It was couple years since I had started my software services company in Goa ( of all the places you would say ) and we were developing custom software for SME on just about everything from manufacturing , operations management, inventory management , website and all.
Projects didn’t pay much, especially in Goa coupled with the narrow minded thinking of the SME owners.
I desperately wanted to build a product with a subscription service (SAAS). The following steps recounts my journey of getting my first SAAS subscription client without actually having built the end product !
STEP 1 – Target the industry, domain, niche that you want to build your product for. I selected pharma as there were many pharma companies in Goa.
STEP 2 – Decide on the product offering. I selected CRM as this can be easily sold as a subscription service and is not required on premise and can be deployed on the internet .
STEP 3 – Pick your first 10 cold calling leads. I picked ones where I knew at least someone who could connect with someone within the lead company.
STEP 4 – Decide who is your end buyer or decision maker. Remember the golden rule – in enterprise money and budget for software comes from business and not from IT dept. Never make the mistake of pitching to the CIO /IT Dept first. Always pitch the decision maker. In my case it was the Head of Sales and Marketing.
STEP 5 – Somehow get your 10 min appointment with the decision maker. Plead with the secretary, or get a LinkedIn reference, or simply stalk him ( just kidding ).
STEP 6 – Now that you have your 10 min slot, showcase your product with a compelling pitch (PPT followed by product benefit and key feature demo) . We did not build the product, initially we just build clever screen prototypes that convinced them that we did indeed have a product.
STEP 7 – Now that you have created interest, never give a free POC ( something that the CIO / IT head shall insist on) . Instead give a limited time money back offer or free module upgrade offer or fixed subscription fee offer for first sign up.
STEP 8 – Get your PO with advance (6 month subscription fee adjusted against monthly billing ).
STEP 9 – Now that you’ve got your advance, build your product.
STEP 10 – Always under commit and over deliver. We agreed with our first client that we shall deliver first 4 modules in 12 weeks for UAT. We actually delivered 6 modules in 10 weeks.
Rest is history ! Happy Hunting !
Sandeep Verenkar
you can recah me at aneesh2811@gmail.com or @spvgoa
Rahul Varshneya
Thanks for sharing! It’s an inspiring story for all those who feel they need connections, money, tech team and a lot of blah before they can start their business or build a product!
Natwar Maheshwari
Superb 🙂
I realize its super tough to pull off but nothing better than paying customer(s) for a product you haven’t made yet.
Sandeep Verenkar
Thanks Rahul .
Sandeep Verenkar
Thanks Natwar. c u at the Bangalore open house.
Arjun Tuli
I really like step no. 7
Very clever!
Sandeep Verenkar
Thats called Customer Based Bootstrappin 🙂
Deeti Dave
Congrats for your success Sandeep, very good strategy to bootstrap your start-up!
Sandeep Verenkar
To Bootstrap or not to Bootstrap that is the BIG Q !
Ankush Chadda
Excellent – Totally Inspiring and lots to learn , for a starter like me.
Sandeep Verenkar
All the best Ankush ! Buzz me if you need help !
Mayank Malhotra
Thanks for sharing. So good to hear that. I heard a similar story about Amity School.. where they first got parents registered & then build the facility…
On signing up for 6 months, I would suggest that for cloud (SaaS) always try get minimum sign up for 2-3 years… which ensures any initial hiccups are managed within that period and doesnt lead to non-renewal situations…
Sandeep Verenkar
Getting large enterprises to sign up for 6 month for a start ups SAAS product is a task in itself. Once confidence is built then you can get a 5 year contract. Also all contract have an exit clause always built in.