. It is important to AUTOMATE the sales process as much as possible. Make it DIY if possible. There are lot of tools that can be used. Here are some that Exotel uses.
The end notes from Shivku were that Start-up is a journey of discovering 'yourself'. Challenging your limits and finding your purpose. Gives me goose-bumps! When are YOU embarking on this thrilling journey?
