qualify
Early adopter vs case-study shopper
Tell buyers who will go first from buyers who only want proof from someone else.
Case-study shoppers
They optimize for risk transfer. Keep them warm, but do not burn a scarce pilot slot hoping they become brave.
Early adopters
They want advantage from going first. Trade a clean commercial path for reference rights, a joint webinar, or a named case study once criteria are hit.
Hardware exception
Once a product is proven in market, you often run fewer pilots.
Claims and patterns on this page are paraphrased from practitioner session notes and the Startup Bible pilots page. See Sources.