Lesson 3: MVP Sales

Getting MVP Sales

After developing a minimum viable product (MVP), many start-ups do not quite know what to do next. If they have not fallen into the trap of the faulty “If we build it, they will come” mentality, they may think the next step is to add features and perfect the product, or to shelve it because it’s not fully loaded and go work on something else. What they lose sight of is that one of the best things that a start-up can do is to turn a minimum viable product into a minimum marketable product that can be sold.

The idea of converting agile MVP development into a marketable product is to create a working product with the least effort, in the shortest time possible, and with the least possible cost to solve a less complicated problem for which a customer would pay you. Solving a problem decisively and concisely is more important than having a “perfect” product. It may not have all the features you want, but you will help yourself if you get comfortable with being “okay” with that reality – and releasing the product anyway.

You don’t need a full product to sell it. In fact, the concept of a “full product” or “complete product” may just end up being a set of cluttered features. Besides, if you try to get something perfect and 100 percent before releasing it to the market, you will burn through your cash and still not have a good product. The following are tips on how to approach MVP with an eye on a marketable product and, ultimately, sales to grow your business.

Convert Beta Testing into Sales
Just before a company “officially” releases an MVP, the company can work with beta testers to test out the product and pave the way for early adopters – thus, sales. As beta testers like the product, they would purchase the MVP – perhaps at a discounted rate – to start building your customer base and generate traction. The fact that you listen to their feedback also endears them to you and your company. As you evolve the product based on their feedback, they will love you for it and stay as loyal customers.

Focus on a Smaller Group of Potential Customers
An MVP does not have to be sold to everyone. Figure out who are the people who would more likely be interested in your product. Because they are looking for innovative solutions to solve new and existing problems, they are prime selling opportunities. But if you do not release the MVP because it doesn’t have all the features and functionality you envision for it, you cannot tap into the interest of people eager to solve the problem you address. They will likely be more forgiving of limitations.

Communicate the Vision for the Full Product at the Same Time
You can get your MVP out into the market and sell it, along with articulating your vision for the broader product. You should talk about the MVP as a worthy and desirable product today, solving a current problem, but you can also share how you see the product evolving. Customers will feel that they are getting in on the ground floor of a highly promising product with a reasonable roadmap for enhancements.

Create and Cultivate a Community of Validated Users
Once you have gotten your first customers, you can create an online community to cultivate their interest. They will then refer other people to your MVP, increasing your sales. More people will want to try your MVP and be part of the growing community. They create an environment in which to sell.

Share the Feedback Publicly from MVP to Marketable Product
As you get positive feedback about your MVP, you can share it publicly, using early customer quotes. Often, the start-up that succeeds is not the one with the “perfect” product, but the one with the persistence to believe that they have an agile MVP that solves a problem and will evolve over time to do more and address limitations. And even if you get some negative feedback, you can share how you are fixing the issues; this will make your company appear more authentic. You are showing how you incorporate user feedback into improving the product. This demonstrates continuous improvement. Updating features drives re-engagement anyway, so it can aid with long-term retention of your user base.

Key take-away: Don’t let perfectionism get in the way of your releasing your product to get initial customer feedback and then continue working on it in the spirit of continuous improvement. Make sure your product works at minimum out of the gate, of course, but also make sure that the MVP solves a problem – even just one problem for target customers, but concisely and decisively. You can expand it over time. Those early sales can be critical to the success of your company.