First Customers

---
name: first-customers
description: Use when selling to first 100 customers for a new product
tags: [sales, customers, outreach, mvp, pricing]
related_skills: [validate-idea, mvp, pricing, find-community]
---

# First Customers

## Core Principle

**Skip the launch. Focus on selling.** "Viral success" is a myth. Every seemingly overnight success is built on months of hard work. Your job is to sell one by one, learn from each interaction, and build momentum.

## The Concentric Circles of Sales

### Circle 1: Friends and Family
- Start here. Yes, it's uncomfortable. Do it anyway.
- Pitch them on being your first customers, not investors
- Ask for honest feedback, not social media posts

### Circle 2: Your Community
- People who understand the problem deeply
- Make a list of everyone who wrote about similar topics
- Contact them personally, offer to walk them through your product

### Circle 3: Strangers (Cold Outreach)
- Cold emails, calls, messages — this works. It's how Gumroad grew.
- Personalize every email. Each one refines your ability.

## Code Example: Cold Outreach Template

```
Hi [Name],

I saw you're [doing X related to what I built]. I created [product name]
which [solves specific problem].

I'd love to show it to you, or you can check it out: [link].

Also happy to share any learnings we've seen from early users.

Best,
[Your Name]
```

## Key Metrics

- Manual sales = 99% of early growth
- Word of mouth = 99% of later growth
- Product-market fit = repeat customers who use your product on their own

## Common Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| Trying to launch instead of sell | Don't launch until you have 100 paying customers |
| Sending templated outreach | Personalize every single email |
| Avoiding cold outreach | Cold outreach works — it's how real companies grew |
| Giving product away for free | Charge something — even $1 creates a different dynamic |

## Verification Checklist

- [ ] List of 10 friends/family to pitch this week
- [ ] List of 10 community members to contact
- [ ] Cold outreach template written (personalized)
- [ ] Initial pricing strategy defined
- [ ] Weekly sales goal and tracking method set