Ask for the money and close
Ten customers is a sales exercise before it is a marketing one. Most founders never ask, so most first customers never pay.
Target: 10 paying customers, each one a conversation you remember
Inside this
- Ask for payment on the first call, not the third30m
A call that ends with “send me something” is a no. Name the price, then stop talking.
- Send a payment link within the hour of a yes30m
Intent decays by the hour. A yes that waits for an invoice turns into a maybe.
- Offer the hesitant a paid pilot, never a free one45m
A free pilot tests politeness. A paid one, even at $100, tests whether the problem hurts.
- Chase every open deal three times over two weeks45m
One follow-up is a nudge. Three that each carry something new, a result, a fix or a date, are a conversation. Stop at three and ask for a plain no.
- Ask every no for the reason and write it in one line30m
Ten no’s in the same words is your product spec. Ten different ones is a targeting problem.
- Count your paying customers against the ten you need15m
Ten different buyers, each charged in live mode at the real price. This is the phase exit.
- Write one sentence per customer on how they found you45m
The other half of the phase exit. If you cannot write it, you do not know which part of this phase to repeat.