HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Sell the Service by Hand Before Coding the SaaS

Sell the Service by Hand Before Coding the SaaS is a first users & traction tactic for getting your first users: Before building any software, deliver the core value as a hands-on consulting engagement to someone in your network and charge real money to prove demand exists.

It's a strong fit for Agencies / services and B2B SaaS teams, and works especially well for B2B services, productized consulting, SaaS. As a first users & traction play, plan for medium effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

First users & tractionMedium effortFast

Why does first users & traction work for this?

Getting paid for the manual version is hard proof the value is real before you write a line of code.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Agencies / servicesB2B SaaS

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Sell the Service by Hand Before Coding the SaaS" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Agencies / services and B2B SaaS — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Sell the Service by Hand Before Coding the SaaS" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is medium effort, and results tend to be fast.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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