🚀 Boost sales with mock features
Hello! Adam Thornhill here. ‘The Podcast Guy’ saving you 10 hours a week.
Enjoy the 107th Podup, with special thanks to ChatGPT Consulting (by yours truly).
Today, we’ll dive into the best insights and ideas from Startup For The Rest Of Us.
Ab Advany is the sales closer you’ve never heard of. He’s built 50+ mock features in the last 10 years to increase his close rates. Rob Walling breaks down Ab’s story, including what mock features are, when they work well, and how to ‘build’ them.
Uneducated buyers
Ab Advany used mock features to sell $6M worth of software licenses. When you’re selling software for more than $1k/mo, there is a weird dynamic happening that doesn't occur with lower pricing:
The buyer may not be the same person as the end user.
Before purchasing your product, buyers often demand features that will almost never be used by the end user. These are also known as checklist features.Â
Rob Walling
‘Give’ them what they want
A buyer wanted a report generator with 20 different kinds of filters. Ab said he could do that, then he built a mock feature where he added a button deep inside the software that only specific customers could see. When clicking it, they could request a report with all the filters.
After submission, they were told it would take 48-72 hours to generate. Ab planned to manually execute the report and email it to the customer. But, guess how many times the feature was used in the 2 years the customer licensed his software? Zero.
Rob Walling
Why it matters
The customer isn’t always right, particularly in B2B SaaS. By utilizing mock features, you can satisfy the buyer’s checklist without overcomplicating the product for end users.
You should rarely take feature requests at face value. Instead, understand your customer’s underlying problem and assess how painful it is before turning to solutions.
If it’s a problem worth solving, then the fake door test can be a quick way to validate your solution. It helps you understand the different users who are likely to use the new feature if you made it.
Next steps
To use the fake door test:
Display the mock feature. Make it easy to find for select users. Include a brief description or tooltip that explains what the feature is supposed to do, to provide users with some context.
Create a ‘coming soon’ page. Craft content that builds anticipation by detailing the potential benefits of the upcoming feature.
Capture emails. Include a field for users to enter their email if they are interested in being notified when the feature becomes available.
Track clicks and emails. Monitor how many users click on the mock feature to assess the level of interest, as well as how many enter their email.
Feedback form. Add a comments field where users can express their opinions or suggestions for the upcoming feature. You can even prompt them to share what pain point this would solve.
Analyze the data. Identify what trends you see in the comments, including what user groups share the same pain points and suggestions.
Follow-up. Utilize the email list you’ve built to engage with interested users. You can send them updates or seek further input if you decide to go ahead with the feature.
As with most things in life, use mock features and the fake door test in moderation. Be cautious not to frustrate users by having too many ‘mock features’ to avoid coming off as misleading.
Your thoughts?
Thanks to ChatGPT Consulting for making this post possible…
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Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.