Thoughts on building B2B companies

The last few months at Almabase have taught us a lot of lessons about growing B2B software companies. One of the biggest learning has been the importance of understanding customers’ existing processes.

Sales and marketing is about showing users a future better version of themselves. You need to develop a deep understanding of their existing state — their challenges, their frustrations, their goals, their current day to day activities, what gets them promoted ? what are they being measured on ? Then you need to map a clearly better future state for them through your solution. This should drive your sales pitch, your marketing strategy, and your product.

Make things people want. Don’t try to make people want your things.

This becomes even more apparent as you start selling to larger establishments (large enterprise deals). Decision making is never completely a rational assessment of your solution. A huge factor is how they feel about this transition. A deep understanding of their existing state helps you eliminate concerns before they think about them.

This is also why industry insiders have an edge when starting companies.