This talk was prepared for KC WordCamp 2015

1. Stop Selling and Start Solving
Jennifer Rosenblatt
jenn@argyleoctopus.com
402.937.9740
@jennrosenblatt
@ArgyleOctopus
@hearMusicSpoke
/jenn.rosenblatt
/ArgyleOctopus
/MusicSpoke
/jenniferrosenblatt

2. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

3. Stop Building
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

4. The technological revolution
changed our access to information.
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

5. The technological revolution
changed our access to information.
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

6. People don’t buy products.
People pay for solutions to problems.
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

8. Be in love with
your problem not
your product.
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
{This is why I told you to stop building.}

9. Product Market Fit
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

11. Customer Development
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

12. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
2 RULES
Don’t talk about your idea.
Don’t ask about the future.
{Don’t pitch at the end.}

13. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
1. What’s the hardest part about X?
2. Can you tell me about the last time that happened?
3. Why was that hard?
• What is your greatest pain with X?
• If you could change one thing about X what
would it be?
4. What, if anything, have you done to solve X?
5. What don’t you love about the solutions you’ve tried?

14. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
Bonus Questions:
How often do you experience this problem?
How much are you spending to solve this problem now?
Where do you find information about X online?

15. Resources
- Udacity.com The Lean
Launchpad by Steve Blank
- Business Model Canvas &
Startup Owners Manual
- All In Startup by Diana Kander
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

16. I validated my product market fit.
Now what?
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

17. I validated my product market fit.
Now what?
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
Build Traction.

18. In your startup you should spend
50% of your time building your
product or service (solution) and 50%
of your time building traction.
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

19. 1. Viral Marketing
2. Public Relations
3. Unconventional PR
4. Search Engine Marketing
(SEM)
5. Social & Display Ads
6. Offline Ads
7. Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)
8. Content Marketing
9. Email Marketing
10. Engineering as Marketing
11. Targeting Blogs
12. Business Development
(BD)
13. Sales
14. Affiliate Programs
15. Existing Platforms
16. Trade Shows
17. Offline Events
18. Speaking Engagements
19. Community Building
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

20. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

21. KPIs
Measure
A/B Test
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

22. Beware of vanity metrics!
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

23. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
Marketing Your Startup
Time vs Money

24. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
- Blog & Facebook
- Twitter, Instagram, Google+,
Pinterest, LinkedIn, tumblr, YouTube,
Vimeo

25. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
- Tell stories. Your brand story.
Employee’s stories. Your
customers’ stories.

26. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
- Tell stories. Your brand story.
Employee’s stories. Your
customers’ stories.
- Engage with people don’t push
products. 80/20 rule

27. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
- Tell stories. Your brand story.
Employee’s stories. Your
customers’ stories.
- Engage with people don’t push
products. 80/20 rule
- Create content worth reading and
sharing. Solve problems.

28. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
- Have a plan and stick to it
- A/B test and measure performance
- If it works, do it again
- If it doesn’t, try something else
- Rinse and repeat

29. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

30. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt

31. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
Inbound Marketing
Attract ➢ Convert ➢ Close ➢ Delight

32. Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt
Fans

33. Stop Selling and Start Solving
slideshare.net/ArgyleOctopus/stop-selling-and-start-solving
Jennifer Rosenblatt
@jennrosenblatt