为了拿到VC的钱
客户证明：他们必须说你必须说的（为了拿到VC的钱）
CUSTOMER REFERENCES: They have to say what you have to say to get the (VC) money
by J Nesheim
Did you know your customers have to agree with you in order for you to get your money?
To get VCs to eagerly race for their checkbooks, they must hear on the phone customers raving about your product for the same reason you pitched it to venture investors.
How do you do that?
Simple: position your product with the same messaging used for customers and investors. It must be thrilling to both groups. Same story, same emotional response. That is what positioning is all about.
How good is your message? Try testing it against this criteria:
Is it simple? Too many words are hard to quickly grasp and repeat.
Is it easy? Can any customer understand and repeat it without needing a PhD. in technology or a college education in the jargon of your market?
Is it exciting? A thrill to a customer means your product brings amazing benefits and leaves the person raving about what you just sold him.
Is it compelling? What about your product makes the customer eager to purchase it? Hot, demanding it.
Is it unique? No one else can have what your message says your product is about. The more different it is, the better.
Is it bold? If every one else is wearing black, wear red. You will stand out. Your message should be that strong because it does what you say it does. Confidence turns into boldness.
If you are getting repeated "No thank you" from your presentations to potential investors who have spoken to your first customers, it is time to re-think your positioning. To confirm you have this problem, look for feedback that includes these words:
"Our expert had doubts about your technology"
"The customers did not have much to say about how your product would greatly assist them in business over the next coming years"
"We decided we could not distinguish your product from the crowd"
"Too many competitors in your market"
"We found your idea interesting, but not all that compelling"
"Okay management"
Your basic message needs to be spoken by your customers with the same zeal as you presented it to the investors. If you lose that zeal, you lose the race for distinguished leader and become one of the crowd, undistinguished in an ocean of undifferentiated black.
If this sounds like I'm talking about secrets in your company, please do not email me. This challenge is fundamental to all startups. I get emails and phone calls every week from startup people around this busy planet that are facing this problem. So welcome to the club!
BOTTOM LINE: Work hard to be very different and the same. Different from your competition. With a clever positioning message that customers immediately understand, get excited about and repeat eagerly. So then when the customer reference talks to your potential venture investor, the investor hears the same story you told in your presentation to the investor. When you can do that, you'll have both customers and investors lined up at your door banging to get in. It is central to building your unfair competitive advantage.
