FBC – 258 – How to handle your very first sale

How to handle your very first sale.

Today we are going to discuss the most common mistake that people make when they get their very first sale. This will allow you to start your business on the right track.

Want a system as powerful (if not more) than having your own product?

Then click here: https://martinebongue.com/profit-machines

My girlfriend's starting a new brand and she's starting a new collection. So she's putting out a lot of work into creating the brand. And we've been going left and right on the island to gather everything she needs for the brand. So going to find the beads, going to find the chains, going to find the iron strings and then going to find like the hooks and stuff, going to get them all done and stuff.

A whole lot of work. In addition to this, she took some classes. She had classes to learn how to do some necklaces and then some technique to actually change the shape of the necklaces by adding stuff.  You will be surprised how much work actually goes into the creation of a piece of jewellery. Now, I understand why they sell it for a price, because it's a lot of work.

Today she was doing some photos for the new version of the Web site, which is going to be absolutely insane. And I went with my friends Timmo and Kai, and they were so nice. I mean, there are some really nice people, very good at photography and stuff, which I am really not. And they took some time out of their day to come and help out with this.

So they were making the photos and some people actually saw and looked at the necklaces and they were like, dude, we want to buy them. Right. Which was really cool. You can't even begin to imagine how happy she was, you know, because the purpose was not to go and sell anything, it was just to, you know, to get some pictures for the upcoming collection and stuff. And she's launching the new brand.

So that's why I wanted to record the podcast about when you get your first client or your reflex, the first reflexes. Dude, I have a client. I need to secure that client. Because she was like, dude, how much do I need to charge for the necklaces? I really want this client. It's my first sale.

Maybe I should go low and stuff like that. And it's a reflex that everybody has. So me today I'm telling you that stuff because now I have experience and everything. But trust me, when it happened to me the first time I did the exact same thing, I really wanted the client. And I was ready to sacrifice everything, the price and everything just to get that first. Because here's the thing.

When you make your first sale, it may not seem like much for a lot of people, but what does it mean? It means that it's possible. People are buying that stuff. So once you make a sale. Well, guess what happens? You can make more sales. OK. This is encouraging.

This is victory. It's a big, big, big victory because a lot of people have tried different things online, off line and stuff. And they basically never made a sale. She made a sale. And this means there is a market for what she's doing, that she's talented. And all the efforts she put into the brand, all the time we spent, all the energy and the attention she put in is actually paying off.

OK, but here's the thing. When you don't have experience, you want to lowball that for a sale because I mean, you know what? You're my first client and stuff.

Right. First thing you want to do is you don't want them to think that you're brand new or anything. Don't tell them you're happy. You got your first sale. Make sure you don't tell them that they are your first client. Always, always, always. Don't ever do this. OK. It's a very tempting thing. You know what? I'll give you a discount because you're my first client.

How to handle your very first sale

The main lesson that I want to give you here is that when you're pricing. So let's say your production cost is like five bucks, for example, for an item. Don't just take that into account. You know why it cost me five bucks. Let me sell it for 10. Now, it's not how that works.

It's not just a material that you put in there. There are two grams of silver. And the chain is like 30 cents. Let me sell it for 5.50. Now, what you have in there is your whole your time, your efforts, your creativity, all the time you spent researching and learning. Everything goes in to actually you come up with a price.

OK, so the price is not only based on the value of how much it cost to you, it's all your expertise, your time you spent acquiring that skill. This is what people are paying, right? They're paying for your brand. So when you're doing something like this, one thing I want you to do is to be confident, you know, be confident about your product.

Don't lowball the price. You put in a lot of effort. This is the result of your skills, everything you've learned. And you have to earn. You have to own it. You're like, well, here it is. That's the price. OK. And when you're confident about your stuff, good people will actually understand, you know, the value of it.

Just remember all the energy, the time, the money you've spent training yourself, because this is also a very important factor.

How I handle a first sale so it becomes the second, third, and a referral

You will remember your first sale forever, and how you handle it sets the tone for every one after. I have made a lot of them across four companies, and the biggest mistake I see is treating the first sale like the finish line. It is the start line. That first customer is not just money, they are proof, feedback, and if you treat them right, your first referral. So I overdeliver on purpose, I ask exactly why they bought, and I make the next step obvious instead of leaving them alone with their receipt. Across 2,000+ students I have taught, the ones who obsess over that first buyer build faster than the ones chasing the next hundred. One delighted customer who tells someone is worth more than a cold ad. I wrote about this on my Substack and demonstrated the follow-up build on my YouTube growth hacking series. The mechanics are documented too: the HubSpot blog on turning first-time buyers into repeat ones, and Zapier on automating the follow-up so nothing slips. Treat your first sale like the beginning of a relationship. Handled right, it pays you back for years.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you handle your very first online sale with confidence?

Send a same-day welcome email, confirm what they bought, and tell them the next step. Then over-deliver on the promised result inside 14 days. The first sale sets the tone for every future referral, so treat it like a private launch, not just a checkout transaction in your dashboard.

What should you do in the first 48 hours after a customer pays?

Personally onboard them with a 10-minute Loom or call if the price point allows. Map their first quick win and lock the date. Two thirds of first-time buyers churn or refund inside 14 days when no human contact happens. A short personal touch raises retention by 30 to 50 percent.

How do you ask the first customer for honest feedback?

Wait until they have used the product for 7 to 14 days, then send one short message: what is working, what is missing, what would you change. Three or four replies will reveal the same one or two friction points, which become your next product update or onboarding revision priority.

How does your first sale influence the next ten?

It reveals the exact buyer profile, the exact objection that almost stopped them, and the exact message that closed them. Capture all three in writing within 48 hours. Most solopreneurs forget those details by week three, then have to rediscover them while running ad spend they could have skipped.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Related Reading

• FBC-4 Part 1-This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC-3-Escape your life of sacrifice! Don’t settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC-8-The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage