Your first 100 customers are the hardest to get -- and the most important. They validate your product, provide feedback, generate case studies, and create the word-of-mouth engine that drives early growth. But they will not find you. You need a deliberate, channel-specific go-to-market strategy.
Choose One Channel and Dominate It
The biggest GTM mistake early startups make is spreading across too many channels. Pick the single channel where your target customers are most concentrated and most receptive, then go deep. For B2B SaaS, this is usually LinkedIn outreach, content marketing, or strategic partnerships. For consumer products, it might be a specific social platform, community, or marketplace.
The Ideal Customer Profile
Before any outreach, define your Ideal Customer Profile with surgical precision: industry, company size, role of the buyer, specific pain points, and budget range. The narrower your ICP, the more effective your outreach. You can broaden later.
Outbound vs. Inbound
At the earliest stage, outbound is almost always faster. Cold emails, LinkedIn messages, warm introductions -- these put you in direct conversation with potential customers. Inbound (content, SEO, paid ads) takes months to build but compounds over time. Start with outbound for your first 50 customers while building your inbound engine in parallel.
Pricing as a GTM Lever
Your pricing sends a signal about your product's value. Do not undercharge to win early customers -- it attracts the wrong customers and makes it hard to raise prices later. Price based on value delivered, offer pilots or trials to reduce risk, and be willing to walk away from customers who are not a fit.
Measuring GTM Effectiveness
Track three metrics religiously: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Time to Close (how long from first touch to signed deal), and Conversion Rate by channel. Double down on channels with the best CAC and shortest time to close.
