A paid pilot or initial order can test demand while contributing towards the cost of delivery.
01 · The picture
A paid pilot or initial order can test demand while contributing towards the cost of delivery.
Follow the decisions
01Customer problem
02Paid commitment
03Delivery
04Reusable learning
02 · The idea
How I understand it.
Early customer conversations can lead to a concrete commitment: a paid trial, an initial order or support for a defined development step. That commitment supplies evidence about the customer’s priorities and may provide resources for delivery. Shape the first offer around a useful problem that can be solved with the resources available. Agree the scope, timing and responsibilities so that the customer understands what is being bought. Keep track of the cost of fulfilling the commitment and the learning it produces. Several customers with similar needs provide a stronger basis for a repeatable offer. A large bespoke order can also absorb the team’s capacity, so examine how much of the work will be useful for the next customer.
03 · A fictional example
Put it into a business.
A scheduling start-up offers three workshops a paid four-week pilot. The fee covers configuration and support, while each workshop agrees to review results weekly. The team tracks usage, scheduling errors and delivery hours. Similar requests reveal a repeatable product feature. One request would require extensive custom work, so the team prices that separately before committing its development capacity.
04 · Bring it into the room
What useful first commitment could a customer make that would finance delivery and test demand?
One decisionOne next actionOne way to check
Where this note comes from
An original explanation drawn from my saved learning material. The worked example is fictional.
London Business SchoolCourse reading or session material
Doc How entrepreneurs craft strategies that work nc
PDF pages 14–15: Plugging Holes Quickly; Evangelical Investigation
These notes collect my interpretations and applications. The schools and authors retain their original teaching materials.