I believe selling is the most important thing you can do to find product-market fit.

This means selling is more important than doing customer research, running discovery calls, or building a product or prototype.

Way harsh, I know.

I'm dead set on this because real, confirmed signal from the market is exponentially more impactful to your business than hypothetical insights... and the only thing that provides actual market signal is selling.

Think about the difference between asking a prospect “would you buy this?” versus “will you buy this?”

The former question feels less scary. Less confrontational. BUT, you’ve flung the door wide open for your prospect to avoid awkwardness and give you a false positive.

When you ask “would you buy this?”, the prospect might verbally say, “sure, I could definitely see this being useful.” But unless they follow this immediately with questions about how to pay, or when they can start using it – they’re probably just being nice.

If you ask a prospect directly “will you buy this?”, you’re going to get true signal in return. You might get a response like, “Actually, yes, I’d like to try this product ASAP.”

But because the founder experience is rarely so kind, you probably won’t get a yes.

However, you will get a clarifying response like, “I don’t know that we would have budget for something like this,” or “I would need the product to do X before I could consider a purchase.”

And now you’re working with actual, concrete insights from the market.

If your prospect isn’t interested, let’s find out as soon as possible. And let’s find out why.

Never waste a good "no."

When we understand who is a “no,” we can more quickly and easily find a “yes.”

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I think of it like this. Imagine that the founder experience takes place in a little mountain town, with a lovely village called Hypotheticalsville at the foot of Mount Market Signal.

Hypotheticalsville is cozy. It’s safe and warm.

But here, a founder starts to waste away.

You might be in Hypotheticalsville if you’re having lots of nice conversations with folks who are generally in your startup’s space, but they aren’t your buyer.

Maybe they’re subject matter experts, end-users, or investors.

They tell you “this product needs to exist!” but they have no ability to buy it themselves. These affirmations feel good, like a warming cup of mulled wine – but they’re hypothetical.

In Hypotheticalsville, it's so comfy that we may fall into a false sense of security.

Here, it’s easy to waste precious time, limited money, and lots of effort continuing to ideate on or build a product that the market may not want.

Just past Hypotheticalsville, Mount Market Signal looms on the horizon.

When you leave Hypotheticalsville to climb Mount Market Signal, you’re much more exposed. You’re having real sales conversations with potential buyers. They might tell you they don’t see value in your product, which can sting like a cold whip of wind to the face. But these real market signals are what will actually help us find product-market fit.

The more you learn from your prospects, the easier the climb becomes.

With more real insights, the wind will be at your back, rather than your face.

You’ll feel stronger and steadier when you receive a “no,” and with all the proper sales conversations you’re having, you’ve made yourself much more available to get a “yes.”

Climbing Mount Market Signal is way, way harder than apres-ski in Hypotheticalsville -- there’s no getting around it. But as you climb, you’ll be more connected to your prospects, and more likely to find long-term sustainable revenue because of it.

See you in a few days for the second pillar of founder-led sales: the mindset that makes this slippery, tricky climb easier.

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This is Extra Extra, a newsletter about the tactics and mindsets that drive early sales. I’m Caroline Fay, and I’m an exited social impact founder that’s spent my career launching and selling new products. I help non-traditional tech founders build sustainable, recurring revenue.

Good Work Music: Here’s what I listened to while writing this newsletter.

grow revenue ON YOUR TERMS ​ ​Early Sales Cohort Program: On February 19, I'm launching a new, more cost-effective way for founders to get all the curriculum and coaching needed to reach sustainable, recurring revenue. Book a quick meeting with me to apply, or reply to this email. ​1:1 Sales Consulting: If you’re looking for individual support to grow or refine your startup’s sales process. ​Executive Coaching: Coaching and advising on all elements of founder life.

Caroline Fay

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