Builders are human beings first. Awareness is hard. It is hard to ask good questions. It is even harder to constantly structure the conversations and steer them in the right directions.
On the other hand, It is super easy to ask dumb questions. If you are passionate about an idea (which all founders are), it is easy to slip into the pitch mode quickly.
The Mom Test will help you to actively get better at asking good questions and having useful customer conversations. It will help you notice your mistakes. It teaches you how to fix them. Don't shoot for perfection. Progress is good enough. Having said that don't geek out the process too much, just do it and you never know you may hit gold quicker than usual.
I would like to split this book (any book for that matter) into three parts
Mindset for customer conversations
You are searching for the truth. Not trying to right.
Extract maximum value in mimimum time.
It is not about you (the builder). It is about them (your customers).
Talk about their life. Do not talk/pitch about your idea.
Specifics in past is better than opinions about future.
Talk less. Listen more.
Stay on track. Conversations go astray at all times. Deflect compliments/Anchor fluff/Dig Deeper beneath ideas at all times.
When the conversation is casual people talk.
Collect facts & commitments.
Learn-it-all vs Build-it-all.
Customer Conversations are bad by default. It is your job to fix them.
It is your responsibility to find truth. No one is obligated to give them to you.
Only the market can tell if it is good idea. Everything else is opinion (and opinions are worthless).
People by nature will be nice to you and not puncture your ego (lies stem from here)
Why >> What
People know what their problems are. They don't know how to solve them.
Some problems actually don't matter.
Watching someone do will show problems and inefficiencies than listen to what they think the problems are.
They can't tell you what they'll pay but they can tell you what it is worth to them.
Take all things nice with a grain of salt.
Is the person customer or complainer? Figure it out.
Meh >> Wow
The more they give up, the more seriously you can take their words.
Skillset for customer conversations
Ask Good Questions. Understand their goals.
Anchor to motivations and constraints behind every idea/request.
Avoid Bad Data
Keep it casual (even when it is formal)
Start broad. Zoom in only when you find a signal.
Don't rediscover the desires. They will buy if you make it well.
Push for commitment and advancements
Frame the meeting with customers. Every meet either succeeds or fails (no "went well")
Slice your customer segments.
Pre, During, Post customer conversations matter
Take Notes
Toolset for customer conversations
Have your big and important 3 questions handy at all times.
Framing the meeting via a cold email or warm intro
Vision — half-sentence version of how you’re making the world betterFraming — where you’re at and what you’re looking forWeakness — show how you can be helpedPedestal — show that they, in particular, can provide that helpAsk — ask for help.
Meeting Preps (Pre-During-Post)
Pre-Preps
If you haven’t yet, choose a focused, findable segmentWith your team, decide your big 3 learning goalsIf relevant, decide on ideal next steps and commitmentsIf conversations are the right tool, figure out who to talk toCreate a series of best guesses about what the person cares about (hypothetical is fine)If a question could be answered via desk research, do that first.
During
Frame the conversationKeep it casualAsk good questions which pass The Mom TestDeflect compliments, anchor fluff, and dig beneath signalsTake good notesIf relevant, press for commitment and next steps.
Post
With your team, review your notes and key customer quotesIf relevant, transfer notes into permanent storageUpdate your beliefs and plansDecide on the next 3 big questions.
Walk out of the meeting with
Facts
Concrete, specific facts about what they do and why they do it (as opposed to the bad data of compliments, fluff, and opinions)
Commitment
They are showing they’re serious by giving up something they value such as meaningful amounts of time, reputational risk, or money.
Advancement
They are moving to the next step of your real-world funnel and getting closer to a sale.
Note Taking: Signals
When you take notes in your customer conversations, use the following symbols for the signals as they pop-up during the conversations.
:) Excited
:( Angry
:| Embarrassed
☇ Pain or problem (symbol is a lightning bolt)
⨅ Goal or job-to-be-done (symbol is a soccer/football goal)
☐ Obstacle
⤴ Workaround
^ Background or context (symbol is a distant mountain)
☑ Feature request or purchasing criteria
＄ Money or budgets or purchasing process
♀ Mentioned a specific person or company
☆ Follow-up task
This should give you a fairly good idea around how to handle customer conversations and how to talk to them to build your business.
As human beings we don't like to hurt feelings of a fellow human being but that is not what we want. We want to know the truth. Our tools to know the truth are Goals and Questions. We must know how to wield them. It is delicate work but totally worthy one. From vague sense of opportunity, customer conversations can help you move into finding exactly what it is.
🥂 to customer conversations!
