Introduction
Today, I want to talk about opportunities, a positive, forward-thinking topic.
However, before exploring how to uncover and seize new opportunities, let’s start by thinking about the cost of lost opportunities.
As a busy tech founder, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind, and as a result, valuable opportunities can pass by unnoticed.
Understanding the cost of missed opportunities is essential.
Whether it's revenue or bottom-line profit, how many opportunities are slipping through your fingers on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis simply because you’re not fully tuned in to seeking them out?
What is the Cost?
Let’s begin with a quick exercise:
- Take a moment to calculate what each opportunity is worth to you. Whether it’s a new PLG user or a Sales Led larger sale, what’s the value of one customer or one deal to your business?
- Now, consider what happens if you miss one or two of these opportunities each month. What is the real impact on your bottom line?
- How is it limiting your revenue growth?
Once you've got a clearer picture of the financial cost, I want you to take it a step further.
Start plotting out the new opportunities in your business. You can use a spreadsheet like slidebeam uses, a miro board, or any other method that works for you.
Now, let's dive into a few actionable ideas that can help you spot those opportunities more effectively.
Identifying Opportunities with Competitors
One of the most powerful ways to uncover opportunities is by looking at your competitors. If your SaaS solution offers a set of features or accompanied onboarding services that only address part of the market, you may find that there are natural partners out there in a similar niche.
For example, I’m currently working with a EdTech business. They’ve identified a potential partnership with a company that covers an area in education that is not .in their wheelhouse. Together, they can now serve larger opportunities together requiring the a much wider TAM, expanding their reach and capabilities.
This type of collaboration, teaming up with businesses that fill gaps in your offerings opens up a world of opportunity.
Whether through partnerships, joint ventures, or mergers, it's a strategy worth exploring, especially when it comes to offering more comprehensive solutions to clients.
Leveraging Your Existing Features with Current Customers
Another often-overlooked opportunity lies within your current customers.
How many of your customers have subscribed to one plan, but could benefit from another feature in your upgrade plan? This is where upselling and cross-selling come into play.
Too often, businesses assume that if a customer is happy with what they've already bought, they won’t be interested in anything else.
But here's a powerful rule: You’ll miss 100% of the sales you don’t ask for.
Take a look at your customer base:
- Map out the products or services each customer has already purchased.
- Identify complementary products that they may need.
- Use data-driven insights to suggest these products, just as Amazon does: "People who bought this also bought that."
This isn’t just about making more revenue, although thats great of course, it's equally about offering your customers the full value of what you provide.
It's an easy win that could lead to significant growth.
Exploring Gaps in the Market
Now, let’s talk about something a bit more ambitious, identifying gaps in the market. It’s not always easy, but if you can pinpoint a gap that no one else is filling, you may have found a goldmine.
Think about this:
- What’s missing in your industry or sector?
- Is there a customer need that isn’t being met?
- Could you create a new application, AI agent or service to address that gap?
This may require some research, strategic planning, and perhaps even input from your team.
But just because entering a new market or creating a new offering might be challenging doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
One additional opportunity comes from emerging technologies like AI. With the rapid growth of AI in business operations, there’s potential to leverage automation, data analytics, and machine learning to create new solutions for your customers cheaper and faster.
This is already a game-changer, especially for SaaS technology companies and especially those using Non-Executive Directors (NXDs) to guide strategic decisions with an objective viewpoint.
How NXDs (Non-Executive Directors) Can Help
Many SaaS companies, especially those in the scaling phase, can benefit from bringing in experienced Non-Executive Directors (NXDs) to navigate complex business challenges.
An NXD can provide invaluable insight into strategic opportunities, market trends, and even help you uncover areas of potential that you might otherwise miss.
The NXD’s outside perspective allows for a fresh look at your business model and market position, helping you spot the gaps and seize opportunities faster.
Ones like myself who are embedding in the technology niche each day can also guide you through the growing use of AI and automation, ensuring you’re at the forefront of innovation.
Closing Thoughts
As you think about these opportunities, consider how you can position yourself to capitalize on them. Look at your competitors, your existing customer base, and the market at large.
Identify where the gaps lie, and then build strategies to fill them with the help of the right tools, partnerships, and insights.
Whether you’re working with an NXD or leveraging AI, the opportunities are there. It's all about being proactive and open to new possibilities.
What opportunities have you spotted in your business lately?
How are you planning to act on them?
Always here to help you start, grow, and thrive. Let me know how I can support your next big move.
