book update + ask for feedback

Good morning Predictable Revenue community,

Can I get your feedback on something?

I’ve spent the last few months writing and sharing the core content from the book and my shitty first draft is getting close to being ready! I’m at 38k words with a target of 45k.

The content of the book has shifted based on the feedback you all have shared and I am grateful for all your replies and conversations we’ve had.

I initially started out to write a sales book for founders, focusing on what I’ve learned first hand and seen our customers go through in trying to build their first revenue team. The original idea was to build the book around our new four funnels methodology (meet, disco, manage, nurture). As I talked to more and more of you, I learned that there were three things people were asking about most:

1. Finding product market fit

2. Stepping into a sales role

3. Building your first sales team

People wanted to know what the major milestones were, the tactics involved in each, and how to know when you’re ready to move to the next one. The content evolved to address these three pillars and as it did, the frame for the book shifted. So I’d like to share the new frame, title, and table of contents with you and get your feedback.

Is this going in the right direction? What’s missing? What should be cut?

Here’s the new title + subtitle:

Here’s the new table of contents:

Introduction

Section 1: Find Product Market Fit 

• Why PMF comes first 

• How to find a big shift in the market

• How to find unmet needs

• How and why you need to quantify your PMF 

• Closing your first $1m is an act of product, not sales

• How to find your first 100 customers 

Section 2: Founder Led Sales

• When you’re doing something new, DIY first 

• Don’t whip out your deck (how to run discovery / selling v / closing)

• Stop trying to close! (start building a business case)  

• Sales habits that will make your life easier (next actions, call on a call, pipeline stages tied to customer verifiable outcomes) 

Section 3: Building Your First Revenue Team 

• Who to hire next and when

• How to be a sales leader 

• How to find your next 100 customers (How to scale demand generation channels)

• How to tie it all together (the four funnels)

And finally, the updated positioning statement:

Audience. 
I am writing for founders responsible for revenue and are terrified because they don’t come from sales and everyone is relying on them for growth.

Core message.
The better your product meets an unmet need, the easier your go-to-market will be. 

Promise.
I wrote this book to help founders see that unmet needs are the through line from product market fit, to founder led sales, and building their first revenue team. By the end of the book, I’ll share how I progress from one stage to the next, what it takes to be great at each, and where I’ve fucked up so you can make diff mistakes. 

I can’t promise that demand for your product exists, that you won’t run into roadblocks (you will), or that you won’t make a bad hire (you will and that’s ok). This book was created to help you see the bigger picture so you can figure out for yourself what to do next. 

It’s been a journey to get here and I’m not done yet, thanks for riding along.

What’s one thing you’d change and one thing you’d keep the same from what I’ve shared today?

Collin Stewart