Question
Joining an early-stage startup that will be closing its seed round in the next month. How/should we sell to restaurants/bars when we haven't launched?
It's a discovery tool that allows users to find what's popular around them. The value to our customers (bars/restaurants) is that we can drive engaged potential customers to their venue in real-time, saving them on marketing costs associated with Yelp, Groupon, and increasing their ROI.
I feel it may be too early to sell to these restaurants, but if we could offer them a grandfathered rate, and become more valuable over time once we launch, provide data on customers who spent money at their venue...we could get validation for the customer side and learn what they truly need through their objections.
Realize this is a bit all over the place, but hopefully I can provide some "clarity" on the call.
Answer
If you are trying to sell a product that doesn't exist yet it is always great to create a demo or sell the idea of the experience. Walk them through the process of your discovery tool, do a presentation to entice them and get them excited about the product. If you product is in beta testing I think you will be able to show them enough of your product for them to get interested. Always be enthusiastic and positive about your product, companies want to invest in the person more than the platform. I hope this was helpful and if you want to further discuss reach out for a phone call!
