Anybody that Knocks LinkedIn Doesn’t Know How to Use It

LinkedIn is a powerful, easy-to-use customer discovery tool that is effective at free, and awesome at premium. At MovingWorlds, we have found over 50% of our potential customers and partners all through LinkedIn by using these tricks.

4 Easy Ways to Find Potential Customers on LinkedIn

(To discover potential customers that we wrote about in our previous post, How We Found Customers to Start Developing, we were interested in finding talent management professionals at Fortune 500 organizations).

The Best Way to Find Groups of People on LinkedIn is to Start with Google

Seriously. Take 60 seconds and do a couple Google searches to see if lists already exist on LinkedIn. When I was looking for potential customers, I wanted to find only find people working at Fortune 500 companies. Since LinkedIn now uses Skills and Experience as a search feature, and this is listed as a category, it made this super easy for Google to take me directly to the most useful page. This is true for people as well.

Using Google to find relevant lists and people in LinkedIn
LinkedIn Fortune 500 Professionals

Use the Advanced Search in LinkedIn

I’m shocked how many people don’t know how to use advanced search in their email clients (read tips), Twitter (read tips), Google (read tips), and on LinkedIn. Take 10 minutes to learn it and save yourself a ton of time in the future.

There are a LOT of ways to used the advanced search filters… take time to play with different options until you find what works for you. Look at all the different categories you can segment by:

Types of Advanced Filters on LinkedIn

Since I was specifically looking for Talent Management professionals at Fortune 500, I wanted to narrow the big list down to people with decision making power. So I used filters to find people who meet these exact criteria:

  • anybody with ‘talent management’ in their profile
  • and was a Director, VP, or above
  • and was at a company of at least 250 employees
  • and was at a Fortune 500 company

There are lots of other filters, but this created a nice list for me. NOTE: some filters are for premium members only. I signed up for the ‘Business‘ account and prepaid for one year – it’s more than worth every penny. I’ve found potential investors, partners, reporters, and potential customers.

Talent Management professionals at Fortune 500 companies on LinkedIn

Participate in LinkedIn Groups to Find People you Should Know About, but Don’t

A lot of people that you should be talking to don’t show up in your results. Usually this is because they have a weird title, or for some reason, you’ve chosen a filter(s) that leave them out. So after finding people using the above methods, I always do another search in LinkedIn to find relevant groups that potential customers are likely to be a part of. Continuing the same example above, I look for people in groups related to talent management, HR, and society of human resources professionals. Once I found these groups, I looked for the most active people in them and tried to message them directly (sometimes you can InMail people for free if you are in the same group).

Using LinkedIn Groups to find potential customers

In addition to messaging top contributors, I’ll join a lot of these groups to get more insight. I look at conversations and respond to polls, provide connections, and comment on entries so that I am a valued group member. I’ll also ask the group if they have suggestions on who to talk to. You will be surprised at how eager people are to help, as long as you add value. As an example, we were travelling down to the Bay Area, so I asked the Bay Area Sustainability for tips on who to contact – we got 4 comments and GREAT leads. In addition to comments, a few members messaged me directly to help us setup additional meetings.

We got 4 great leads by asking for them on LinkedIn Groups

Use InMail, but Don’t Abuse It

Yes, InMails cost money. But they also get results. You get a certain amount with your premium membership, so try them out. Just be respectful of the community and of people. Don’t post garbage in groups, and don’t reach out to people until you have a compelling value proposition. For tips on how we wrote messages, see how we Engaged Potential Customers.

NOTE: Do not just try and ‘connect’ with people as a free way to message them.  Use InMail.

If you are blindly reaching out to targets you have identified, do not just click on the “connect” button. It barely ever works, and honestly, it’s abusing the system and ruins it for everybody else. If you don’t know somebody and want to message them, use the InMail option.

How to connect to people on LinkedIn - Use InMail
How to connect to people on LinkedIn – Use InMail

If you need help finding potential customers for any stage of your lean start-up process, LinkedIn can be a powerful tool, and is worth a 1-month trial and some experimenting. Like anything else at your startup, if it doesn’t work, then pivot.

In future posts, I’ll share tips on how we found potential customers using Twitter, Blogs, Press, and Google Groups. Subscribe via Email or RSS to get more tips!

