The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell

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Some of you are gonna hate me for even saying this.

Might even have some intense fist-shaking action.

But it’s gotta be said.

There is such a thing as having too many leads.  

And even if you’re currently experiencing a lack of leads… you absolutely need to prepare yourself to handle a potential overflow so that you don’t miss out on potential game-changing opportunities if things ramp up faster than expected.

This actually happened very recently with my client, Tom.

After he implemented some of the funnel strategies I teach inside SaaS Academy, he went from having NOT enough leads… to being completely inundated and his calendar blew up with product demos.

To handle this new *first world* SaaS problem, I shared the 5 steps that I cover in this week’s video.

At a high level, here’s exactly what to do when you start getting bogged down with too many unqualified leads:

1. Lead scoring
2. Funnel filter
3. Two step sales
4. Improve MQL & SQL
5. Create self service plan

Most of these steps actually involve REDUCING your number of leads by creating tighter filters and higher qualifiers.

This may sound counterintuitive if you’re currently experiencing too few leads, but you would likely even benefit right now by implementing these steps.

If you’re currently spending too much of your week talking to leads (or serving customers) that should’ve never made it into your sphere to begin with…

… then you’re mis-allocating time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on strategies that actually move the needle for you and your company.

Just something to think about.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then drop me a comment letting me know ONE thing you plan to implement to start getting higher qualified leads on the line (while reducing the noise in your sales pipeline.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Discovery Call Builder™ – Add a 2-Step Process To Your Sales Flow To Qualify Prospects And Increase Conversions On Your Product Demo - http://bit.ly/2ABtzRB

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™ Format – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive - http://bit.ly/2GLiYZX

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If you’re in the software game for the long haul, at some point you’re going to have to disrupt yourself.

This could mean announcing major price hikes, firing most of your customers, drastically trimming your product line, and even shifting core product functionalities.

Scary? Of course.

Necessary? You freakin’ bet.

When I was building clarity.fm, we started off as a utility before pivoting into a full blown marketplace.

This meant HUGE changes for our existing customer base, as well as our team members who were on the front lines of driving the change.

It was also what resulted in 4x growth in a very short amount of time.

But without the full commitment of our team, and the 5 steps I cover in this week’s episode, it’s very likely that we would’ve gotten tripped up along the way, and the pivot (and eventual exit) would’ve never happened.

In short — if you’re planning to initiate a big change in your company (and at some point, you will)…

These 5 steps will make sure you make that transition as powerfully and painlessly as possible.

At a high level, here are the 5 steps for leading a big change in your business:

1. Define the outcome
2. Discuss challenges
3. Review the resources
4. Make it their mission
5. Commit to change

Where most founders totally miss the mark is #2.

Instead of engaging their team around the challenges, they try to aggressively push the changes from the top down.

Not only does this create tremendous friction with your team, but you miss the opportunity to pre-empt big challenges, fast track the change, and most importantly, start getting your team engaged and “bought in” on the pivot right from the start.

If there’s a big change that you’ve been resisting, give this episode a full watch and then let me know in the comments WHAT that change is and when you plan on initiating it.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™ Format – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive - http://bit.ly/2GLiYZX

Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro - The 3 phases of fundraising - 7 week process for starting & closing your round - http://bit.ly/2Ae0rQl

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We’ve all seen it.

The over-enthusiastic startup founder who hands out equity with the same discretion as a pre-teen using their parent’s credit card to buy front-row Bieber tickets.



*sigh*

And I totally get it.

In the early phases of your startup (especially the idea stage) you might not have the cash on hand to cover the major expenses related to developing your MVP.

Even then, there’s an art and science to extracting the highest amount of value for your equity, without selling your vendors short or setting yourself up for a legal nightmare down the road.

In this week’s video, I cover the 4 steps to setting up win-win equity deals that allow you to get big projects done without giving away too much of your company in the process.

At a high level, here are the steps you want to take to guarantee a fair deal for both sides:

1. Set a valuation
2. Quantify the work
3. Give a bump
4. Allocate the equity

The second step is often the most ignored.

