You shouldn't ask anyone whether your business is a good idea
It's our responsibility to find out the truth. We do that by asking good questions
The measure of usefulness of an early customer conversation is whether it gives us concrete facts about our customers’ lives and world views.
Don’t talk about your idea. Talk about them and their lives
The Mom Test: 1. Talk about their life instead of your idea. 2. Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future. 3. Talk less and listen more.
Opinions are useless
Anything involving the future is an over-optimistic lie
People will lie to you if they think it’s what you want to hear
People know what their problems are, but they don’t know how to solve those problems
You’re shooting blind until you understand their goals
Some problems don’t actually matter
If they haven’t looked for ways of solving it already, they’re not going to look for (or buy) yours
Ask about what they currently do now, not what they believe they might do in the future
People want to help you, but will rarely do so unless you give them an excuse to do so
Deciding what to build is your job
The questions to ask are about your customers’ lives: their problems, cares, constraints, and goals
You aren’t allowed to tell them what their problem is, and in return, they aren’t allowed to tell you what to build. They own the problem, you own the solution
Three types of bad data: compliments, fluff, ideas
Why does the person like the idea? How much money would it save him? How would it fit into his life? What else has he tried which failed to solve his problem?
Compliments are the fool's gold of customer learning: shiny, distracting, and entirely worthless
Dig around feature requests with questions to find the root cause
'The Pathos Problem': Accidental approval-seeking. You expose your ego, leading people to feel they ought to protect you by saying nice things
If you've mentioned your idea, people will try to protect your feelings
You can't learn anything useful unless you're willing to spend a few minutes shutting up
The more you're talking, the worse you're doing
Every time you talk to someone, you should be asking a question which has the potential to completely destroy your currently imagined business
You're searching for the truth, not trying to be right. And you want to do it as quickly and cheaply as possible. Learning that your beliefs are wrong is frustrating, but it's progress
Learning about a customer and their problems works better as a quick and casual chat than a long, formal meeting
If it feels like they're doing you a favour by talking to you, it's probably too formal
Think of it as a conversation rather than an interview
The only thing people love talking about more than themselves is their problems
By taking an interest in the problems and minutia of their day, you're already being more interesting than 99% of the people they've ever met
If it's not a formal meeting, you don't need to make excuses about why you're there or even mention that you're starting a business. Just have a good conversation
Get your product out there, see who see,s to like it most, and then reach out to those users
Teaching is under-valued as both a learning and selling tool
Framing format: 1. You're an entrepreneur trying to solve horrible problem X, user in wonderful vision Y, or fix stagnant industry Z. Don't metion your idea. 2. Frame expectations by mentioning what what you're at and, if it's true, that you don't have anything to sell. 3. Show weakness and give them a chance to help by mentioning your specific problem that you're looking for answers on. This will also clarify that you're not a time waster. 4. Put them on a pedestal by showing how much they, in particular, can help. 5. Ask for help.
If you don't know what you're trying to learn, you shouldn't bother having the conversation
Questions:
When do you use it?
Why do you use it?
How do you use it? What do you click?
How did you find it?
How did you reflect previously?
Did you try any tools or processes previously?
Why do you bother?
What else have you tried? How much does it cost and what do you love and hate about it?
Who else should I talk to?
Is there anything else I should have asked?