What we got wrong about early B2B customers
by•
One mistake we made early was assuming that if someone clearly had the problem, they would be willing to change how they solved it.
Not necessarily.
A business can dislike its current process and still prefer it because it is familiar.
That changed how we think about product adoption.
The question became less:
“Does this person have the problem?”
And more:
“What happened recently that makes solving it important now?”
That distinction has improved the quality of our customer conversations more than adding another feature would have.
For other B2B builders, what signals tell you a prospect is actually ready to change rather than simply interested in a better solution?
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The signal I trust most is whether they've already tried to fix it themselves before we showed up, some spreadsheet or manual workaround they've been living with. If they've built a patch, the pain is real and current. If they haven't, it's usually just interest in something better in the abstract.
The other tell is in the questions. Someone who's only interested asks what else the product can do. Someone who's actually ready asks how they'd switch, how the rollout works, what happens to their existing data. Once the questions turn practical like that, they've usually already decided the current way isn't working. Interest on its own almost never gets there.
@alieksia That’s a strong distinction. The shift from feature questions to implementation questions is probably one of the clearest buying signals.
I’ve also noticed that when someone has already built a workaround, they’re not just aware of the problem, they’re already spending time or money trying to contain it.
Curious, have you found any specific implementation question that usually signals they’re especially close to making a decision?
@shahroz_siddique The clearest one for me is when they start asking how they'd get out. Refund, cancellation, what happens to their data if they stop. It sounds like hesitation but it's usually the opposite, they've basically decided and they're clearing the last bit of risk before they commit. Someone who's only curious doesn't think that far ahead yet.
The other tell is when the question changes from "can it do this" to "can it do this with what I already have". Once they're asking about their own data or setup, they've stopped weighing whether and moved on to how.