How to Get Paying Customers Before Your Launch
This customer comes up often. Having done it on multiple occasions in the B2B SaaS world, I thought share a few thoughts on how to go about it and what to look out for.
So Should You Be Selling Before You Launch: Game-Changer or Risky Move?
Landing paying customers before you launch feels like a badge of honor. It validates your idea, boosts confidence, and funds your next steps. But here’s the flip side: moving too fast can set you up for failure if expectations outpace delivery.
Early customers can be a blessing—or a burden. Let’s break down how to win early adopters while managing the risks, plus how the approach differs for B2B SaaS and ecommerce businesses.
Step 1: Know Your Early Adopter—and Their Psychology
Early customers aren’t just regular buyers. They’re risk-takers, influencers, and critics. And like early stage investors, these early customers place more weight on the story.
These early adopters thrive on being ahead of the curve, crave exclusivity, and love the idea of shaping something new. These are the visionaries who bought the first iPhone or lined up for Tesla pre-orders.
To attract them, you need to speak their language. Show them the future your product enables. Sell the transformation, not the tool. Remember, they’re not buying what you’ve built; they’re buying the promise of what it will become. Story matters!
Our approach was an outbound sales effort so we qualified prospects in or out overtly stating that we are looking for early adopters. We sold the value of being an early adopter. If they said yes to this, this was 50% of the sale right there.
The other 50% was selling our vision and making sure the solution aligned with the problem they were experiencing. Often times we would close on the first call.
The challenge? Early adopters often have outsized expectations. They’ll forgive bugs in a product if they see potential, but fall short on service expectations and they may roast you. Understanding their mindset is key to managing their experience. Understand what’s forgivable and what’s not. This will be reflected in the story you tell and the expectations you set. These early adopters can be your raving fans or they’ll sum you up as a sunk cost and move on (best of the worse case scenarios).
Step 2: Tailor Your Value Proposition
Your value proposition should speak directly to your audience’s pain points, but the delivery changes depending on your business model:
- Business to Business (B2B): Emphasize ROI. Early customers need to see how your tool saves time, cuts costs, or solves a mission-critical issue. Example: “Automate your lead tracking and save 15 hours a month—so you can focus on closing deals.”
- Ecommerce: Tap into emotional drivers. These are consumer buyers. They are paying with personal money not company money. They need to feel like they’re gaining something unique. Example: “Limited-edition eco-friendly sneakers that look good and do good.”
Pro Tip: SMB Customers (Mainstreet Buyers) buy like consumer buyers not corporate buyers. Sell the right value prop.
Downside? Overpromising here is a slippery slope. Miss the mark, and you risk losing credibility before you’ve even launched.
Keep these 3 questions in mind when developing your value prop:
- Who is this for?
- What specific problem does it solve?
- Why is now the perfect time to solve it?
Step 3: Build a Testable MVP—and Know Its Limitations
Think of this as the appetizer before the main course. It’s not the full product; it’s a slice of the pie.
An MVP could be:
- A detailed PDF guide summarizing your solution.
- A webinar showcasing your concept in action.
- A clickable prototype.
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) can validate demand without blowing your budget. For B2B SaaS, this could be a basic version of your platform with just enough functionality to showcase its potential. For ecommerce, it might be a single product SKU or a prototype for pre-orders.
We used Invision (not sure if Figma existed back then) to showcase the experience with hyperlinked hotspots so it looked almost like the real thing. This gave some substance behind our story. It wasn’t just words but a true game plan soon to be executed.
But here’s the risk: if your MVP is too bare-bones, early customers might walk away disappointed. SaaS customers might drop out if onboarding feels clunky. Ecommerce buyers might feel duped if the product doesn’t meet their expectations.
The key? Balance ambition with realism. Promise only what you can deliver exceptionally well.
Step 4: Adjust Your Go-to-Market Strategy
Your go-to-market (GTM) approach should reflect your audience:
- B2B SaaS: Success here often hinges on relationships. Think early access programs, pilot partnerships, or targeted outreach to decision-makers. For example, offering exclusive beta access to 10 companies helps you refine the product while gathering actionable feedback.
- Ecommerce: Leverage platforms that reach end consumers directly. Social media, influencers, and email waitlists are powerful tools to build hype and drive pre-orders. Incentives like discounts or free shipping sweeten the deal.
The downside? Misaligned GTM strategies can burn time and resources. A SaaS company relying on flashy ads instead of nurturing relationships, or an ecommerce brand wasting money on a trade show booth instead of social media campaigns, will struggle. Consider acquisition costs. Now and what may scale later. In the early days, you have limited funds. Make each dollar work as hard as it can for you.
Step 5: Beware of the FOMO Trap
Scarcity tactics work wonders—until they don’t. Phrases like “Only 50 spots left!” or “Pre-order before we sell out!” create urgency, but they can backfire.
- For SaaS: Overloading your beta program with too many early customers can overwhelm your team and dilute the quality of feedback.
- For Ecommerce: Failing to deliver on exclusive promises (e.g., limited-run items becoming widely available) erodes trust.
Use FOMO sparingly and ethically. You want customers to feel privileged—not manipulated.
Our approach sprinkled in some FOMO. We made the offer from the position of it being prestigious. You would get to be a “Founding Member”. Once we launched no one else would be bestowed that honor so you better act now was the underlying implication.
Step 6: Manage the Risks of Early Feedback
Feedback is gold—but too much, too soon can derail you.
- SaaS: Early customers might push for niche features that steer you away from your core vision. Prioritize feedback that aligns with your broader goals. Everyone has an opinion. As the founder, you have to weigh it against your vision.
- Ecommerce: Overreacting to early criticism—like changing packaging or pricing too quickly—can confuse your market. Don’t reinvent the product with each production run. It takes away from your brand. (See Tropicana debacle)
Pro Tip: Collect feedback systematically. Use surveys, interviews, or analytics to separate actionable insights from noise. Lots of great user testing like apps out there to gauge the true customer experience. And all fairly inexpensive.
Step 7: Overdeliver Without Overextending
Early customers deserve a stellar experience, but overcommitting can drain your resources. This is especially critical for B2B SaaS, where onboarding can be labor-intensive, and for ecommerce, where scaling fulfillment can get chaotic fast.
Focus on delivering one amazing outcome. SaaS founders: ensure early customers hit their first “aha!” moment quickly. Ecommerce founders: prioritize quality and timely delivery above all else. Oh and send a personalized thank you note if you can. Remember early adopters want to feel like “insiders”. Reward them for believing you before anyone else.
Reflection: Weighing the Upsides and Downsides
Early customers can validate your vision, refine your product, and give you a launchpad for growth. But they also come with risks: unmet expectations, scope creep, and stretched resources.
For B2B SaaS, the goal is to build partnerships and iterate based on clear, data-driven feedback. For ecommerce, the focus is on creating a buzz and ensuring exceptional first impressions.
So, what’s your first move? Craft a value proposition, build a manageable MVP, and start small. Remember, it’s not just about making a sale—it’s about building relationships and learning along the way.