How else do you use LinkedIn for Lean Startups Efforts?

Why I’m going to Lean Startup Machine Seattle

Lean startup machine logo
In Seattle 6/29 – 7/1

Lean Startup Machine is like a Startup Weekend, except exclusively focused on business model validations as opposed to product building.  It’s coming to Seattle next weekend and I’ve decided to go.

Here’s why I’m going (and why you might think about doing the same):

My name is Justin, and I’m Addicted to Writing Code

I love building things. It’s why I became a developer. It’s a rush, it’s a high, it’s nerd cocaine, and I’m addicted.

Combine that with years of mantras like, “Those that ship, win!” and “code, code, code” and as developers, we’re taught to code first, and worry about who will buy this thing, never.  “Developers code, let the business guys figure out how to sell it.”

Of course, now that I do my own startups, I think I’m that business guy, but subconsciously my inner addict is likely running more of the show than I’d care to admit. To be truly lean though, and to increase the likelihood of my startup’s success, means I need to focus not on coding, but on learning:

Deadly Startup Sin #4: Emphasizing execution instead of testing, learning and iteration – Steve Blank, 9 Deadliest Startup Sins

The fastest way to lessen the impact of my addiction, is to immerse myself in learning Lean processes.  Lean Startup Machine feels like rehab for those of us who are addicted to coding.

The First Time, is the Worst Time

Whether it’s the first pancake off the griddle, the first version of a product, or the first time following a process, my first time is always my worst time.

With that in mind, why should I subject Bounce, a business I’d really like to succeed, to my first time practicing Lean Startup processes end-to-end?  At Lean Startup Machine, I can practice Lean techniques on other people’s business models, and take what I learn and apply all the good stuff to my own.

I got a Discount

I’m cheap. Truth is, I feel genetically predisposed to not spending money, and while it’s handy to be a frugal founder, I worry sometimes that I miss out on opportunities like Lean Startup Machine because they cost $.

Luckily, I didn’t have to pay the full $299 price…and if you’d like to go, you won’t have to either.  You’ve got two choices re discounts:

  1. 30% off courtesy of John Sechrest – http://bit.ly/LH62we
  2. Lean Startup Machine + Startup Weekend Bundlehttp://bit.ly/LH6b2s

While financially, they’re essentially the same deal, that second one is particularly interesting if you’re wondering about how Lean Startup Machine compares to Startup Weekend – the Lean Startup Machine team will pay for your next Seattle Startup Weekend.

That means you can validate your business model at Lean Startup Machine, and then build it at a Startup Weekend.

Conclusion

I’ll be at the Lean Startup Machine next weekend, breaking my coding addiction by learning Lean processes on someone else’s business model.  You should come too.

Join the Experiment – Can’t make to Lean Startup Machine but want to hear how it went? Get updates via Email or RSS.

Attn Customers: answer my questions or I’ll kill these puppies

Awww…
[8/14 Update: results from this experiment are in]

Last year I was hanging out on OkCupid and realized online dating is another startup, replete with landing pages, copy optimization and “filling the funnel.” The only difference is that we’re selling ourselves instead of software.

Hoping to up my conversion rate, I wanted to figure out what style of messages OkCupid members respond to the most, so I did a little a/b testing with four types of messages:

  1. “Hi” – Fairly lame, but simple and says, “look at my profile”
  2. Generic, short message – Same as above, but not quite as lame as the word “hi.” Something like (literally), “look at my profile.”
  3. Personalized positive message – Prove that I’ve read her profile, “Canceling Arrested Development was a travesty, but I take solace in watching It’s Always Sunny while huffing paint.”
  4. Personalized Negative Message  – Nice guys finish last…“You’re wearing the same shirt in 3 of your photos.  Don’t get out much?”

Care to guess which performed best?

From one of the respondents:

It’s interesting that I replied to this right away even though you basically insulted me twice.

So how can we apply this to  customer development?  What if we tried the same experimentation when contacting our customers?

Requesting Customer Interviews

First off, I won’t be (intentionally) insulting any of my customers.  That said, I have the email addresses of a couple thousand people who have requested the iPhone version of Bounce, so we’ve got an ample size to run some a/b tests.

