Greg's Right FIT #544–This week: P/M Fit, Who you know, Doctor visits

Quick notes to help you find new business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.

In this issue: 

• Thoughts on Product Market Fit
• Being Human
• Random Stuff
• Back In The Day

Thoughts on Product Market Fit

• Product/Market fit is not just for startups. Whether you're adding a feature, changing a price, or moving into a new area, you should be looking for a specific kind of product/market fit. Concentrate on finding the opportunities that require the least amount of selling. The ones where even if they say no, they're like, "even though we can't do this now, it's perfect."
• Don't get distracted by rhyming opportunities. These will look and sound similar to what you're planning, but require tweaks. Those tweaks are the distraction. Better to commit to more research than plow ahead with a customization. Spend a little before spending a lot.
• A significant part of product/market fit is promotion. How will you find prospects? How will they find you? For all the news around hyper-targeted ads, your best prospects are probably not found going to be in an easy to find cohort or list. Another reason why growth and expansion is expensive.
• The remedy for problems with product/market fit is talking to more people. A lot more people. It's not easy to find them or schedule time with them. As communication tools have gotten better, more screening happens. (right now one of my client's inboxes is being hammered by a bot filling out forms. Someone's "easy button" is out wreaking havoc on their target market!)

Being Human – Who you know

This week I finished "Careless People," an insider's tell-all about Facebook from 2011-2018. Years of remarkable growth and change. Spoiler alert: not everyone enjoyed the ride! It's a juicy gossip that doesn't reflect well on the leadership of Facebook (now Meta) but what is sticking with me is the cronyism. The old saying, if you have to choose between being good and being there, pick being there. This author says it applied in spades to leadership at Facebook and maybe Silicon Valley in general. If you have to choose between what you know and who you know, pick who you know.

But Greg, you say, we already do that with employee referrals and college recruiting. How come we're not huge like Facebook? Is it because we didn't go to Harvard or Stanford and move to San Francisco in the nineties?

Probably.

I wouldn't worry about it though. I heard a podcast where the question was something like, who are you jealous of? The person said, no one. Even when pressed by the interviewer. After a minute they gave their reasoning. They believed that if you're going to be jealous of someone, it can't be just one part of their life. Like, you can't just want their job. You have to take their whole life. Everything. He said once he applies the "everything" filter it's easy to say he's not jealous.

Good filter.

Random Stuff

This was a week of doctor appointments. In each one my blood pressure was slightly elevated when I arrived. They checked on the way out the door and in each case it was back to normal. Doctor's visits are a little like learning I've been summoned to the principal's office. I don't know what I've done wrong, but it's probably my fault.

The last appointment is at an office nowhere near where I live. When this doctore comes in the room, he loves to tell me the latest joke he heard. They're forgettable little stories but he's very entertaining in how he tells them and it usually keeps my brain busy on the long drive home. (Though, as if to prove a point, I don't remember the one he told me two days ago!) Lucky for you, I remember one he told me at the last family gathering. (we're related. . .kind of)

A man comes home late from a poker night with the neighbors. He is banging around the kitchen when his wife comes in.

"How was the game?"she said.

"Oh, fine. Except Jim," he said.

"What's wrong with Jim?"

"He's just such a braggart. A liar. He thinks he's God's gift. Like, get this. He told us he's slept with every woman on the block except one. Can you believe that?"

"Ooh," she said. "It's gotta be Carol."

Enjoy the weekend.

Back in the Day

What I was thinking about last year, five years ago, and ten years ago.

• Last Year: Right FIT #493 – The one sentence book reviews popped out. I should do this again. Just seeing them brings back a flood of other words. Some of them I could write a hundred more sentence on. Others still get just one.
• Five Years Ago: Right FIT #284 – A bit on troubleshooting sales cycles with quantifying questions. This tool, a throwaway line in a sales book from long ago, has served me and my clients well. The best thing is how much it helps their clients. Prioritization is hard. Putting a measure on it helps a lot.
• Ten Years Ago: Right FIT #22 – What makes for a great testimonial? What makes for a great review? In general, if your happy client can give some insight on what they were thinking before engaging you and your product, it's going to be helpful. It's where your current prospects are right now.