Investors need a clear path to success. Few things shine light on that path like having a group of customers or potential customers that are ready to buy. Here are a few simple steps to get 20 awesome customer conversations on track.
Talk to your target market.
Seems obvious, right? But few of us do this well. About a decade ago, after years of mediocre sales results, I finally took a mentor’s advice and learned how to ask my target markets really great questions. Now I do it all of the time. A few questions I love asking are listed below. To show you exactly how I phrase them, I will ask you the questions as if you are part of this article’s target market (people who want to learn how to get startup investors). That is you, right?!
Customer Discovery Questions:
- What is your biggest fear when trying to get a startup investor?
- What 2 things have kept you from getting the startup investor you need?
- If help were free, what help would you need to quickly get startup investors?
- If you had that help today, would you feel more sure of your success in getting startup investors?
- If that help were available today, how much would you pay for it?
You can take these questions and change out keywords and industry context with your own target market terminology. The point is to understand your market’s motivating emotions, strategic needs, and what they will pay for a solution. It makes little difference what product or service you are selling, the questions work. Just ask at least 20 current or potential customers. These types of questions will give you the insight you need to close customer deals and that is what investors want to see happening.
If you do this and keep up with the data, you now have 20 or more customers that are ready to buy when you create a solution at a reasonable price. These are not just warm leads, they are red hot leads!
Use the customer discovery data to light the path to investor success. Strong customer discovery data that points to profitable sales helps investors clearly see how an investment in your idea can lead to revenue. And everyone likes revenue, especially investors!
