How to Build Successful Business Products

Scenario: "Dude, we gotta do a bunch of market research to see what the market wants. Billions. Yay!" It's how most entrepreneurs build faulty products: thinking intensive market research breeds successful products. It won't. That's how product-builders go bankrupt: speculating what people want, building it, then finding nobody wants to buy it. Sure, a small percentage will succeed; but, most end up failing. So, trash the overused, over-hyped, over-blah market research. Instead, if you're looking to build a successful product:

1. Understand just what one person/business needs and will buy now.
2. Get the customer to sign a contract.
3. Start building it.

You'll soon notice several others needing the same solution.

Why Market Research Sucks

The problem with doing market research? It goes a little something like this:

1. You: "Have you ever wanted [yadda, yadda, yadda]?"
2. Bob: "Yes, I'll want something like that."
3. You take nine months to build it.
4. Bob: "Oh, I won't buy it, though."

You could interview a thousand people, and a good portion will scream: "Yes, I'll want that sucka!" But, when it comes to handing over their hard-earned dollars to you, they won't do it. It's called the: "I'm-just-trying-to-be-nice" syndrome. Badass business product-builders instead do something beyond market research. We affectionately call that secret sauce:

The "Do-You-Want-To-Buy-This-Sucka-Now?!" Approach

(Or for short: DYWTBTSN.) People could be the most successful, the wealthiest, the most athletic, the gosh-dang sexiest; yet, they'll still want/need something to make their lives that much better. That could be a:

1. Computer designed specifically for Bakery CEOs
2. Inspirational posters for hospitals
3. Calorie Tracker for football players
4. Philly Cheese Steak melted with pizza toppings
5. etc., etc., etc.

The hard part to this whole process? It's quite easy: Just ask.

• Jimmy, what do you need?
• Susie, what does your business need?
• Hendy, how can we help your team?

You could ask it a million ways; but, it simply boils down to understanding:

1. what they want
2. what they'll buy now

And, yes: if you can provide the solution and they're not (1) handing over their money now, (2) entering into serious negotiations, or (3) signing a contract to buy your future product, they're not a customer -- and likely, they'll never buy from you. They're just trying to be nice. "Wait! But, I'll just sell my product to one person. Ahh!" Not quite. Here's why:

Why DYWTBTSN Rocks

Think of your most "unique" habit. Now, if you haven't talked with people about your "unique" habit, you'd figure: "I'm the only badass who has this habit." Yet, when you announce that "unique" habit to the world, you'll notice several others have the same, exact, "unique" habit. (Don't believe us? Go to some crowded message board like YouTube or Craigslist, and ask around. We'll give you money if we're wrong.) Or, try this:

List your interests.

Based on that, do you think at least 10,000 people share each interest? Likely. Probably, even a million. Or, ten million.

The Point

In a world filled with 6,000,000,000 people, we share similar mindsets to several (several) others. So if you're selling something to somebody, you know that a bunch more people want that same thing.

"Yo! Show me an example of the whole process!"

Consider Farm Dude Billy Bob Bobby. The scenario:

1. You: "Yo Billy! What does your farm need?"
2. Billy: "I need a software that keeps track of my farm's cows. Fo shizzle!"
3. You: "I can build it! Let's sign a contract, Billy Boy."
4. Billy: "Done!"

So what happens next?

1. You and your amazingly awesome team build the product that helps Bobby track his cows.
2. When you're done, you hand it over to Bobby; and, Bobby makes good on the contract by sending you the cash.
3. You call other farm owners to pitch your product. 3214729815721508219 reside in rural America; some of them are bound to need the same product. You know they're out there; you just need to find them.
4. What happens next? Ring! Ring! Ring! (Yes, that's the cash register ringing for your badass.)

Sell to one; sell to several. So when you're out trying to build the next great product, start with this sucka:

"Billy Bob Bobby, what can I build for your badass?"

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