A Great Product Isn’t Enough—You Need a Plan to Sell It

Ashish Kumar
April 21, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Imagine you’ve just built an amazing product.

It’s innovative, solves a real problem, and has incredible potential.

You pitch it to investors, walking them through the features, the tech, and the opportunity.

Then, they ask: “How will you acquire customers?”

You fumble.

You mention social media, word-of-mouth, maybe some ads.

The investor’s enthusiasm fades.

The meeting ends, and you never hear back.

Why?

Because you just presented a missing or weak Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy—a major red flag for investors.

Even the best product will fail if you don’t have a plan to get it in front of the right customers. Investors know this, which is why they look for:

A clear path to acquiring customers. Who are they, where do they hang out, and how will you reach them?
A cost-effective and scalable model. Can you acquire customers profitably and predictably?
Proof of traction or early validation. Have you tested any acquisition channels, and what are the results?

“We’ll go viral.” Hope is not a strategy.
“We’ll figure it out after launch.” Investors don’t fund guessing games.
“We’ll run ads.” Ads can be expensive. What’s your actual plan to make them work?
“If we build it, they will come.” No, they won’t.

Investors want a clear, structured plan that answers these key questions:

Who is your ideal customer? Define your target segment (industry, size, demographics, pain points).
How will you reach them? Detail your main acquisition channels (organic, paid, partnerships, outbound, etc.).
What’s the cost to acquire a customer (CAC)? Show your estimated or actual CAC.
How do customers convert? Explain your sales funnel and conversion process.
What early traction do you have? Share initial results from any pilot programs, beta users, or early customers.

👉My Pick: First lesson taught in Harvard MBA in 18 Minutes