Sales 101 for Startups

We often hear the term “early adopter” in business and tech jargon. It’s become one of those buzzwords so often used that it has lost all meaning. It’s been used to describe new world-changing products, from mobile money apps to smartphones.?

It's also been misused to market new products and services that nobody cares about. Billions of dollars have been poured into new products that nobody would use for free. The thing is that in the beginning stages of any product or service, nobody knows for sure whether it’s the next Mpesa or the last failed product nobody remembers.?

The real tragedy is that many products fail not because they are unsuitable, but because they target the wrong market. Who can blame them? Capital is rarely patient. Investors want to hear big numbers and short timelines before entrusting you with their capital.

Let's go back to basics.

In 1962, Everett Rodgers, an American sociologist and communication expert, coined the phrase "diffusion of innovation.”

In his thesis, he segmented the market into five distinct groups:

1. Innovators -2.5%
2. Early Adopters. -13.5%
3. Early Majority. -34%
4. Late Majority. -34%
5. Laggards. -19%

They are pretty much self-explanatory, but I aim to answer the following questions:?

1. Why the singular focus on early adopters in modern popular business culture??
2. What is the early adopter's relevance to sales and marketing?
3. What are the practical, day-to-day ways your sales team can use this to close more sales?

Why all the fuss about early adopters?

Early adopters make up a measly 13.5% of the market. Any market. This is not a gross simplification, but it comes from certain character traits that make up 13–19% of the human population.

They are natural risk-takers and, for the most part, have the financial muscle to buy your product. They make purchasing decisions based on their values. They tend to visualize the promised outcome of your product or service before it is actually realized.

They are not as sexy in popular culture as innovators. No bright-eyed undergrad student refers to themselves as an ‘early adopter'. They are all the next Elon Musk. Innovators must innovate. But it’s the early adopters who make or break any product.

Why are they relevant??

They might not be the people who create new solutions, but they are usually the first ones to buy that new product or service, even when it’s a little too expensive or hasn't been perfected yet. They see the long-term value of your product before anyone else. They form the head of the bandwagon effect that you must create for your small or new business to succeed and grow.?

The majority (early and late) are too skeptical and cynical to try new things. They want to see proof of concept before they buy into anything new. They want to see what's in it for them. Not one year from today, but right this second.

How can your sales and marketing teams leverage them to close more deals and grow your business?

You are a small business or startup. You are already at a disadvantage because of the more established and experienced competition in the market. You have fewer resources to spend on ad campaigns or expensive PR. Everyone is breathing down your neck, from your bank to your spouse at home.?

What should you do?

The easiest and lowest-hanging fruit is obviously targeting early adopters. But what does it entail, and how do you go about it?

First, there should be an entire mindset shift in your sales team’s approach. The reason why too many Kenyan MSMEs are overly reliant on paid ads is because of their mindset.

Go to your business’s social media pages. What do they look like?

9 times out of 10, it's all about you. And it's wrong.

It sounds counterintuitive, but your business page should be less about you and more about that customer who has no idea who you are but is willing to buy from you just because you are different.

Too often, small businesses want to sell to the mass market, where they are at a complete disadvantage. You should target a much smaller, very specific customer avatar if you want to reach the mass market in the long term.

Too many insurance agent and agency pages are full of posters with tables of numbers and fine print on them. Your social media business pages have too many posts about what their staff is doing. I have news for you.?

The big guys in the market are doing the same thing. Their CEOs and brands are better known than yours. You can’t win in marketing by playing the big boys' game.

Play your own game. Be different, be quirky, and be creative. That’s how you get early adopters.??        

Play your own game. Be different, be quirky, and be creative. That’s how you get early adopters.??

Your sales presentations are too standard. Your wording is too corporate and stale. Your sales team makes cold calls and expects to close them immediately.

Your mindset should shift away from such selfishness. Your digital team should show up to work with a giver's mentality.

Give your audience something. Make them feel or learn something for free. A picture of your product with a price tag inspires no one.

That’s how you sell to early adopters: with inspiration.

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