How to acquire your first 10 B2B customers 🤝
Hello friends,
In today’s edition of Elliott Poppel’s Newsletter, we discuss how to acquire your first 10 B2B customers.
How to acquire your first 10 B2B customers 🤝
Start w/ your network
Friends, former colleagues, and connections who fit your ICP
Position the call as a feedback-gathering session on your product / idea
If you want money, “ask for advice.” If you want advice, “ask for money”
Do targeted outbound outreach
Use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find prospects
Personalize cold emails and focus on value, not features
Follow up consistently to schedule demos
Ask for introductions to colleagues or other prospects
Tap into founder / investor networks
Ask VCs for warm intros to their portfolio
Tap founder alumni in an accelerator
Connect w/ founders on Angellist
Ask happy users for intros to their network
Remember that the best sales pitch will come from existing customers
Build community
Create content that attracts your ICP
Write guest posts on relevant blogs
Participate in forums / LinkedIn groups
Attend virtual and in-person events
Develop relationships w/ industry influencers
Generate early PR wins
Pitch relevant press outlets and reporters
Highlight novel aspects of your solution
Offer custom demos and free trials
Showcase great case studies
Drive early adoption efforts
Get MVP in the hands of users fast
Use social media to drive interest
Create incentives to form a viral loop
Double down on channels showing traction
Focus on delivering value
Obsess over customer success
Solicit constant feedback; iterate quickly
Ask happy customers for referrals
Turn early customers into advocates
Thank you for reading,
Elliott
👋 Hi, I’m Elliott, founder of General Collaboration, a Chrome Extension that helps you fly through apps like Notion, Figma, and Jira at 2x speed. Easily reply to all your comments from all your apps, all in one place.