---
title: "First channels and sales approach"
course: "ENTR 242 · Start your own business"
unit: "Market attractiveness and go-to-market"
lesson: 35 of 43
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/first-channels-and-sales-approach
publisher: Maestro College
---

# First channels and sales approach

Lesson 35 of 43 in **Start your own business** (ENTR 242), unit "Market attractiveness and go-to-market". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Identify candidate acquisition channels for a beachhead and the cheapest test of each.
- Use the Dropbox referral program and Airbnb Craigslist cases to identify how each startup found a channel that reached its early adopters.
- Understand self-serve (customers sign up and buy on their own, suited to low prices), founder-led (the founder sells directly, suited to higher prices and early learning) and partner-led (another business sells or refers for you) sales, choose the one that fits a startup's price point and beachhead, and outline the steps from lead to paying customer.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 35 complete: First channels and sales approach."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Setting funnel targets for go-to-market tests" (lesson 36 of 43), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/setting-funnel-targets-for-go-to-market-tests.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Testing willingness to pay
Next lesson: Setting funnel targets for go-to-market tests