Before you even consider handing out equity, you should be asking your vendors for the actual cost of the services they’re gonna be providing.

Meaning, if they were to draft a proposal and you were to write them a check, what would that look like?

Without that information on hand, you’re essentially flying blind, giving up leverage, and narrowing your options.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then let me know in the comments if you’ve ever exchanged equity for services, as well as any hard-earned lessons you learned along the way.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro - The 3 phases of fundraising - 7 week process for starting & closing your round - http://bit.ly/2Ae0rQl

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2QFaBnr

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If I handed you a blank check and a portfolio of five software companies and asked you to acquire one of them by the end of the day… how would you feel?

Would you panic?

Would you know exactly what to look for to pick a winner?

Or would you go off a hunch and risk picking a dud?

Evaluating a SaaS company for acquisition is a stressful and intimidating process if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

But after exiting three of my own companies, and being on both sides of the acquisition table hundreds of times as an advisor, I’ve distilled the first level filters into 4 simple criteria.

I break them down for you in this week’s episode.

Using this criteria in the early stages of evaluating a company can help you spot a dud BEFORE plunging into an expensive and time-consuming due diligence period.

At a high level, you want to be evaluating potential acquisitions based off of:

1. Numbers (I share the 3 key metrics in the video)
2. Source code
3. IP Review
4. Customer support

The last one is totally underrated as an evaluation tool, and one you need to pay VERY close attention to whether you’re considering acquiring a company or hoping to be acquired yourself someday.

If the support metrics are tanking (ie. volume of issues, time to respond, unanswered tickets, etc.)…

… then even if all the other metrics look favorable, the company could be in line for a mass customer exodus the moment you take it over.

Ouch.

A thorough audit of how well a company takes care of its customers is a critical evaluation criteria I would never risk doing without.

Watch the episode for a complete breakdown, and then let me know in the comments if you’ve ever planned on acquiring a SaaS company (and if so, what you look for when evaluating).

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2QFaBnr

Exclusive Download: Core Targetting™ – Figure Out Where to Invest Your Marketing Resources & How to Scale Companies Using Paid User Acquisition - http://bit.ly/2GeZAnW

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When I started Flowtown, we were treading water in the reddest of oceans.

Social sharing and publishing tools were all the rage, and standing out from the crowd was NOT going to be easy.

Fortunately, we were able to lean into one key differentiator in our feature set for our product called Timely.

It was almost criminally simple — but by being the only social publishing tool that CHOSE the ideal time to post for you (based on our algorithm)… and did it automatically… we were able to successfully differentiate ourselves from the pack.

A similar case can be found with my friend Laura Roeder’s company, Edgar.

Laura and her team have built a multimillion dollar company in the hyper-competitive social publishing space by being the ONLY one to market around the idea of content repurposing (and of course, facilitating it through their features).

But a Product Hook is only ONE way to differentiate in a crowded market.

I shot this week’s episode to walk you through the 5 best ways to differentiate your software company so that you can achieve massive success in even the bloodiest of shark-infested oceans ;-)

At a high level, the 5 ways to differentiate your product are:

1. Nail a niche
2. Product hook
3. Be remarkable
4. Positioning
5. Pricing

Some of these are more long-term strategies,  but if you want a simple yet powerful way to stand out today, I suggest paying special attention to number three.

It doesn’t matter what you do or who you serve — there’s always an opportunity to be more remarkable.

This could be something as simple as sending out hand-written thank you cards to new customers (Wufoo forms did this before getting acquired by SurveyMonkey)…

… or just baking in “mention-worthy” moments and experiences into your onboarding process.

Watch the full episode here, and if you’re up for a fun exercise with your team, take 20 minutes to brainstorm a few things you can do TODAY to start being more remarkable and mention-worthy.

Looking forward to hearing about them in the comments.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Core Targetting™ – Figure Out Where to Invest Your Marketing Resources & How to Scale Companies Using Paid User Acquisition - http://bit.ly/2GeZAnW

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2rkvTYk

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Not all leads are created equal.

