BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS:
CUSTOMERS AND SALES
Jan Isakovic
@iYan

ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Short No-nonsense
Customers
Value proposition
Product design
MVP
Company values

A typical R&D engineer question

SALES DEPARTMENT
Y U NO SELL MORE NEW PRODUCTS?

But it’s not really that simple..

CUSTOMER NEED STAGES
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

SO.. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

SALES CYCLE LENGTH
Short
Sales cycle
Long
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

SERVICES VS PRODUCTS
Short
Sales cycle
Long
Professional services
(CRM, infrastructure..)
Established products
(PCs, IP telephony..)
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

YOUR SOLUTIONS
Short
Sales cycle
Long
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem
Where on the
spectrum
do they fall?

(PRE)SALES ACTIVITIES
Beat competition,
send invoice
Start selling
Marketing
Present solution
benefits
Educate the
market*
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem
* note: does not work

NOT EVERYONE WINS
Low
Failure rate
High
Market testing
Absolute
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem
Doesn't have a problem

SO WHY TRY?
Low
Revenue potential
High
Cost+15%
Lots of competition
Potential $1B
business
Almost no
competition
Has a
budget
Assembled
a solution out
of parts
Been actively
looking for a solution
Is aware of having a problem
Has a problem

ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION
A
B
C
How conservative
is your market?

KEY CHALLENGES
• Identify and adjust to customer/market stage
• Different stages require different marketing and sales approaches
• New product revenue is by definition much lower
• Get market feedback as soon as possible
• If the product succeeds, be prepared for a fast ramp-up
AirBnB Facebook iPhone

BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS
1: Customers and sales 4: Value proposition
2: Product conception 5: Core competencies
3: Minimum Viable Product 6: Company values
Jan Isakovic
@iYan