What you are doing is exciting. You’re offering a new solution to a known problem. You are the “cool kids.” Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Don’t take just anyone, though. It’s easy to mistake early interest for long term value. In the beginning of your venture, you are thirsty for the attention and validation—so thirsty that it might lead you into bad decisions.
In my experience building instructional products, there were always two key factors I looked for in validating a product:
- Find people who are generally in favor of your product or solution. If you give too much power to those who are not in favor, they will be destructive to the process. Sounds obvious, but what would make you pick a customer who’s not in favor of your concept? This happens a lot. You get excited by a huge opportunity and you think you can start the sales process now, even before the product is done. Be careful, the lure of a huge potential sales can cloud your vision. Get the product right first.
- Find those who will give you useful, honest feedback. Again, there is a balance here. Those who ‘yes’ you through the whole process? Encouraging—but generally not helpful to a young business. You need folks who will be critical enough to help you make the product better. This is hard work, and your product has to be worth it to them. You have to be worth it to them.
The framing mechanism that I always advise is to think of it as a hiring decision. After all, it’s just as important. When candidates come to you looking for a job, what are your criteria for making a decision? Apply the same logic when you are picking your customers. Sure, they may be able to deliver short-term gains. But if they won’t bring long-term value to the business, why would you hire them?
Involve people who provide more value than they extract. This goes for everything you do in your business. And it only works if they feel the same way about you in return.
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This piece is a part of a 10-part series called Content Strategy for Entrepreneurs.
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Photo credit: “UNIQUE” by ribosomis is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. Unchanged from original.