Sales Force Test Run
Have your sales force pitch a B2B proposition to a potential customers as if it were already live and for sale.
What is Sales Force Test Run?
A Sales Force Test Run is a lean validation technique where your sales team presents a B2B product or service to potential customers as if it were already fully developed and available for purchase. This method allows startups to gauge real market demand and customer willingness to buy before investing significant resources in product development. The sales team conducts genuine sales conversations, gathers pricing feedback, and identifies potential objections or feature requests that could inform product development.
This technique is particularly valuable for B2B startups because it leverages the natural sales process to validate both desirability (do customers want this?) and viability (will they pay for it?). Unlike surveys or interviews, this approach captures authentic buying behavior and emotional responses that occur during actual sales situations. The feedback collected helps refine value propositions, pricing strategies, and product features based on real customer interactions rather than hypothetical scenarios.
When to Use This Experiment
• Early-stage B2B startups looking to validate product-market fit before building their MVP • Established companies considering new product lines or market expansion • SaaS businesses testing new feature sets or pricing models with existing sales processes • Service-based startups validating new offerings or service packages • When you have access to potential customers through existing networks or sales channels • Before major product development investments to reduce risk of building unwanted features • When traditional market research feels insufficient and you need real buying signals • Testing enterprise solutions where the sales cycle is long and complex
How to Run This Experiment
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Define your test parameters - Clearly outline what product/service features you're testing, target customer segments, and key metrics to track (conversion rates, objections, pricing feedback)
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Prepare sales materials - Create realistic sales decks, product demos (even if mockups), pricing sheets, and FAQ documents that present your solution as if it's ready to ship
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Brief your sales team - Train salespeople on the value proposition, key benefits, and how to handle the eventual reveal that the product isn't quite ready (offer early access, beta testing, or pre-orders)
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Identify and contact prospects - Use your existing sales process to book meetings with qualified potential customers who fit your target demographic
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Conduct sales presentations - Have your sales team pitch the solution naturally, noting customer reactions, questions, objections, and expressions of interest or purchasing intent
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Gather detailed feedback - After each presentation, document customer responses, pricing sensitivity, feature requests, competitive concerns, and timeline expectations
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Analyze results and iterate - Review conversion rates, common objections, and feature requests to refine your value proposition and product development priorities
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Follow up strategically - Convert interested prospects into early customers, beta testers, or design partners to maintain relationships and continue validation
Pros and Cons
Pros
• Authentic customer reactions - Captures genuine buying behavior and emotional responses in real sales situations • Tests multiple hypotheses simultaneously - Validates product desirability, pricing, messaging, and sales process effectiveness • Builds early customer relationships - Creates a pipeline of potential early adopters and design partners • Relatively quick feedback - Can generate insights within weeks rather than months of development time • Cost-effective validation - Leverages existing sales resources without requiring product development investment
Cons
• Potential credibility damage - Risk of losing trust with prospects if not handled transparently • Limited to existing networks - Requires access to relevant potential customers through current sales channels • Sales team dependency - Results quality depends heavily on sales team skills and consistency in execution • May create unrealistic expectations - Customers might expect immediate availability or specific delivery timelines • Ethical considerations - Must carefully balance testing with honest representation of product status
Real-World Examples
Dropbox famously used a variation of this technique when Drew Houston personally pitched the file synchronization concept to potential business customers before the product was fully built. The sales conversations revealed that businesses were most interested in collaboration features rather than just storage, which significantly influenced Dropbox's product roadmap and eventual enterprise offerings.
Slack's early team conducted extensive sales conversations with potential corporate customers while the product was still in development. These discussions revealed that businesses needed more than just messaging - they wanted integrations, administrative controls, and security features. This early sales validation helped Slack prioritize enterprise features that became crucial to their B2B success.
HubSpot's founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah spent months pitching their inbound marketing concept to potential customers before building their comprehensive platform. These sales conversations validated demand for integrated marketing tools and helped them understand which features businesses would actually pay for, leading to their successful freemium model and feature prioritization.