What founders get wrong about pilots / POCs / trials

What this episode covers

Your pilots are going well. Users are getting value. Usage is increasing. So why aren't customers buying? Or buying still is painful?Rob unpacks a common startup assumption: if a pilot succeeds, the customer will buy. He explains why pilots, demos, procurement reviews, and other parts of the sales process never cause a purchase. Instead, they can only prevent one. Understanding that distinction helps founders design shorter sales cycles, avoid endless pilots, and focus on the factors that actually drive buying decisions.In this episode:• The two things that actually cause a purchase• Why pilots belong in a completely different category• How founders accidentally sabotage deals by offering pilots too early• What procurement, security reviews, and compliance really do• How to uncover the reason behind a pilot request• Why "success criteria" can be a trap• How to design pilots that accelerate deals instead of delaying themLinks:Pre-order The Power of PULL and get Rob's Claude skill: www.robsnyder.org/bookWork with Rob: www.robsnyder.orgConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/Chapters:00:00 One month until The Power of PULL launches02:02 The founder question: pilots that don't convert05:18 What actually causes a purchase?08:43 Procurement, compliance, and other purchase blockers12:07 Why pilots can hurt your sales process14:29 Understanding the demand behind a pilot request18:20 Why "success criteria" often create delays22:06 Mistaken causality and failed lessons25:15 Designing pilots around failure conditions29:29 Design for causes, minimize preventers

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