Productized service: Got my 1st client (€2500/m) with 100% upfront payment
I launched my semi-productized service (growth experiments for VC-backed SaaS startups) and got my first client after about a week.
There was no magic or growth hack.
The only thing I did was … ask.
I contacted my connections on Linkedin and asked them if they knew someone who might benefit from such a service.
This is the doc I used to structure all the information.
As you can see, it’s a plain Google Doc with some screenshots from a platform I’m planning on using to store all the growth experiments.
The most important part was the pricing. I wanted to let them know this is not free; it’s a paid service.
I believe I only asked about 15 ppl and got roughly 6-7 replies, 2 intros, and 1 paid.
I was quite surprised at how easy it was to get a few intros. From the two actual intros, one was the client that paid (upfront), and the other was a startup community.
The startup community won’t be a client, but it’s a really good source of potential leads.
Of course, the timing is crucial. February-March is a good time to kick off new projects and plan for the upcoming year/quarter. The key insight here is that I actually didn’t work with the guy who referred me to the client.
Also, some of them can become clients themselves.
Unfortunately or not, I wasn’t expecting the first lead to jump on the highest tier (the €2500/m). I thought they would start with the “Trial” package at €500, and then I would pitch the next tier, €1500/m. So after just one referral and another project that came through referrals, both got the 1st and 2nd tier and with the ongoing projects, I’m now booked.
With this semi-productized offer, I'm now at €7,000 MRR.
Next month, I'm going after €8,860 MRR. I will onboard a new client to my second tier and sign an agreement for a fixed retainer with my oldest client.
Key insights:
- ask your connections first, even if they are not many
- don’t overcomplicate your offer; keep it simple; you’ll get some pushbacks along the way
- charge upfront, it will filter unqualified leads at the speed of light.
P.S. Something that I see working REALLY well is having an info product that you can use as a lead magnet or a way to showcase your work or thought process. I have TheBootstrappedWay, where I have summarized growth strategies the top SaaS companies use worldwide.
That's great, congrats!
This is awesome. Growth experiments as a service - sounds unique. It got me thinking about what other uniques services can be provided.
One of the first posts I read on the forum.
Congrats Daniel! a great example of quick ideation, feedback and validation.
Keep us posted on your progress.
This was a really enjoyable read, I appreciate your screenshots and exact methods/honesty. No frills, just making it happen.
This stuck out to me, I see a lot of people launch with 'free' and then future customers seem to expect the same. Really amazed someone just decided to go for it, powerful warm connections!
haha, made me laugh. Great problem to have!!! Congrats! Do you plan to hire/expand to handle more clients?
Huge congrats on this all and thank you for writing this up! Also...LOVE that this all happened without a website!! (From what I can tell), absolutely perfect story to highlight the need to 'just start'
Had 1 small question - are these images in your Google Doc intentionally left default? Just curious - https://shot.screenden.com/wZGvBXMq (Not sure if it's part of what's being sold)
I think it's just wireframes. He wanted to get quick feedback on his idea.
Thank you for this. I plan on doing something similar, so your post gave me a lot of insight
Congrats on your success!
Daniel, your strategy of directly asking your LinkedIn connections for leads is straightforward and effective.
What made your message to these connections successful in securing your first client?
As you aim for a higher monthly revenue, how will you adapt your service based on initial client feedback?
Your experience could help others simplify their approach to gaining clients.
Can you elaborate more on what your "semi-productized service" entails? What specific tasks or deliverables are included in the monthly fee?
Hi, Daniel
Congrats with your 1st customer 🎉
The key thing is often simple: that's true — Sometimes we should ask
Are you going to get a few customers on a monthly subscription this way and stop, or do you plan to do a scalable business? If the latter, what scalable way of attracting customers do you plan to try next?
Super helpful! can you share the community you in on Linkedin? I recently launch a Equity management tool and I know it's for a niche market, quite struggling with finding the right customers :D
Thank you for sharing your valuable insights and reminding us of the power of direct connections. Congratulations!
Hi, congrats, thank you for sharing your insights and reminding us of the power of the direct connections !
Hi! That's really great, congrats!
Have you considered raising your prices given that people accept fairly quickly? You might be underselling yourself/the value you provide :)
Congrats, Daniel!
With your productized service, do you implement (code) the growth experiments you devise for your clients, or is your role more consulting/advisory in nature?
This is the 3rd productized service model I have seen on IndieHackers. There are 2 things I am most curious about this model:
1. How do you find the customer?
2. How do you convince the customer?
You mentioned it in your article, but can you explain it in detail?
It’s nice to see a fellow Romanian succeed, making a name based assumption here. Best of luck!
Inspiring story. And thank you for sharing the communication you had on Linkedin in such a transparent way. I think I'll do something similar
go for it, @fmfhacker ... it's old advice but man it works wonders ... start with your network and expand from there
Congratulations on your success ,How did you go about selecting.
long story short, I started with those connections that I knew were closer to the decision makers in my audience (VC-backed SaaS startups)
then I reached out to those offering complementary services (like design)
then I reached out to other startup founders with whom I had at least one conversation in the past
Congratulations on your success! It is inspiring. Good Luck Daniel!
thanks a lot for your kind words, @gyurisc!
Congratulations on your success! I wonder if this approach could work with technical services that are generally longer in implementation
Referrals as by far the best marketing channel. I believe it goes down to how many connections you have in that space. Work on building a relationship with them, but start from the 1st-degree connections that could introduce you to a potential client.
This is great @danielpirciu! Congratulations. Keep going!
Congrats, @danielpirciu. How did you go about selecting who of your LI contacts to approach?
I started with those ppl that I knew were already working with my ideal customers (VC-backed SaaS start-ups) and are more senior or closer to the decision makers.
Then moved to those that offer other complementary services, like product design and consultancy.
What I think didn’t work was talking to connections too similar to my profile (growth/marketing consultants). Even though they had very good feedback, I was a competition rather than a partner they can recommend. 😁
thanks. super helpful.
Congratulations on your first client.
thanks @shivam_saas_videos ... it's not actually my 1st client, is the 1st client that pays upfront the total amount for this type of semi-productized service :-)
That's even better mate. Keep going
Congratulations on the client win.
thanks a lot @premsaini