1. Step 9: Identify your Next 10 Customers

2. How to Complete this Step Validate your Current Persona
Outline
Overview
How to Complete this Step
Validate your Current Persona
Dealing with Negative Feedback
Workshop
November 23, 2018

3. Contact them to validate (or invalidate) your hypotheses
Overview
This step: identify at least 10 potential customers who fit your End User Profile
Contact them to validate (or invalidate) your hypotheses
November 23, 2018

4. Very important to identify next 10 customers
Overview
Very important to identify next 10 customers
Validate your Persona (is it accurate?)
Increase confidence that product will sell
Get valuable feedback on work thus far
November 23, 2018

5. Identify 10 high-potential customers that fit End User Profile
Overview
This step:
Identify 10 high-potential customers that fit End User Profile
Contact them to verify / refine primary market research
Similar to Persona?
Validate previous work: full life cycle, value proposition
If you have issues, now is time to fix previous steps
November 23, 2018

6. How to Complete this Step Validate your Current Persona
Outline
Overview
How to Complete this Step
Validate your Current Persona
Dealing with Negative Feedback
Workshop
November 23, 2018

7. How to Complete This Step
List more than 10 potential customers
Make sure group is homogenous! (Fits End User Profile)
Contact them and discuss:
Full Life Cycle Use Case
High-Level Product Specification
Quantified Value Proposition
Take notes on feedback
Both positive and negative
GOAL: validate / invalidate your previous steps
November 23, 2018

8. How to Complete This Step
Remember to be in inquiry mode, not advocacy mode
Listen
Pay attention
Don’t try to “sell” anything..
Goal is to LEARN.. not SELL
If a customer wants to buy, that’s great.. But not the goal of this step.
November 23, 2018

9. How to Complete This Step
NOTE: if you cannot find 10 customers who get excited about your high-level product spec, then you may need a different beachhead market! ALSO- this step requires a TON of work..
November 23, 2018

10. How to Complete this Step Validate your Current Persona
Outline
Overview
How to Complete this Step
Validate your Current Persona
Dealing with Negative Feedback
Workshop
November 23, 2018

11. Validate Current Persona
If Persona is outlier, will be hard to find 10 similar customers
You may have to select a “better” Persona!
Totally OK!
November 23, 2018

12. How to Complete this Step Validate your Current Persona
Outline
Overview
How to Complete this Step
Validate your Current Persona
Dealing with Negative Feedback
Workshop
November 23, 2018

13. Dealing with Negative Feedback
Goal isn’t 100% accuracy with each step
Want to test hypotheses and learn from potential customers
Negative feedback will happen
How team responds => fundamental factor in success..
November 23, 2018

14. How to Complete this Step Validate your Current Persona
Outline
Overview
How to Complete this Step
Validate your Current Persona
Dealing with Negative Feedback
Workshop
November 23, 2018

15. NOTE: we’ll review the worksheets
Workshop
NOTE: we’ll review the worksheets
To complete, your team must “get out of the building”
November 23, 2018

16. View Worksheet “Lessons Learned” (don’t fill out, yet)
Workshop
View Worksheet “Lessons Learned”
(don’t fill out, yet)
Think about what you want to gain
What hypotheses do you want to test?
November 23, 2018

17. Worksheet “List of Potential Contacts”
Workshop
Worksheet “List of Potential Contacts”
Make list of potential customers
Must be homogenous!
Similar to Persona
Common problem- next 10 customers is too heterogeneous
Want focus
Don’t talk to people who aren’t potential end users
November 23, 2018

18. Worksheet “Notes from Conversations with Potential End User”
Workshop
Worksheet “Notes from Conversations with Potential End User”
One per customer
Pay attention to:
Demographics
Psychographics
Overall profile
Full Life Cycle Use Case (feedback)
Quantified Value Proposition (feedback)
REMEMBER to be in “inquiry mode”
November 23, 2018

19. Worksheet “Summary of Next 10 Customers”
Workshop
Worksheet “Summary of Next 10 Customers”
Jot down notes of validated vs. invalidated
What assumptions need to be modified?
Should you select a new Persona?
Worksheet: Lessons Learned
November 23, 2018