The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you

Asking for and framing the meeting: Vision — half-sentence of how you’re making the world better Framing — where you’re at and what you’re looking for Weakness — where you’re stuck and how you can be helped Pedestal — show that they, in particular, can provide that help Ask — ask for help The big prep question: “What do we want to learn from these

Take good notes

“Does-this-problem-matter” questions: “How seriously do you take your blog?” “Do you make money from it?” “Have you tried making more money from it?” “How much time do you spend on it each week?” “Do you have any major aspirations for your blog?” “Which tools and services do you use for it?” “What are you already doing to improve this?” “What are t

I’m not going to try to set up a meeting. Instead, I’m just going to immediately transition into my most important question: “Hey, I’m curious—how did you end up getting this gig?”

use The Mom Test to re-focus on the person, their life, and their goals. Folks tend not to lie about specific stuff that’s already happened, regardless of your ego.

If you leave with worthless wishy washiness, I’d bet you’re falling for one (or both) of the following traps: You’re asking for their opinion about your idea (e.g. fishing for compliments) You’re not asking for a clear commitment or next steps

Talk about their life instead of your idea Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future Talk less and listen more

The process before a batch of conversations: If you haven’t yet, choose a focused, findable segment With your team, decide your big 3 learning goals If relevant, decide on ideal next steps and commitments If conversations are the right tool, figure out who to talk to Create a series of best guesses about what the person cares about

While prepping, if you come across a question which could be answered with desk research, take a moment to do it. You want to move past the obvious stuff and use your in-person conversations to find insights the internet can’t give you.