Even if you’ve dialed in your ideal customer profile and built out your distribution channels to only attract the perfect prospect…

…you’re still gonna have to implement systems and filters to separate your buyers from your tire kickers.

This is especially true in the scaling phase where spending too much time with non-buyers will tax your sales team, inspire bad decisions with “false negatives”, and create a whole slew of crushing inefficiencies.

After taking well north of 1,000 sales calls (and closing millions of dollars in software deals)… I’ve refined the process for sorting the true buyers from the tire kickers.

Best of all, most of these lead qualification mechanisms can be done via automated processes that don’t pull on your team’s already overstretched bandwidth.

I cover my 6 best qualification systems in this week’s video.

As a quick summary, the 6 lead qualification filters come down to:

1. Funnel filter
2. Behavior
3. Challenges
4. Role
5. Authority
6. Product fit

The first one is my favorite as it’s the most hands off.

By asking the right questions upfront on your opt-in forms (webinars, lead magnets, free trials, etc.)…

… you can quickly and easily gauge who’s worth jumping on a call with — and who will just drain your time and energy.

aka: the zoom call from hell

Simple litmus-test questions like employee count, revenue, industry size, and role will go a long way in filtering out unqualified prospects before they ascend into the lesser-automated (and leveraged) phases of your customer acquisition process.

But to get a complete picture of all six lead qualification systems, make sure to watch the full episode, and then leave a comment letting me know which you plan to implement right away to get better leads on the line.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2rkvTYk

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2KyCS8N

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Prospect: “Great product. It’s just not a now thing”

You: “Okay cool. Totally get it. Thanks for your time.”

Boom.

That right there is a masterclass on how to blow a SaaS deal, deprive a would-be customer of the value they could’ve received, and being forced to go back to your team with your tail between your legs.

Sounds harsh, but the truth is most SaaS founders fold at the first sign of resistance when in reality, every so-called objection is really just an invitation to go deeper and get a fuller understanding of what your customer truly needs.  

This single mindset shift (and the skill to go deeper with each objection) is one of the most critical for any founder to master.

It’s also not that hard to learn.

(this coming from a former introverted coder)  

In fact, most of the objections you’ll hear on your demo calls will fall under just three categories.

In this week’s video, I break down each type of objection, and how to confidently overcome them so that you can close more deals and help the people you’re meant to serve.

At a high level, most of the objections you encounter will boil down to:

1. Price
2. Missing feature
3. Not a now thing

The first is the hardest to hear — but the easiest to solve.

Usually, a price objection is really just a function of having failed to quantify the cost of your prospect’s problems and connecting it to the solutions your product offers.

This “value connection” is absolutely critical for getting the “yes”, and something that’s baked right into the Rocket Demo Builder (click here if for some crazy reason you don’t yet have it).

Once you master the process, you’ll never get off the Zoom line feeling like you folded too soon.

Watch the full video to learn how to overcome the two other biggest objections, and then leave a comment below letting me know which you feel will have the biggest impact on your demo calls moving forward.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2KyCS8N

Exclusive Download: Customer Case Study Creator™ – Just Answer The Questions In The Worksheet And The Case Study Writes Itself - http://bit.ly/2zgE1xp

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Ever read about those outrageous “rider” demands that touring musicians demand from the concert promoter?

… Iggy Pop demands a Bob Hope impersonator.
… Mariah Carey insists on gallons of vitamin water to bathe her dogs in.
… Van Halen would refuse to take the stage if a brown M&M found its way into the candy jar.

Borderline insane right?

Well in this week’s video, I’m insisting that you be (almost) as “demanding” in what you look for in your first ten SaaS customers.

At this initial stage, most founders feel like they have ZERO leverage, and should be grateful to work with anyone willing to pay them.

But as I explain, not only is this mindset un-necessary, it’s flat out damaging and can throw you down a product roadmap rabbit hole that you and your team never climb out of.

At a high level, here are the 5 critical things to look for in your first 10 customers:

1. Early adopters
2. Pay you
3. Teach you
4. Repeatable process
5. Case study

Where I get the most resistance from coaching clients is number two.

