Week 13: clarifying problem > clarifying product

get problem-market fit before product-market fit

as we roll into week 12 of starting GTM Partners, here is what I am very proud of.

clarifying the 15 reasons how you know your go-to-market is broken. this one thing on the website and conversation is literally the easiest way to get to the root cause.

here it is:

every call we have with a future customer (note: I never call anyone a prospect. After all, no one likes to be called that. Do you?) is putting this slide in front of them and asking what’s going on?

inevitably they will say oh! that’s exactly what’s happening in my organization.

can you help?

and then we help them through a team assessment, workshop and the story goes on.

here’s the point:

until you get the problem right, the solution is a mist.

say the line above loudly again and let that sink in.

Clarity in the problem makes the rest of the conversation about your customer, their pain points, and challenges.

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on a personal note:

i was at the airport coming back from India after a month and almost got detained.

here’s what happened.

it was a long flight + with layovers leading up to almost 30+ hours.

I was hungry and tired.

i also couldn’t sleep on the flight so i was a bit cranky.

well, we land in Atlanta, do the immigration, get our luggage and I am ready to sprint to get Uber and go home with the family.

right as I start moving towards the gate, a lady ask me a simple question:

“Sir, do you have an apple or a banana”. I was confused.

Then she asked me, “do you have any food”.

now at this point, i am hungry and I felt that this woman was also hungry so i was thinking how can I help her so I said, “do you want some food?”

thinking she would come with us and eat some food and we go our ways.

kinda feeling good about myself - the samaritan man you know.

turns out, she was a Customs officer, asking if we have any illegal fruits and foreign items fully dressed in her uniform doing her job.

my wife, still very embarrassed told her that my husband is not normally like this but not sure what has happened to him.

there i stand, completely ashamed and of course, still hungry.

somehow my wife is able to rescue me through this crazy conversation as i was beginning to wonder if I will spend the next few hours at the Customs office or detention center…. still hoping they had some food there for me :)

Leader point: When you assume your problem is the same as others, you assume too much.

i should have asked why this lady was asking for food.

in a business setting, we should ask the customer or future customer, what problems are they trying to solve otherwise you might be detained from someone’s inbox for life.

wonder what problem are you trying to solve for your customer? Drop it in the comments.