Chapter 4 Are You a Nice-to-Have? By Aaron Ross and Jason Lemkin The following is another abridged chapter from Jason Lemkin and Aaron Ross’ forthcoming book: From Impossible to Inevitable. As an early SaaS founder, you are likely obsessed with getting to product/market fit, so that you can get to your growth phase as quickly as possible. The first step answering the fundamental question: Is my service critical to the success of my customer, or is it just a nice-to-have? This builds upon an earlier concept that Jason and Aaron posit about focusing on “nailing a niche” along the way to a more universal offering. Salesforce employed this strategy by first “nailing” the sales force automation (SFA) category, before taking on the broader category of customer relationship management (CRM). Aaron boils it down to a simple formula to follow in nailing your niche — Target + Pain + Solution = Your Niche. Do you believe your intended buyers need what you’re offering? Or are you a nice-to-have? One clear sign that you’re a nice-to-have: Everyone you show it to says “cool!” but no one buys. Consumers don’t buy what they need, they buy what they want. How much do consumers spend on Porsches and ice cream compared to broccoli and psychotherapy? Businesses, however, don’t buy nice-to- haves. For example: website • Marketers want a beautiful website, but they need a that converts visitors into leads or buying customers. • CEOs want happy employees, but they need people to show up and do their jobs. • A VP of sales wants increased sales productivity, but she needs leads, accurate reporting tools, and training.