Be the trusted authority on the problem, not the solution.

You have spent years thinking about your product. Planning it, planning how to build it, building it, fixing it, expanding it, making sure it solves the problem, improving it, making it easy to use, training people how to use it, and more. You know it inside and out.

So when you find someone who might find it useful, you want to explain it. How It Works. You have so much detail to share.

Don't.

Your prospect doesn't care.

What your prospect cares about is their problem. It's been haunting their nights. Occupying their days. They know they have a problem. They have tried to solve their problem. They have built a solution to it--and failed.

They want to talk about their problem.

On your home page, you need to articulate the problem better than they can. The reaction should be the head nodding up and down and thinking, "They get it."

You need to be a world expert on the problem.

You might already be an expert. You may have written articles and given talks. The way to become a world expert is pretty straightforward. Talk to people with the problem. Not about your solution. About the problem. What caused it? What are the symptoms? What solves it? What doesn't solve it? What happens if you don't solve it?

How many people do you need to talk to? Enough so that you don't learn anything new during another interview. In my experience, the number ranges from 12 to about 30. Max 50. This will take less time than you think.

Half of what you thought you knew about the problem will be wrong.

Now, when you talk to people, you won't start by assuming you know what their problem is. Instead, you'll say, "I talked to 100 people worldwide, and they say the main issue is ... Is that true for you?"

People want to know what you have discovered, not what you think.

Be the authority on the problem, not the solution.