Hi Reader,A guy in India buys a bike called "rebel".A family buys a certain car because they are "nuclear".A nation votes for a party because it feels "endangered".In each of these examples, a decision is taken by an individual or a group, based on what they think about "themselves".What if you too, could zero down on your customer's self-concept, when positioning your product?It would be much easier then, for them to appreciate why to choose you over other options.So how do you do it in B2B...
18 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,Your marketing muscle works according to your marketing assumptions.And there are three errors of judgement that most B2B SaaS founders make, time and again.Let's look at them:Error #1: Thinking that the goal of marketing is to make selling easier.When you think that way, you position your products according to your ego. So that you feel good about selling your product. However, the real goal of marketing is to make buying easier - so buyers can easily find you, evaluate you, and...
26 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,If all you had to tell your buyers was about your product and your company, then why would you show or send them a deck?Why wouldn't you instead send them to your website?After all, it is much more interactive, updated, and immune to random edits!And gives your buyers much more autonomy over what they want to read (or skip).The job of a sales deck is to present an argument, to answer the question why choose you over others.That job doesn't require credentials or clientele or...
about 1 month agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,We keep chanting this term. We keep saying we need to position the product.But we don't realise the folly of saying this. ๐ It assumes that product is what customers buy. In reality, what the customers buy is a story about themselves. This should make us think whether we should position the product....or the customer?
4 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,There are two ways to check if a story is worth spending on... 1๏ธโฃ Tell the story to people. Then observe how they respond.2๏ธโฃ Observe people first. Then tell a story that mirrors them. You can do first. Or second. Or both! But do at least one of them. Because every good story emerges from ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ (not wordplay).
4 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,I have worked in both kinds of companies.One where being close to customer was expected and rewarded.Another where wanting to speak to customer was seen as threat to sales/CS.This email is not about the politics of it.But the two opposite perspectives you often hear, on this topic. Does talking to customers generate insights?One side of the argument is that customers don't really know what they want. So why talk to them?Another side is that unless we know how customers think about...
4 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,Guess why us selling B2B SaaS so tough? Imagine for once your buyer, and their business. Struggling with an unsolvable problem.Cheated by solutions that promise the moon.Robbed by their sales in the name of a big brand.Flooded with information thatโs enough to drown in. Selling B2B SaaS is tough because ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐2๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. What should your sales & marketing be doing in this situation? Should it boast louder than the competitor?Or should it come down to the level of your buyer...
5 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,Many B2B SaaS founders know about the Jobs theory. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.Just as customers hire products for a job.They also hire your sales and marketing for a job.The job of buying.Tฬฒhฬฒeฬฒ ฬฒdฬฒeฬฒeฬฒpeฬฒrฬฒ ฬฒquฬฒeฬฒsฬฒtฬฒiฬฒoฬฒnฬฒ:Is your sales and marketing focused on ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด?Or on ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ?The former is just the outcome of doing the latter well.
5 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hi Reader,It might be killing your judgement in the name of efficiency and speed. You know what I am talking about.A lot of sales and marketing effectiveness relies on judgement.You try something, it works or it doesnโt.Then you look back at the core assumptions of why you did it that way.You learn something new. And then you improve upon it the next time.This is precious memory. And it gets better with practice.Continue investing in it for long term gains.Donโt outsource human judgement to a...
5 months agoย โขย 1 min read