"What problem could the customer have?" - a question Jörg Schüler poses to the group as an exercise on "Customer Needs". Does he want to save time? Save costs? Does he lack skilled experts? Is he fighting poor automation solutions or worn-out, inflexible hardware? One after the other, the startups present their answers, which they discuss individually with the coach.
"How do I go from nice to have to must have?" Another question that is certainly asked by many young companies that want to learn more in terms of sales. On this day, Christophe Hocquet from Natif.ai posed this question. Potential customers are sometimes involved in other high-priority projects at the time of contact. So how do you as a startup manage to sell your solution to a company so well that it actually results in a deal? Jörg Schüler has a lot of experience to share and explains decision-making processes in companies. According to him, you may even have to "approach the CFO" with your request and "build a procurement story”. The customer should know how much money the solution will save him. Jörg Schüler: "If he doesn't buy the solution in 2022, he will lose X million euros. If he doesn't buy it in 2023, another X million." At the same time, it would be important that the relevant department "lives the business case" and stands behind the concept. Together with the startups, he works out their key abilities and arguments that may ultimately close the deal. Confidence is created, for example, by special equipment, IP or protected patents that no one else has - but also by pointing out your CISPA spin-off status. Well-known scientists and experts as supporters often serve as door openers.
Are you interested in upcoming events and the incubator’s activities? Feel free to contact CISPA Technology Transfer!
ventures@cispa.de
