#39 — Your first 10 B2B customers (Part II)
January 27, 2025•2 min read
Note: This is a follow-up to a previous note on your first 10 B2B customers.
Why it matters: Traditional wisdom suggests launching your product widely to find early B2B customers, but this approach leads to long feedback cycles, low-signal feedback, and rigid storytelling. A targeted, personalized outreach strategy yields better results.
The sourcing-led approach
The big picture: Proactively sourcing and contacting potential customers individually gives you:
- Short feedback cycles that quickly show if your story resonates
- High-signal feedback explaining why your pitch works (or doesn't)
- Flexibility to vary your pitch and learn what excites prospects
The playbook
Step 1: Define your initial ICP Be extremely specific about who you're targeting. Instead of "developers at enterprise companies," aim for "backend engineering team leads at US companies with $50M-$1B revenue and mobile fleets of 1M+ devices".
Step 2: Build your warm connections list
- Assemble 200 leads connected to you
- Review LinkedIn for mutual connections
- Ask investors for introductions
- Revisit previous conversations
- Use tools like Gem for LinkedIn automation
- Consider services like TaskMinions for bespoke searches
Step 3: Send deeply personalized messages Go beyond "I saw you work at company X." Reference their blog posts, mention mutual connections, or comment on their recent projects. The goal: show you genuinely value their opinion.
Why founders resist this approach
Social media distortion: Successful product launches on X and LinkedIn create a skewed perception of what works. Those same companies likely got their first customers through direct outreach.
The "build it, they'll come" fallacy: Founders often mistakenly believe their product's value is self-evident, when storytelling in a controlled environment to targeted audiences is what actually works.
Fear of spamming: When done right, personalized outreach through warm connections doesn't feel spammy. Challenge yourself to write messages you wouldn't mind receiving.
The bottom line
Email outreach with warm connections and highly personalized messages gives you faster feedback cycles and better signals than a broad launch. This approach helps you find the right positioning, product direction, and go-to-market strategy with your first B2B customers.
Reality check: Cold outreach should be your last resort. Unless you have strong evidence your pitch works, it rarely delivers good results.
Keep reading
#40 — Writing landing page copy that converts
Write copy that delights visitors, persuades prospects, and wins customers.
#41 — Cold Take: PLG isn't right for most early-stage startups
Founders are rushing to PLG too early, missing the crucial feedback loop that only comes from direct customer engagement.
#42 — Cold Take: AI strategy beats funding
While tech giants pour billions into AI, nimble startups are finding strategic advantages through counter-positioning.