Hardcore idea validation + getting the first clients

[GuestA4319]

Hey guys,

I've seen that a lot of people have issues validating their ideas and concepts and they often post on forums asking for feedback. Asking on a general forum won't give you real insights. If you don't pitch the idea exactly to the customer you won't get any real feedback.

Besides that, the best way I found to validate an idea which I used in the past(recently found the same technique on an article on Entrepreneur.com) and also get customers looks like this:


1. Find at least 5 potential clients. Call or meet them, better talk face2face.
2. Pitch your idea than say something like "I would like to invest a lot of time and money in this venture. Since you are a potential client, please convince me why I shouldn't start this business" than shut up. Now that's when the interesting part happens. When you ask that question people will change their perception from being polite into "finding flaws" mode. With that question you put some pressure on the prospect to answer sincerely, they don't want to feel responsible for your failure, even if they're aren't...is just a psychology trick.

From there on you'll get feedback of amazing value, you'll be touching real issues.

And the best part is that, most of the time you can even get him as a client. If you talk to the prospect, you'll give solutions to the flaws they tell you, it's a high chance to close the deal even if you don't have anything built.

If anyone is trying this, let us know how it goes.

 

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[lrryjrry]

Hey guys,

I've seen that a lot of people have issues validating their ideas and concepts and they often post on forums asking for feedback. Asking on a general forum won't give you real insights. If you don't pitch the idea exactly to the customer you won't get any real feedback.

Besides that, the best way I found to validate an idea which I used in the past(recently found the same technique on an article on Entrepreneur.com) and also get customers looks like this:


1. Find at least 5 potential clients. Call or meet them, better talk face2face.
2. Pitch your idea than say something like "I would like to invest a lot of time and money in this venture. Since you are a potential client, please convince me why I shouldn't start this business" than shut up. Now that's when the interesting part happens. When you ask that question people will change their perception from being polite into "finding flaws" mode. With that question you put some pressure on the prospect to answer sincerely, they don't want to feel responsible for your failure, even if they're aren't...is just a psychology trick.

From there on you'll get feedback of amazing value, you'll be touching real issues.

And the best part is that, most of the time you can even get him as a client. If you talk to the prospect, you'll give solutions to the flaws they tell you, it's a high chance to close the deal even if you don't have anything built.

If anyone is trying this, let us know how it goes.

that sounds like a good idea

 

[tafy]

I like how you ask that question, needs to be a client with a brain to answer though

 

[GuestA4319]

I like how you ask that question, needs to be a client with a brain to answer though

If you are going B2B(and this works on B2B only), they usually answer nicely, but you need t be face2face. But yeah, it's mose efficient for medium-size to enterprise level business

 

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[Kevin Peter]

We tried this approach while initaiting our product for Gmail. It worked! The honest feedback they give, helps you decide on the type of marketing initiative that we can incorporate for immediate response from the target audience.

 

[Tobore]

Hey guys,

I've seen that a lot of people have issues validating their ideas and concepts and they often post on forums asking for feedback. Asking on a general forum won't give you real insights. If you don't pitch the idea exactly to the customer you won't get any real feedback.

Besides that, the best way I found to validate an idea which I used in the past(recently found the same technique on an article on Entrepreneur.com) and also get customers looks like this:


1. Find at least 5 potential clients. Call or meet them, better talk face2face.
2. Pitch your idea than say something like "I would like to invest a lot of time and money in this venture. Since you are a potential client, please convince me why I shouldn't start this business" than shut up. Now that's when the interesting part happens. When you ask that question people will change their perception from being polite into "finding flaws" mode. With that question you put some pressure on the prospect to answer sincerely, they don't want to feel responsible for your failure, even if they're aren't...is just a psychology trick.

From there on you'll get feedback of amazing value, you'll be touching real issues.

And the best part is that, most of the time you can even get him as a client. If you talk to the prospect, you'll give solutions to the flaws they tell you, it's a high chance to close the deal even if you don't have anything built.

If anyone is trying this, let us know how it goes.

