How to find your alpha customers

What is an “alpha customer”?

• Are real, paying customers (not test accounts)

• Are willing to give feedback

• Understand that the product is early and may have some rough edges

• Help you prove that you can sell, implement, and support payroll before a full launch

Expected outcomes

1. 5–10 committed alpha customers
• Each has agreed to run payroll with you
• Each has a specific first payroll date scheduled

2. A clear alpha customer profile
• You know what types of companies are easiest and safest to onboard first
• You know what messaging and offers work to close those deals

3. A repeatable “alpha sales motion”
• Simple outreach sequence
• A call agenda and talk track
• A clear next-step email to close the deal

4. Early proof that you can sell and deliver payroll
• Real feedback on implementation
• Early success stories and testimonials you can use later

Who should lead this work?

• A GM / Head of Payroll, or

• A Product Manager for payroll, or

• A Founding / first salesperson who owns the payroll number

• Implementation / operations (who will actually run or support payroll)

• Customer success / account management (who knows your existing customers best)

What makes a great alpha customer?

1. Business profile

• Fewer than 25 payees (employees and contractors)

• Single location (ideally one state; avoid multi-state complexity at first)

• U.S.-based (if your product is U.S. payroll)

• Straightforward compensation (mostly salary or hourly, no complex commission plans to start)

2. Relationship

• Existing happy customers already using your core product

• Customers with strong usage or engagement

• Companies that already ask you, “Do you offer payroll?” or “Can you handle more of our HR?”

3. Mindset

• Curiosity about new tools

• Frustration with their current provider

• A decision-maker who wants to save time, reduce errors, or consolidate tools

Step-by-step: how to secure alpha customers

Step 1: Define your alpha customer profile

• 5–25 employees

• U.S.-based, single state

• Runs payroll at least once per month

• Currently using: [ADP / Gusto / Rippling / etc.]

• Has complained about:
• Payroll being confusing or time-consuming
• Poor support or slow responses
• Too many tools / wants everything in one platform

• Decision-maker is:
• Founder
• CEO
• Finance lead
• HR / Operations lead

Step 2: Build a target list (20–40 companies)

• Existing customers in your CRM:
• High NPS or satisfaction
• Strong product usage
• Long-time customers who trust you

• Prospects who:
• Previously asked about payroll
• Use you for something closely related (HR, time tracking, expenses, etc.)

• Warm networks:
• Friends and family
• Investors’ portfolio companies
• Partners who can refer a few customers

• Company name

• Contact person + role

• Current payroll provider (if known)

• Employee count

• Any known pain points or notes

Step 3: Create a simple, compelling “alpha offer”

1. Reduce risk for the customer

2. Make them feel special (access, attention, influence)

3. Avoid heavy discounts that are hard to repeat later

“We’re inviting a small group of 5–10 customers to be alpha customers for our new payroll product.

• Waive or reduce setup fees for alpha customers, or

• Offer a small, time-bound discount (e.g., first 3 months)

Step 4: Plan your outreach

1. Personal email or message

2. Follow-up email

3. Call or meeting request

Sample initial email

• White-glove setup and migration

• A direct line to our team for questions

• Input into what we build next

• Run payroll with us for at least a few cycles, and

• Share honest feedback (good and bad) so we can improve

Step 5: Run a combined discovery + demo call (30–45 minutes)

Call goals

1. Confirm they match your alpha profile

2. Understand their current payroll setup and pain

3. Show how your product solves those pains

4. Reduce their sense of risk

5. Know whether they’re ready to be an alpha customer

Simple call agenda

1. Intro & context (5 min)
• Who you are
• Why you’re launching payroll
• What the alpha program is (small, supported, feedback-focused)

2. Discovery: learn their current setup (10–15 min)

Ask questions like:

• How do you run payroll today?
• Which provider do you use?
• Are you happy with them? Why or why not?
• Do you feel you’re overpaying or paying fairly for payroll?
• Has support been a challenge? Any examples?
• What’s the most frustrating thing about payroll right now?
• What’s working well that you’d be afraid to lose?

Also ask:

• How many employees and contractors do you have?
• How often do you run payroll?
• Who is involved in the process?

3. Positioning and demo (10–15 min)

Keep it focused. Show:

• How to add an employee or contractor
• How to run a payroll
• Where they see taxes / filings handled
• Any key workflows that make their life easier (e.g., integrated time tracking)

As you demo, connect features to their earlier pain points:

• “You mentioned support is slow today — in our alpha program, you’ll have a direct line to our team.”
• “You said it’s annoying to jump between tools — here you can run payroll directly where you already manage X.”

4. Check for fit and interest (5–10 min)

Ask direct, simple questions:

• Based on what you’ve seen, could you see yourself running payroll with us?
• Is there anything that would stop you from using this as your main payroll provider?
• What would make this a “no brainer” for you?

If they seem interested, ask:

• When is your next payroll date?
• When would be a good time for you to switch providers?

5. Present the alpha offer & next step (5 min)

Briefly recap:

• What the alpha program includes (support, influence, etc.)
• What you ask from them (run payroll with you, share feedback)
• How pricing works

Then ask a clear, closing question:

• “Would you like to be one of our alpha customers for payroll?”

Step 6: Decide who moves forward

• Fit with your alpha profile (size, complexity, geography)

• Urgency to move (are they motivated to switch soon?)

• Enthusiasm (do they sound excited or hesitant?)

• Complexity (multiple states, unusual pay structures, etc.)

• Are excited

• Fit your profile

• Are likely to switch in the next 1–2 payroll cycles

Step 7: Close and schedule the first payroll

Sample recap / close email

• Payroll provider today: {{Current provider}}

• Main pain points: {{Top 2–3 issues}}

• Why switch: {{Time savings / better support / all-in-one platform, etc.}}

• Product: {{Your payroll product name}}

• Pricing: {{$X per month + $Y per employee}}

• Alpha start date: {{Target first payroll date}}

1. We’ll collect your current payroll data (employee info, pay rates, tax details, etc.).

2. We’ll schedule a short onboarding session to walk you through your first run.

3. We’ll be on-call for your first 1–2 payroll cycles to make sure things go smoothly.

• Confirm the first payroll date

• Loop in your implementation / operations team

• Make sure everyone knows this is an alpha customer (they should get extra attention)

Step 8: Create and warm a waitlist for launch

• Add them to a simple list with:
• Company name
• Contact
• Size
• Current provider
• Notes on timing or needs

• Sending occasional updates (“We just ran our first live payroll with alpha customers”)

• Sharing new features or improvements

• Inviting them to join once alpha is successful and you’re ready for a beta or full launch

How this helps your future payroll GTM

• Which customer profile closes fastest

• Which messages and pain points actually move deals

• What objections come up around payroll (risk, timing, data migration) and how to handle them

• How long it really takes to move a customer from “interested” to “first payroll run”

• Turn your alpha call agenda into a standard sales script

• Turn your alpha onboarding steps into a repeatable implementation playbook

• Turn your alpha customers’ success into case studies and references