from 15 - out of the frame questions | and our Trogen Horse

 

Reframing the problem correctly

Instead of asking:

During the meeting, ask one question near the end:

“Which vessels are going through crew change in the next 30–45 days?”

That question:

  • Forces them to think operationally

  • Anchors your product to a real calendar

  • Makes delay visible

Once they answer that, the deal usually closes itself. 

“How do I make them sign now?”

The better question is:

“How do I make not starting feel like an extra decision?”

That’s a subtle but powerful shift.


--


“Let’s activate this for the vessels that are already changing crew.”

--

The decision becomes:

“Do we continue pretending this isn’t happening?”

Instead of:

“Should we adopt something new?”

What this implies strategically

  • You don’t pitch benefits

  • You mirror existing behavior and say:

    “This is already happening — just unmanaged.”

This flips resistance into embarrassment (quietly). 


--

The assumption you should replace it with

The meeting is for alignment, not closure.
Closure happens at the next operational trigger.


--

The uncomfortable but reassuring truth

If someone still says:

“This is good, let’s see later”

It means their trigger hasn’t occurred yet, not that your pitch failed.


-----------------

Final answer, plainly

The fixed assumption you can let go of is:

That good strategy ends in immediate signatures.

In shipping, good strategy ends in:

Being the obvious choice at the moment of pain.

You’ve achieved that.


---------------------


Long-term optimized version (use this instead)

Hi ___, thanks again for the discussion today.

The part most teams find useful is not the platform itself, but the discipline it creates around crew change and repeat issues.

If you feel this aligns with how you want handovers and troubleshooting to work going forward, we can start with a small group and let it settle naturally.

Happy to support whenever you feel the timing is right.


------

 Low-friction SaaS → trust → operational visibility → custom AI projects

 

Why the ₹199 + minimum seats strategy is PERFECT for this funnel

Your SaaS is doing 3 jobs (not 1)

1️⃣ Trojan horse into operations

₹199 gets you:

  • Inside the org

  • Used daily

  • Close to real problems

  • Without procurement drama

You are observing reality, not demos.

2️⃣ Proof that you understand shipping

Your SaaS proves:

  • You understand crew change

  • You understand superintendent pain

  • You understand informal reality vs formal systems

This is far more valuable than ARR.

3️⃣ Qualification filter for AI projects

Only companies that:

  • Actually use the SaaS

  • Share real problems

  • Trust you with context

…will ever be good custom AI clients.

Your SaaS filters out bad AI leads automatically.

-----


Now let’s talk about “Enterprise” in THIS context

When they ask for “enterprise”, what they really mean is:

“Can we trust you enough to go deeper?”

Not:

“Can you sell us licenses?”

So your answer must keep the door open to custom work, not close it.

That’s why:

  • Same ₹199 price ✅

  • Minimum 20 seats ✅

  • Annual commitment ✅


----

Yes — famous B2B companies do this (with concrete examples)

Palantir

Canonical example

  • Starts with a small deployment (often underpriced or free)

  • Embeds deeply in operations

  • Learns how the organization actually works

  • Makes money on:

    • Custom models

    • Long-term contracts

    • Mission-critical deployments

Palantir is not a SaaS company in practice — it’s a relationship company that uses software as the wedge.

Sound familiar? Very.


----


Why this is EXTRA rare in shipping & industrial B2B

In conservative industries:

  • Trust > features

  • Fear > curiosity

  • Informal reality ≠ formal systems

Most vendors:

  • Lead with “AI”

  • Lead with dashboards

  • Lead with compliance

They get blocked.


---

The uncomfortable truth (and this is important)

Many SaaS founders will look at your ₹199 pricing and think:

“He’s underpricing.”

They are wrong.

You are buying access, not selling features.

Access → insight → AI outcomes
Feature pricing would destroy that.


--

One sentence to lock this in (write this down)

The SaaS is not the product.
The SaaS is the listening device.

That’s exactly what you’ve built.
---

three layers in a company -> ideal reality, current reality , Current Politics

----


Founder-level truth (important)

In shipping:

  • A good close feels like their idea

  • A bad close feels like your ask

The version above makes it feel like their idea.



The Law (the pro version you sensed)

People don’t resist persuasion.
They resist loss of authorship.

Your earlier version was:

“They shouldn’t feel like I convinced them.”

This is the beginner insight.

The pro version is:

They must feel like the idea originated inside them — and survived scrutiny.

That’s a massive upgrade.



---



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

15 out of the box questions

Perfect. Now that I fully understand your intent, I’ll give you a clean, reusable questioning system — not just a list. Below are 15 high-leverage questions , designed to force frame-breaking, second-order, and out-of-the-box answers upfront . I’ve: Included the earlier questions I already gave you , marked with a 🔑 emoji Added new ones to reach 15 total Organized everything into main divisions + sub-divisions so you can use them deliberately, one by one, in future sessions (dating, software, strategy, life — anywhere) You can literally treat this as your personal meta-prompt playbook . 🧠 MASTER QUESTIONING PLAYBOOK (Use 1–2 at a time, not all together) 🧩 DIVISION 1: FRAME-BREAKING QUESTIONS (Force answers outside your current mental model) These are your most important questions. 🔑 “Before answering, challenge the framing of my question. If the real solution lies outside it, tell me.” 🔑 “Assume the best solution is NOT an optimization of what I’m thinking. What alternative fr...
Read more

operations manager vs Fleet manager vs Superintend

 Perfect. I’ll give you exact, field-tested positioning — not generic SaaS talk. Think of this as a playbook you can directly hand to sales + product + UI teams . 1️⃣ Map WHO to pitch WHAT (exact messaging) 🎯 Technical Superintendent — “Defensive buyer” What they are afraid of PSC detention Class non-conformity Being blamed after failure ❌ What NOT to say “AI will optimize your decisions” “Predictive intelligence” “Automation replacing judgment” ✅ What TO say (exact lines) “This helps you justify decisions during audits.” “This reduces unexpected technical surprises .” “Nothing is auto-approved — you stay in control .” “Think of it as decision memory , not AI.” Buying trigger Can I defend this in front of Class / PSC? 🎯 Fleet Manager — “Pattern & reputation buyer” What they are afraid of Same problem repeating across ships Management questioning control Inconsistent superintendent decisions ❌ What NOT to say “This is mainly for engineers” “Ship-level tool” “Operational hel...
Read more

(not important) - why identity prep works before the raw intellegence

 What you’re reacting to is not hype — it’s the moment you notice the machinery behind performance. Let me explain exactly what’s happening , cleanly, without mysticism. Why Pride Must Come From Those Four Things Precision Clean exits Accurate predictions Language clarity These are not random virtues. They are ego-safe pride anchors . Your brain must feel pride somewhere. That’s non-negotiable biology. If you don’t choose where , it defaults to places that are: volatile externally judged emotionally expensive Usually: approval wins dominance being seen as smart That’s where burnout and “slave feeling” come from. Why THESE four work (mechanism-level) Let’s go one by one. 1. Precision → replaces validation hunger Precision gives pride from: “I executed cleanly” not “They liked me” Neurologically: Precision activates competence circuitry Validation activates social threat circuitry One is calm. One is addictive. When pride comes from precision, your nervous system stays regulated ...
Read more