Nice idea. I like how its laid out BUT I think there should be a step...

3. Asking a simple question in the end like: "would you pay me to build this solution for you?" could make things clearer

I've found that most people are ready to give you ideas on what they "think" they want...or what they think you should build
but when it comes to paying for it...they cringe.

Also, gauging emotional reactions and body language would tell if they actually want something or not.

Albeit, its a nice way to get quick feedback.

 

[Draven Grey]

Me and the others in my Mastermind group have similar interviews, using the Lean Canvas for the initial ideas and questions we come up with.

 

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[Tobore]

Me and the others in my Mastermind group have similar interviews, using the Lean Canvas for the initial ideas and questions we come up with.

Questions are very powerful. Would you mind sharing some of the result-yielding questions you've asked?

 

[Draven Grey]

Questions are very powerful. Would you mind sharing some of the result-yielding questions you've asked?

I could, but I don't think they would apply to anyone else at all. They are specifically formulated from the businesses we had written lean canvases for, and incredibly targeted to our well-defined ideal fan. A separate interview period was done for each stage too. The overall idea was to use our ideal fans/clients as a bouncing board and let them refine each aspect of our lean canvas in their own words. It's all part of the Lean Canvas process, if you want to look it up. The biggest difference we had was that we have an in-depth way of finding our ideal fan, roughly based upon Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid, and years of refining the process with the band's I've coached through it.

 

[Tobore]

I could, but I don't think they would apply to anyone else at all. They are specifically formulated from the businesses we had written lean canvases for, and incredibly targeted to our well-defined ideal fan. A separate interview period was done for each stage too. The overall idea was to use our ideal fans/clients as a bouncing board and let them refine each aspect of our lean canvas in their own words. It's all part of the Lean Canvas process, if you want to look it up. The biggest difference we had was that we have an in-depth way of finding our ideal fan, roughly based upon Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid, and years of refining the process with the band's I've coached through it.

Sounds like a highly customized process...

I'd definitely check The Lean Canvas process up. Sounds interesting...

Thanks mate

 

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[Deleted20833]

You can also run a Facebook display ad about the upcoming launch of product "x"

See how many clicks and signs up you get on your landing page wanting more information
when product "x" is launched

This at least shows there are people interested in it

If the product is anything similar like what
has sold before..then you should be good

 

[Kevin90]

Great ideas, thanks for this info!

 

[Leo Hendrix]

Anyone read 'Running Lean'? Incorporated lessons from there?

I just got it, waiting for first prototype for my product to built and develop from there, just need to validate if there is a market for my product although what I am working on is something I have done and exists offline, just trying to shift from offline to online.

 

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[LateStarter]

You can also run a Facebook display ad about the upcoming launch of product "x"

See how many clicks and signs up you get on your landing page wanting more information
when product "x" is launched

This at least shows there are people interested in it

If the product is anything similar like what
has sold before..then you should be good

My experience has been that Facebook will target your audience like a mother and get you the page likes/clicks you target, but converting those people to buy is much harder. I suspect buyers are a different demographic that those targeted for the Lead Page ads. With over 1B people using it, it's easy to see how there could be a demo of people that are 'page likers'/clickers that collect pages like a badge of honor. While those that can convert might be a slightly different demo all together.

 

[GuestA4319]

My experience has been that Facebook will target your audience like a mother and get you the page likes/clicks you target, but converting those people to buy is much harder. I suspect buyers are a different demographic that those targeted for the Lead Page ads. With over 1B people using it, it's easy to see how there could be a demo of people that are 'page likers'/clickers that collect pages like a badge of honor. While those that can convert might be a slightly different demo all together.

Usually this happens if you are promoting a facebook page. If you are promoting a website directly, the costs are much higher but people actually go and see your website.

I had a SaaS that I sold which was related to FB advertising. I talked with a lot of customers and getting the right demo for their audience was a struggle. When you you target the right demo, your CTR increases and click costs get down....I haven't tried FB ads for a while, I hope they improved their targeting.