Why Most First Attempts Fail to Attract Customers

Valuable part of startups start with hustle and nobody seems to care. Why? Lack of hustle is never the problem. Lack of clarity is the problem. You see, if someone hears about your product or service for the first time, they should be able to tell in 10 seconds or less how it can benefit them and why it’s important right now. If it takes you a long time to explain, nobody will listen long enough to care. If you can’t summarize what your product does in 1 sentence that describes the benefit, not the product, then you’re in trouble.

A second reason people fail is that they try to expect that their excitement will suffice as proof. If you are excited, people will be excited too, right? The truth is that people want to see evidence that this product or service already works for others like them. This is why it is so valuable to describe what you have to 3 friends and watch their reactions. Do they ask you more questions or do they say “cool” and move on? If they ask you more questions, you’re onto something. If they just say “cool” and move on, you need to think about what you have again.

Pricing can also screw you up in the beginning. Price too low and people will think that you don’t have value. Price too high and you will scare people away. One good way to think about it is the price in the context of what it solves. If you’re saving people a bunch of time, then you can charge more. If you’re saving them a little bit of time, then you should charge less. If you’re saving them from a great amount of pain, then you can charge more. If you’re saving them from a little amount of pain, then you should charge less.

One last thing you can do everyday to help with this is spend 15 minutes editing your pitch, trying new words that describe the results of the product or service. Say it out loud as if speaking to someone who is skeptical. If it still sounds like a lot of work to explain, then go back to the editing board. If you’re stuck, keep coming back to “What does this product do for the customer?” The more direct your answer, the better your pitch will be.