This is really simple and clear - for that I applaud you.
I agree with your first piece on attraction - I equate this to creating demand. Your examples from the physical world are really good. There are analogs to the digital world that go above and beyond - but content, distribution, and community are key.
The part I disagree with is that everything below the line is sales. The line between marketing and sales is much more blurry these days due to digital. Lots of "self serve". The pitch, the narrative, the capturing of the demand (i.e. maybe this would be the design of the physical store in the physical world) happens in marketing land and there's strong partnership.
Really interesting that you put sales into COGS. If it works for you, that's great! :) I'd encourage thinking about it in CAC (cost of acquiring a customer) and then using Payback (how quickly you pay the CAC back) as a measure of health.
Love this type of discussion. I'll give you that there are many sub jobs within the job of growing revenue faster. I'll also give you that Sales's job is also to create revenue. Revenue creation/growth is the job for both marketing and sales. They have different sub jobs to achieve that.
What do you think marketing does that's above and beyond growing revenue faster? :)
Here's feedback I got from a Series A founder after she read this post. Hope it helps you too!
"Your article came up on my LinkedIn feed and I wished it had come up months ago and saved me a lot of headache but late is better than never. We've been wrestling with gtm for months now and have made some progress but have yet to receive any high level advice as clear and structured as your article!
Thanks again for sharing the article!! It was great!! "
I can help. Reach out at pranav [at] pranavpiyush [dot] com if you want to talk through your current product and I might be able to help you think through how to find a market for it (or not).
I thought this post might resonate with the HN audience so posting here.
As startup leaders grow their business, they need to understand the core drivers of growth. Based on my experience at several startups, I've summarized the top six metrics that help you deeply understand the revenue, cost, and efficiency of your business.
Over the last decade, I’ve been asked for startup career advice 100s of times. This year, I’ve decided to write out my top 10 tips. Check them out and get in touch if you’re looking for personal advice.
Here's how. Hit the street and try to sell something to passers by. Hot day - maybe coupons for ice cream. Rainy day - maybe some umbrellas at a major bus stop or transit station. Keep leveling up from there. Find a problem and sell folks the solution.
All the book recommendations in the thread are solid.
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