Build

Some customers think they can build everything themselves and consider it as an advantage over their peers.

The reason for it is very simple: Sunk cost and the Ikea Effect.

The sunk cost of their knowledge and skill. How can it go to waste? Even though this is no more our primary task.

The Ikea Effect because we have built it, so we are incentivized to use it even though the product is a hack.

A sales guy should not waste time on such customers. People will hire a donkey for the job of horses because it is their donkey. You cannot change their perception.

Wandering

I remember the early days of my 20’s. So much was all about exploration. From IRC to Linux distros to mailing lists. It feels nostalgic.

Looking back now, I see the positive side of it. Getting lost, connected, lazying, or communicating has a positive side as well. When you are not looking for something, just visiting you are more calm and relaxed.

Sometimes magic happens when we do things without any aim, goal. The outcome can be surprising.

Most of my close friends came from that era, we still meet and talk. Just now it is no more distro wars, Lug meetups but life, health, family.

Those nights of hit and trial, compiling sound cards, evolution, and running after dependencies.

Time has changed, but relationships are intact.

Qualified Customers

Saas metrics are in abundance when it comes to qualifying leads or potential customers. Various analogies are taken into account like ticket size, effort to move to the platform.

In the early days of product development and onboarding customers, my learning has been different. Customers or teams who are empathetic with you during the trial period, who cares for you are the ones who will stick as customers. Focus on working closely with such team, customers, and fire the ones who do not qualify this category.

Early days of product development needs believers, not customers. They are also entitled to an early adopters program and discounted pricing.

You can onboard others as a customer with face value price when you are out for business and delight them with your service.

unique

We are all unique, so is our life and our journey. There is no one fit for all. The challenges my cook is going through are different than mine.

We cannot compare the life of the two.

The same applies to run a startup. Each has its vision, journey, and true north. A lot of it depends on the founders, team, or investors.

We should respect each one of them. We should avoid judging or passing judgment.

Running a startup at any level or scale has it’s challenges, joy, and incentive. But they are all unique.

Customers

Customers who care for you want to work with you will treat you as part of their internal team. They are part of your product development team. You have to listen and get every clue from their feedback, usage patterns.

My friends tell me why am I so transparent with them, the simple reason is they are going to pay our bills. We are working on making their life better.

Customer-driven development is about: delighting our customers, solving their pain points, and making them our evangelists.

To serve them best we have to be honest with them and share, which at times means delaying a feature release or onboarding date.

Believers

I keep hearing from my friends and experienced sales folks about closing. My last 24 hours experience has been different. There is no one fit for all.

A sale is about solving customer’s pain, delighting him. Closing the revenue target is a byproduct. A sale is about making him or her comfortable. It is about trust, belief, and respect.

We all like to be loved, treated well, and not cheated. This should be the pillar in sales, not the targets or bonuses.

You can sign them for one year, quarter but when they switch they will tell a dozen others about their ordeal. We should strive for delighting customers, not product marketing. We have to be true to our customers.

In 2020 the biggest moat in sales is having your customers as your believers, champions first. Hitting the sales target, revenue, the quota will follow.

advancement

What advancement are we talking about? An era where everyone is suffering from panic, stress? Everyone is running faster and getting sick.

We have won over deadly diseases Cholera, leprosy et all with the advancement in science. Advancement gave rise to deadly lifestyle diseases though. Diabetes, stress, blood pressure, heart attack accounts for major death now.

It seems like everyone is working harder than their forefathers. Everyone is less happy and everyone is more disease prone.

We are running faster and reaching late.

What has happened to this humanity? It this curse of advancement is on us to blame?

fundamentals

Running a business, life or a relationship requires a set of defined fundamentals. The system will only sail smoothly until our fundamentals are correct.

Defining a fundamental is not an easy job. It requires a lot of thinking and answering 5 why’s

Whatever ship you are sailing, try to keep your fundamentals right. Ask questions with yourself. Do not fall prey to society or glory.

Everyone wants to succeed in everything, very few think about what could be the reason for them failing.

Leadership

Leadership is about being true to the principle.
Leadership is about treating people as humans
Leadership is about being clear with fundamentals.
Leadership is about fostering positivity, celebration, and empathy.
Leadership is about eating at last.
Leadership is about taking pain/failure head-on, learning from it.
Leadership is not blaming others, but working together.
Leadership is about US than I.

Power

Power is a double-edged sword. A lot depends on you how you handle it. Some add pride and arrogance to it. Some stay calm, empathetic.

Industry and capitalism celebrate assholes. They are the poster boys, omnipresent in media. But once they lose their power, most are lost in darkness.

We, humans, dwell on love, empathy, respect. Why do you have to treat someone the way you would like to be treated yourself?

Whether someone is doing sales, marketing, or customer support. At the end of the day, they are human. You have the power to treat them as you like.