For this experiment, I’m looking to do some customer interviews to answer questions like:

  • Why did they give me their email address?
  • What do they expect Bounce to do?
  • How much would they pay for it, if it did what they wanted?

Now let’s see which of the following emails results in the most interviews:

Vanilla

Simple (and boring) but to the point

I’m interviewing a few folks to understand what features they want most, and why.  Do you have 12-15 minutes for a phone/skype call?  I’m free any of these times (Pacific time):

Chocolate

Trying to add a bit more flavor

Can I borrow your car?<br/><br/>Or, can I get 15 minutes to chat about Bounce?  Your choice, whatever’s easy.<br/><br/>Here’s the deal, I’m a programmer. If I build Bounce <i>for me</i>, it’ll not only be ugly, it’ll be complicated and probably won’t do what you need it to. If however I build it <i>for you</i>, there’s a good chance it’ll get both of us where we need to be on time.<br/><br/>You free for a 12-15 minute phone/skype call at any of these times (Pacific time)?

Rocky Road

Like the Chocolate version, but a little extra puppy killing

Can I borrow your car? &nbsp;Or, can I get 15 minutes to chat about Bounce? &nbsp;Your choice, whatever’s easy.<br/><br/>Here’s the deal, if I build Bounce <i>for me</i>, it’ll not only be ugly as sin, it probably won’t do what you need it to. &nbsp;That means you’ll give it an awful review, which means no one else will buy it, which means I'll have to learn how to cook methamphetamines in my bathtub for rent money, which means I’ll blow up my entire apartment building, and along with it, the adorable litter of husky puppies that’s living upstairs.<br/><br/>I don’t want to kill puppies. &nbsp;You don’t want to kill puppies.<br/><br/>How about we both save ourselves some trouble and make sure Bounce works exactly like you need it to?  Got 12-15 minutes to chat at any of these times (Pacific time)?

What’s your Hypothesis?

I sent 75 emails out this morning, time to place your bets.  Which one do you think will perform best?

Will the puppies live?

Join the experiment – get notified when the results are in via Email or RSS.

Customer Development Made Easy…

Lean Startup Paralysis

In my previous post, I started a Lean Canvas for Bounce and hoped to have the next post ready the following day. That didn’t happen, largely because I got struck by analysis paralysis.

Phase 1 – Reviewing Bounce’s Lean Canvas

Getting a 50-page business plan reviewed is hard. Getting a 1-page business model reviewed is easy and, is an important part of the process.

It is imperative that you share your model with at least one other person – Ash Maurya, Running Lean

With that in mind, I started incorporating feedback from a couple folks. First, Hakon Verespej left some great comments on my first canvas which I’ll summarize:

  • Key Metrics – Instead of several metrics, identify a single metric that best encapsulates our goal and drive decisions around that metric. See Walgreen’s “profit per customer visit” here: http://www.anbhf.org/pdf/walgreen.pdf
  • Channels – Where’s Facebook?!  Of course…should have been there.
  • Unfair Advantage – “Exposure” isn’t sustainable.  I agree. I don’t think I have a real unfair advantage at this point.
  • Unique Value Proposition – “Makes being on time easy” isn’t compelling enough.  I agree, largely because it’s too broad and doesn’t speak to each of my customer segments specifically.  Which is where Riyaz’s feedback comes in handy.

Next up, my friend Riyaz Habibbhai shed quite a bit of light on the Unique Value Proposition box:

Basically, we need to come up with value propositions for each of our customer segments.

When it comes to Unique Value Propositions, one-size-fits-all…fits no one.

Phase 2 – Value Proposition Matrix

After chatting with Riyaz, I began to realize exactly how much of my first canvas was a total guess.  Every single one of my customer segments had potentially multiple value propositions, and I had no clue which one was the most valuable.

My first thought, was to organize it all so I can get a lay of the land. With that, came the value proposition matrix:

Now I had 12 customer segments, 16 value propositions and no clue which pair was the most compelling.  This is when my head started to spin.

Phase 3 – Knowing what I Didn’t Know

Before I started Bounce’s Lean Canvas, I was blissfully ignorant of what I didn’t know. Now, I was overwhelmed by it.  I didn’t know…

  • Who Bounce’s best customer segment was
  • Why they wanted Bounce
  • What features they wanted Bounce to have
  • How much they were willing to pay for it

In fact, at this point, I’m not exactly sure what I do know.