Founders are SO reluctant to ask for large financial commitments in the early days. Especially from “lighthouse” customers that could provide a valuable case study or social proof.

I totally get it. But here’s the thing:

Without a financial commitment, your customer is far less likely to implement your solution,  provide feedback, or experience the results and outcomes your service can deliver.

In short — unless they pay, you’re more likely to waste their time and your team’s time with nothing to show for it.

Instead, insist on the financial commitment, and then work with them to achieve amazing outcomes which will yield those coveted case studies that can attract your next round of customers once you’re ready to scale.

Watch the full episode here, and then leave a comment letting me know of any additional “filters” you look for in your first group of customers.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Customer Case Study Creator™ – Just Answer The Questions In The Worksheet And The Case Study Writes Itself - http://bit.ly/2zgE1xp

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2RKqR2i

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I have a little secret.

A few years ago when I started coaching growth-minded SaaS founders on how to scale their companies, I created someone named ‘Software Scaling Sam”.

Sam was obsessed with growth, had achieved product/market fit, and was ready to take full ownership and responsibility in scaling beyond 10k MRR.

If you think that Sam sounds quite a bit like you, that’s because Sam is you.

Sam (or Samantha) is the customer avatar I’ve used to create all the content you’re seeing in this video series… as well as my high-level coaching program, SaaS Academy.

It’s what’s allowed me to tightly define and target the founders that would be MOST ready to benefit from my content and coaching.

It’s also just one single aspect of what makes a powerful ideal customer profile.  

In this week’s video, I cover the 6 core aspects you need to take into consideration when building out your most profitable (and probable) customer profile for your SaaS business.

At a high level, the 6 core aspects of your ideal customer profile are:

1. Firmographics
2. Demographic traits
3. Technographic tools
4. Psychographic drivers
5. Roles
6. Name your avatar

While the customer avatar (Software Scaling Sam, Marketing Mary, etc.) tends to get the most attention in marketing circles, I’ve found that identifying and leveraging psychographic drivers is the quickest way to make sure you’re working with customers who are set up to succeed.

I’ve often redefined “SaaS” as “success as a service”.

And with all things being equal, your customer’s ability (and willingness) to succeed through your product will largely come down to their mindset, belief system, and overall psychographic profile.

Taking an hour to more clearly define these aspects will make your marketing and sales process SO much smoother while reducing strain on your customer success team.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then let me know in the comments ONE new insight you have about your ideal customer — and how you plan to take action around it.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2RKqR2i

Exclusive Resource: Idea to Exit Mini-Course™ - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2F3w2J8

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Want to know the quickest way to kill your company and team morale?

It’s super easy.

Invest tens of thousands of dollars and man hours in building your software, only to find out after the fact that your market couldn’t care less.

Done.

Now you can happily go back to whatever world you just left behind.

On the flipside, if you want to launch your startup the smart way by pre-selling your product BEFORE you build it…

…  I shot this new episode outlining the 4 steps I’ve used to successfully validate and pre-sell my product before ever writing a single line of code.

Even if you’re already familiar with methodologies such as the Lean Startup, I highly recommend giving this one a watch as there are some key distinctions that make your product even faster (and more profitable) to validate.

At a high level, the 4 steps for pre-selling your SaaS product are:

1. Define early adopters
2. Ask for advice
3. Validate pain and solution
4. MEVO (instead of MVP)

Whatever you do, pay special attention to MEVO.

Pretty much everyone in the startup world is familiar with the concept of “minimum viable product”.  

Unfortunately, there are few concepts more DANGEROUS to startup founders. When it comes down to it, an MVP still includes building “something” before you’ve fully validated it with early adopters.

As many only discover after the fact, this ‘building’ phase can spiral out of control and still leave you with an expensive piece of software that nobody wants.

Instead, I’d love for you to adopt the MEVO strategy which will allow you to collect capital upfront (while validating your offer) before you invest cash into building it.

Learn more about the MEVO in this week’s video, and then let me know of any tricks from the trenches that you’ve used to validate your own product.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Idea to Exit Mini-Course™ - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2F3w2J8