Start-Up Sales: Feature Gap Framework (Part 1 of 3)

This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Series focused on navigating product/feature gaps.

• Part 1: Feature Gap Framework

• Part 2: Selling Around Feature Gaps

• Part 3: Quarterbacking Product Builds

On a bus ride during my first few weeks at Metronome, I had a long chat with our COO and asked him, “what will be my biggest challenge in this role?” His response, “learning how to sell around feature gaps.”

Unlike in more established companies where you might immediately disqualify an opportunity, at a start-up you’re defining a new category as the product is being built. As the AE, your job is to be the voice of the customer and to know when to (A) bring a feature gap to product and advocate for a build, (B) sell around the gap, or (C) disqualify.

Below is a framework for thinking through the feature gaps of a technical product:

Let’s break this down…

Root Cause Analysis

There are three primary drivers of feature gaps

Once you identify the root cause…

• Step 1 - Understand & Prioritize Needs: Yesterday, I received requirements for a PoC where everything was p0. I could’ve taken that at face value and started the PoC, but instead, I responded “I noticed that everything on this document is p0. What are the p1 and p2 items that are not listed on this document?” This forced an honest conversation around prioritization.

• Step 2 - Create a PoV: You need to determine if this is a Sell Around, Build, or Disqualify scenario. This requires a deep understanding of your market, your target ICP, and the growth trajectory of your business (e.g., are you ready to expand to new market segments). For example, in billing, if you are unable to model a prospect’s existing unique pricing structure, this is a show stopper. There’s no selling around this and a build is required. In contrast, a prospect might be considering a new pricing strategy or wants a specific type of out-of-the-box dashboard that they could build with your APIs. These are more likely Sell Around scenarios.

• Step 3 - Create a Strategy: Depending on the PoV, you then need to create a strategy. We’ll dive deeper with specific examples in Part 2 & Part 3, described below.

Deep Dive: Sell Around - Objection Handling Strategies

Stay tuned for Part 2! We will go deeper into specific examples of product gaps and creative ways to overcome objections through scrappy workarounds and influencing the buying criteria.

Deep Dive: Builds - Quarterbacking Internally & Partnering Externally

Stay tuned for Part 3! We will discuss how to bring your team along to identify and prioritize feature gaps and bring your buyer along the journey with tools like joint PRDs.

Bisous,

Julian