Faced with a huge, empty spreadsheet of not-knowingness, I spent a couple days stuck in paralysis.  I knew my energy needed to be spent filling in my knowledge gaps, but doing so by interviewing hundreds of people was too daunting of a task – so instead, I did nothing.

Phase 4 – Something is better than Nothing

For me, the worst thing about analysis paralysis isn’t that I’m not getting things done, it’s that I feel lazy for not getting things done. Feeling lazy is demoralizing and can start a pretty nasty downward spiral.

But feeling lazy can also be that kick to the ego that gets my ball rolling again.  After a couple days of “mehs”, I decided come hell or high water, I was going to do something.  It didn’t have to be the optimal thing, it just had to be some thing.

As luck would have it, a friend of mine needed a lift from the airport and, wouldn’t you know it, some of my potential customers are at the airport!  With that in mind, I headed there a couple hours early to interview some folks:

I’ll post more details and videos about the interviews later, but the big takeaway here was that it stoked the fire again.

Phase 5 – Running Lean

The other fuel for my recent fire was Running Lean, which arrived the same day I set out to do my interviews. John Sechrest highly recommended this book to me and I’m grateful he did.  It’s written by Ash Maurya, the man behind the Lean Canvas, and had I read it before my little bout of paralysis, I could have saved myself quite a bit of time.

Things I know now that I wish I would have known then:

  • It’s best to make multiple business model canvases – one for each customer segment, which its own corresponding unique value propositions.
  • Prioritize the business models – otherwise you’ll get overwhelmed (ahem)

If you’re in the process of testing hypotheses, I highly recommend you grab this book. Easy read with targeted, prescriptive advice on business model validation.

Phase 6 – Takeaways

So that I don’t repeat this same mistake again, I’ve thought quite a bit about what I can learn from this experience. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

  • If the “optimal” next step feels too daunting to take one, take a suboptimal one. I’ll feel less guilty about doing nothing with my time and may capture enough momentum to tackle the “optimal” step next.
  • Ask for help. I wish I would have asked for help from some other folks to get me out of this rut a little quicker. Help eventually came in the form of a book, but maybe it would have come more quickly in the form of a friend.

Next up: Interviewing strangers at the airport!

Join the experiment – subscribe for updates via Email or RSS.

Our 3 Steps for Engaging Customers


This is the 2nd post in a 3 part series about how MovingWorlds is developing its customer base before product launch. Read post 1: How we Found Customers to Start Developing.


There is an old saying “I hear and I forget, I see and I understand, I do and I remember.”

People don’t like hearing you talk about your idea, and usually they don’t even like seeing it. They like doing… touching, feeling, brainstorming.

Just liked vested employees are better employees, vested partners are better partners (yes, we call our customers partners because they are the most important thing to us). Spending time with potential customers is also a vital part of the customer validation and creation steps outlined in Steven Blank’s customer development model. So how do we engage potential customers before we have product?

Ask.

We ask. We say things like “We’re new at this and we want to add value or get out of the way. If you can afford time to provide us advice to add more value to ecosystem, we would be grateful for your time”. People by far prefer to give advice then be sold to. Here is an example of a cold-call email and response using LinkedIn InMails:

Give.

We don’t have much, but we give what we have freely. This includes (but is not limited to), introductions to new connections (my linkedin network is your linkedin network), resource sharing (especially of new and relevant trends and articles), and our time (I was shocked by how many times I’ve been taken up on the offer and produced value by saying things like “I’m happy to jump on the phone or meet for coffee to brainstorm any of your challenges”).

Take.

We actually listen to the advice that we get, incorporate it, and then share it back with the people that gave it to us. People love to see their advice taken seriously, and a nice side – though unintended – benefit is that it makes them vested partners.

Examples here are just over email, but I do even more over the phone and in person.

Engaging customers is hard work that inevitably results in a lot of negative responses. But from every negative comes a valuable filtering affect: learning which potential customers are good, long-term partners, and which are sexy leads that do nothing more than distract you.

How do you engage potential customers?

In my next post on customer development, I’ll talk about how we’re making the ask: turning potential customers into paying customers and evangelists. Subscribe by email or RSS to get it directly to your inbox.