In episode 691, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He evaluates freemium as it relates to paying by the “honor system”, competing against big incumbents, and whether to sell using high-touch vs. low-touch strategies. Rob also recommends books for introverts looking for sales advice. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America. They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running. When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week. And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups Topics we cover: 2:01 – Charging for your product using the “honor system” 6:16 – Competing against big, entrenched incumbents 12:36 – Low-touch vs. high-touch sales strategies 17:01 – Selling as an introverted founder 20:45 – Skipping the “Stair Step” approach to quickly validate a SaaS Links from the Show: Startups For the Rest of Us | X Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube channel Ruben Gamez (@earthlingworks) | X The SaaS Playbook TinySeed Keap Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain The Introvert's Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone by Matthew Pollard The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping Episode 628 | The 5 P.M. Idea Validation Framework Ask a Question on SFTROU If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.