Practical business guide
Choose one customer, make one clear offer, and learn from real buying decisions before increasing your spend.
A two-week customer experiment with a prospect list, an offer, a simple sales log, and a decision about what to repeat.
Describe the customer, the problem they need solved, and the moment they start looking for help. “Independent shops preparing a new product launch” gives you somewhere to look and a relevant question to ask. Use market data to understand the area, then talk to people; population totals do not prove demand for your offer.
Ask about the last time the problem occurred, what they tried, what it cost in time or money, and how they chose a provider. Write down their language and current alternatives. Finish by checking whether the problem is important enough to act on now. Avoid treating polite encouragement as a sale.
State the outcome, scope, price, timing, and next buying step. Start with a small paid engagement if that fits the business. Make a sample or explain the process so a buyer can judge the work. Set a capacity limit and meet the promises you make.
Start with relevant introductions and one place where the customer already looks for help: a local event, a professional community, a complementary business, a marketplace, or a focused online page. Ask contacts for a specific introduction. Follow community rules and use personal, relevant outreach.
Choose a period, spending cap, and activity target. For example, spend two weeks speaking with 20 suitable prospects across two channels. Track each conversation through a next step, offer, and buying decision. Follow up when agreed; make it easy for people to decline. The targets are your learning plan, not expected conversion rates.
Record why people bought or declined, the time needed to deliver, direct costs, and cash collected. Ask satisfied customers for permission to use an accurate testimonial or for an introduction. Continue a channel when it brings suitable buyers at a workable cost; revise the customer, offer, or message when the evidence points elsewhere.
See the method
Hypothetical results, not conversion-rate or acquisition-cost benchmarks.
A photographer tests a $300 product-photo session for independent local shops. Delivery costs, including delivery labor, are $120 per session. They test introductions and a local business event.
| Measure | Introductions | Local event |
|---|---|---|
| Suitable prospects contacted | 12 | 8 |
| Conversations | 6 | 4 |
| Paid customers | 3 | 1 |
| Cash acquisition spend | $60 | $100 |
| Cash acquisition cost per customer | $20 | $100 |
| Revenue | $900 | $300 |
| Direct delivery costs | $360 | $120 |
| Contribution after cash acquisition spend | $480 | $80 |
Four customers produce $1,200 revenue. Subtract $480 delivery costs and $160 cash acquisition spend to leave $560 before overhead, taxes, and sales time. If sales activity took 8 hours valued at $25 an hour, another $200 of time reduces that planning contribution to $360. Introductions are the stronger candidate for another test here, but four customers are too few to establish a reliable long-run rate.
What this example leaves out: Count only money actually spent in cash acquisition cost; show sales time separately. This example assumes all four customers pay and includes no refunds or repeat purchases. Customer lifetime value is unknown.
Work on your business
Notes stay in this page until you download them or choose to take them into planning. Do not include customer, account, or confidential details.
Done when: You have run the agreed test, recorded real decisions and delivery costs, and chosen the next experiment from the evidence. If nobody buys, document what you learned and change one relevant assumption.
These sources support the methods and factual notes. Examples and suggested tests are Business.How teaching scenarios. Australian government resources are used for general operating methods; local tax and legal rules vary.
Researching demand, customer alternatives, and competitive position.
Defining a target market, sales process, marketing budget, and measured results.
Rieva Lesonsky’s practical starting points for introductions, partnerships, events, and early customer relationships.
Public tools for researching local customers, competitors, and market conditions.