Note: This post is part of an ongoing series I'm writing to help people learn how to build and how to sell. Some of these posts are thought experiments, others are helpful resources I have created or found that will help you create and sell, better.

Here is a position I'll take to make this post more interesting: Many entrepreneurs and business owners make the mistake of focusing too much on selling, without first building a product or service that truly solves a problem for their customers. In this post, I’ll explore the power of building before selling, and how it can set you up for success over the long term.

The building-before-selling crowd are typically engineers, software developers, or product people whose experience has largely revolved around an artifact, be it physical or digital. I started my working life as a software engineer, so this mentality is close to my heart. My business lizard-brain wants me to build first, but it’s my neocortex (a.k.a. lessons learned from failures!) that tempers that thought.

If you decide that building before selling is the way to go, here are a few things to consider:

Empathy matters

Empathy matters, especially in crowded idea marketplaces. To build a product or service that truly resonates with your customers, you need to start with empathy. Take the time to understand your customer's pain points, challenges, and desires.

Build and build again

Building a great product or service takes time, and it's unlikely that you'll get it all right on the first try (despite what your Twitter feed might portray). Embrace the long game and remember that it’s an iterative game, and gather feedback from your target customers as you go. Use that to improve and refine your product or service over time.

Assume nothing

Don't assume that you know what your customers want or need. The good news is that customers will tell you (or more precisely, show you) these things. Create a list of assumptions (check Strategyzer’s method) and as much as possible, validate your assumptions. This is classic “get out of the building” stuff, using surveys, 1-1 interviews, and if you want to level-up/get fancy, paid services such as UserTesting.com.

Build trust

By focusing on building a great product or service, you'll naturally build trust with your potential customers. They will see you doing the hard work necessary to solve their pains through understanding (not assuming: see above). Then when you're ready to start selling, you'll have a loyal following who have seen the journey and will be far more likely to buy from you.

Nurture relationships

If you do build before selling, consistently nurturing relationships with your potential customers will pay off in spades. Take care of them and they will take care of you. It doesn’t have to be a grand effort like “build a community”. It can be as simple as a semi-regular email to check in and give updates on your progress. (I like to frame this communication as imagining that your favourite aunt is on the email list, and you are writing to just her.)

In my next post, I’ll take the other position, that you need to sell first.