Asking people for money

What a subject! It makes capitalism happen. But for some people – like me – it's nerve-wracking. Here's how I approach asking people for money (for a product).

In the first place, you don't know if your product is valuable unless you ask people to pay for it. As someone recently told me, "There's an infinite difference between a product that's free and one that costs $10."

When you ask someone to pay for your product, it switches their mental gears. They enter a different mindset when their money's on the line. They give you a more honest assessment.

So the first reason to ask people for money is that it elicits a better signal on your product's value.

Once you accept that you should ask people to pay for your product, you need to then ask people to pay for your product. This can be uncomfortable.

Here's my playbook for asking for money as an introvert:

• Look at your competitors. Arrive at a price that's reasonable for the product you're offering. Justify the price to yourself – if you were in the buyer's shoes, it should seem reasonable. Sleep on it.
• Do casual price discovery with friendlies who resemble your ICP. Have catchup calls, bring up the product, present a price, and get their reaction. You can be honest about being uncomfortable asking people for money and being unsure about the price, because they're friendly. If you don't have anyone to do this, email me.
• When you then talk to potential customers, share the price like you share other information about the product. It's just information. The early convos with your friendly ICPs and your personal justification of the price should inure you to nerves in this moment.

A couple other tips on this moment of truth, from Sales 101:

• Anchoring. Cite a future price or the price of a competitor, and then undercut it significantly. Put a higher price in their mind, then offer your real price. That makes it feel cheap.
• Urgency. There's a limited set of seats for this deal. The window for this deal closes end of month. Give the buyer a reason they need to sign now and not kick the can down the road, as anyone is inclined to do.

Anyway, that's my take so far as a complete novice to sales. As Ken Griffin said, If we're all gonna eat, someone has to sell.