Your First 100 Customers: Sales for Founders

What it usually covers

1. 1

   Orientation: Founder-Led Selling

   • Why the Founder Sells First
   • Who Your First Customers Are: Early Adopters
   • Honest Selling: What Founders Must Never Do
   • A Plan for Your First 100 Customers
   • From Discovery to Selling
2. 2

   Finding Your First Customers

   • Your Own Network and Warm Introductions
   • Communities, Associations and Online Groups
   • Direct Outreach That Gets Replies
   • Partners, Distributors and Resellers
   • Events, Trade Fairs and Markets
3. 3

   First Conversations and Demos

   • Preparing for the First Sales Meeting
   • Questions That Uncover the Need
   • Running a Demo That Shows the Problem Solved
   • Handling Objections as a Founder
   • Agreeing a Clear Next Step
4. 4

   From Pilot to Paid Order

   • Designing a Pilot With Success Criteria
   • Turning a Trial Into a Paid Order
   • Simple Pricing for a First Deal
   • Writing a Short Proposal
   • Getting Paid: Terms, Deposits and Halal Options
5. 5

   Keeping and Growing Customers

   • Onboarding the First Customers
   • Follow-Up, Feedback and Repeat Orders
   • Asking for Referrals
   • Testimonials and Case Studies Done Honestly
   • When a Customer Is Unhappy
6. 6

   Tracking, Repeating and the First Sales Hire

   • A Simple Pipeline in a Spreadsheet
   • The Weekly Numbers a Founder Watches
   • Writing Down a Repeatable Way of Selling
   • When to Hire Your First Salesperson
   • Putting It Together: A 90-Day Sales Plan