EPISODE SUMMARY
Jeroen discusses the strategies he used to launch and scale Salesflare (an automated CRM tool) with Matt Wolach, host of SaaS-Story in the Making Podcast. He also discussed the inspiration for Salesflare as well as Salesflare’s unique features.
While elaborating on how to beat big competitors in the market, Jeroen touched on the strategy of product differentiation in a crowded market. He also discussed what it takes to get and maintain a large customer base and the best business practices to adopt as a startup.
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: SaaS-Story in the Making
Episode: How to Launch and Beat Big Competitors
Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS Sales Coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor.
Guest: Jeroen Corthout, co-founder and CEO of Salesflare.
TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Confidence is stronger than faith
A major factor for business success is confidence, so says Jeroen. Businesses should set out and scale with a strong belief in the difference they can make. With confidence, advocating change is easier. Jeroen thinks that confidence and its radiative effect not only help businesses thrive but also helps them tackle seen and unforeseen challenges.
One size does not fit all
No two companies are the same just as no two customers are the same. As companies try to be entities with unique selling propositions and with distinguishing corporate features that separate them and their offerings from that of their peers, Jereon thinks that companies should pay attention to finding the perfect product-market fit too.
Companies need to focus on a niche; a particular segment of the market. Jeroen says that it is impossible to “build everything for everyone.” As such, companies need to focus on finding and ruling their own “little” world. Jeroen advises companies to focus on making a product for a specific purpose.
Constantly work and rework your product-market fit
In the business world, thin is fit. A niche is never narrowed-down enough. There is always the need to refocus. Niches could also contain several customer bases with separate personas. As different clusters of customers subtly and gradually seep into the companies’ databases, growth becomes stunted.
Therefore, there is the need for companies to keep finding the ideal customer, keep making changes to their concept of what an ideal customer is. Jeroen says that companies would find growth easier if they can define and redefine their target market.
Walk side by side with the customer. Not ahead, not behind.
When initiating customers into the world of products, Jeroen thinks that it is important that companies try to be as close as possible to the customers. The initiation stage where the customer navigates through the product is an opportunity for a company to bond and engage a customer.
Jeroen says that customers should not be left to figure it out all alone. Instead, customers should be engaged and taken on a ride to explore the intricacies of the product. Taking customers by the hand helps to find out what their needs are. Engaging customers allow companies to incorporate the answers to these needs while making the product better. It also helps companies to craft better sales and marketing messages.
Turn your customers into fanatics
Jeroen thinks that the best way to turn customers into product fanatics is to consistently make the product better. Making customers as happy as possible would turn them into raving fans. By creating a high-value product and building up excitement around the product, companies get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals and reviews that could be worked upon to make the bond with customers stronger.
Jeroen says that working on the reviews is important. Feedbacks should be analyzed and used to close loops in the product. Feedbacks should also be used to create new product features.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Focus, focus, and focus
Jeroen says making a business stand out is “a matter of focus.” “Focus on a particular niche. You cannot build everything for everyone so make a product for a specific purpose and make it work effectively” and learn to “consistently focus on improving on your product features.”
“If better you can define your target market and make sure that people love your product, then you will have a product-market fit that makes it easier for you to grow.”
Make your product better
“Consistently working to make a product better is fundamental to any company’s success story.” After making a good product, companies can “try to make their customer base raving fans by trying to make each customer as happy as possible.” Companies should try to “work on feedback and use customers’ feedback to fill up loops.”
“While it is hard to give the best to every customer individually, companies should at least listen to customers, take their feedback into account, and then try to do something that benefits the larger group.”
Bond with the customers
Jeroen says that early-stage companies be “as close to the customers as they possibly can. When a customer is interested in using the product, they should not be left alone to figure it out all by themselves. Instead, companies should show customers the product, advise the customers and see how you can make maker the product better for the customers.”
“Be there while they first try the product so you can see everything that is going wrong and you can communicate back to the development team and prioritize.”
TOP QUOTES
Jeroen:
[3:19] “It is a great thing for enterprises to build a system with the help of consultants but in the practical sense, it is better to organize your sales yourself.”
[5:03] “The basis of making a CRM work is making the data as easier as possible.”
[14:40] “If you can define your target market and make sure that people in that market love your product, then you will have product-market fit and it will be easier to grow.”
[20:02] “Sales should be about guiding people to be successful with your solution to their problems.”
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Jeroen Corthourt and Salesflare, visit: https://salesflare.com/
You can also find Jeroen Corthout on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeroencorthout/
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.
As part of the founding team in his first SaaS product, Matt owned the sales & marketing processes. But he struggled to sell and gain traction for the company. It took years of learning and tweaking before Matt created The Perfect DEAL Process, an innovative yet easy to implement method for closing more software deals. To find out more, visit https://mattwolach.com/about-matt.
