Doing it wrong is worse than doing nothing at all. (Location 96)
The measure of usefulness of an early customer conversation is whether it gives us concrete facts about our customers’ lives and world views. These facts, in turn, help us improve our business. (Location 130)
If you just avoid mentioning your idea, you automatically start asking better questions. Doing this is the easiest (and biggest) improvement you can make to your customer conversations. Here are 3 simple rules to help you. They are collectively called (drumroll) The Mom Test: The Mom Test: 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 (Location 146)
Rule of thumb: People know what their problems are, but they don’t know how to solve those problems. (Location 189)
Rule of thumb: If they haven't looked for ways of solving it already, they're not going to look for (or buy) yours. (Location 228)
The questions to ask are about your customers’ lives: their problems, cares, constraints, and goals. (Location 263)
It boils down to this: 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. (Location 266)
With the exception of industry experts who have built very similar businesses, opinions are worthless. You want facts and commitments, not compliments. (Location 284)
Compliments are the fool’s gold of customer learning: shiny, distracting, and worthless. (Location 344)
While using generics, people describe themselves as who they want to be, not who they actually are. You need to get specific to bring out the edge cases. (Location 383)
Startups are about focusing and executing on a single, scalable idea rather than jumping on every good one which crosses your desk. (Location 427)
When you hear a request, it’s your job to understand the motivations which led to it. You do that by digging around the question to find the root cause. Why do they bother doing it this way? Why do they want the feature? How are they currently coping without the feature? Dig. (Location 465)
Questions to dig into emotional signals: “Tell me more about that.” “That seems to really bug you — I bet there’s a story here.” “What makes it so awful?” “Why haven’t you been able to fix this already?” “You seem pretty excited about that — it’s a big deal?” “Why so happy?” “Go on.” (Location 476)
Every time you talk to someone, you should be asking at least one question which has the potential to destroy your currently imagined business. (Location 536)
Give as little information as possible about your idea while still nudging the discussion in a useful direction. (Location 845)
If you’re really desperate, you can always be “writing a book” and hoping to interview them. (Location 1029)
If it’s a topic you both care about, find an excuse to talk about it. Your idea never needs to enter the equation and you’ll both enjoy the chat. (Location 1030)
Paul Graham suggests that generic launch can be a solid start for the same reason. Get your product out there, see who seems to like it most, and then reach out to those types of users for deeper learning. (Location 1043)
His solution was to organise a semi-monthly “knowledge exchange” call between the department heads of top universities to discuss the challenges around his topic of choice. Furthermore, it was set up as a conference call where any other universities could dial in and listen to the best practices of the big ones. By simply organising the call and playing host, he immediately absorbed all the credibility of the top universities and got direct phone access to a pile of great leads. Every business is different. Don’t just copy what someone else is doing. Consider your situation and get clever. (Location 1072)
The framing format I like has five key elements. You’re an entrepreneur trying to solve horrible problem X, usher in wonderful vision Y, or fix stagnant industry Z. Don’t mention your idea. Frame expectations by mentioning what stage you’re at and, if it’s true, that you don’t have anything to sell. Show weakness and give them a chance to help by mentioning the specific problem that you’re looking for answers on. This will also clarify that you’re not a time waster. Put them on a pedestal by showing how much they, in particular, can help. Explicitly ask for help. (Location 1120)
If you don’t know what you’re trying to learn, you shouldn’t bother having the conversation. (Location 1358)
the key quotes and main takeaways of the conversation, as well as any problems you (Location 1361)
Notes are useless if you don’t look at them. (Location 1445)
Without figuring out what actually matters to your company and how to deal with it effectively, you’re just going through the motions. (Location 1448)
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 If a question could be answered via desk research, do that first During the conversation: Frame the conversation Keep it casual Ask good questions which pass The Mom Test Deflect compliments, anchor fluff, and dig beneath signals Take good notes If relevant, press for commitment and next steps After a batch of conversations: With your team, review your notes and key customer quotes If relevant, transfer notes into permanent storage Update your beliefs and plans Decide on the next 3 big questions (Location 1458)