Originally read: 11/06/2023 - 11/19/2023

Summary

The Mom Test is a framework for conducting customer conversations. The core premise: people will lie to you to be polite. Don't ask about your idea directly; instead, ask about their life, their problems, their past behavior, and their existing solutions. Talk about specifics in the past, not hypotheticals in the future. The customer owns the problem; you own the solution.

Extract real commitment – time, reputation, or money. Meetings without advancement are failures. Fitzpatrick also covers finding conversations (warm intros, hosting events, the VFWPA framework for outreach), choosing customers (startups drown from lack of focus – niche down aggressively), and running the process as a team rather than siloing customer insights with one person.

Key Takeaways

Notes

1: The mom test

• Bad interviews are worse than none at all
• Explore behaviors, pain points
• Keep digging deeper
• Usefulness: concrete facts about life, world view
• The mom test:
  • Talk about their life, not your idea
  • Ask about specifics in the past, not hypotheticals in the future
  • Talk less, listen more
• Focus on the why of feature requests, not the what
• Need to be looking for a solution: what have you tried?
• Determine the budget owner or you’ll keep hitting snags
• Who else should I talk to?
• Is there anything I should have asked you?
• Customer owns problem, you own solution

2: Avoiding bad data

• Bad data: Compliments, fluff, ideas
• ALWAYS ignore + deflect compliments
• Fluff: hypotheticals, indirectness
  • Don’t put your ego on the line → invites fluff + compliments
• Reject specifics, ask for concrete examples
  • When’s the last time?
• Feature request: dig to understand why
  • Don’t take solution at face value → seek the PROBLEM
  • IDEAL: they’re already paying to fix the problem

3: Asking important questions

• Ask 1+ questions that you’re terrified might kill your business
  • Love bad news, mediocre reception (learnings)
• Don’t waste time on irrelevant customers
  • Ask “what are your biggest priorities” / time sinks / painful moments without biasing
• Product vs market risk:
  • Product: prototype + test
  • Customer / market risk: user interviews
• Memorize the top 3 things you want to know (can shift weekly)

4: Keeping it casual

• Be informal, spontaneous
• Facing problem → investigate → industry
  • 5 → 15 → 60 mins

5: Commitment and advancement

• Push for advancement (watch out for zombie leads who don’t progress)
• Meeting MUST end with a commitment to advance to the next step, else failed
  • Time: next meeting
  • Reputation: intros, testimonial
  • Money
• What do I need to get to for [next step]?
• You’re trying to get more data / learning / assess desire in early stages → add friction (not remove)
• First hires are kinda crazy - taking a risk on you w/ a strong emotional need
  • Understand individual customer first

6: Finding conversations

• Cold calls: find an excuse to talk, not formal and on a calendar
  • PHD, writing a book
  • Share findings
• Plant a flag your customers can see:
  • Host events ⭐️
  • Blog
• Warm intros are the best
  • Profs, investors, advisors
  • Cash in all your small favors
• Framing: not interview or feedback
• How to frame when reaching out: VFWPA
  • Vision: entre trying to fix problem
  • Framing: no product to sell
  • Weakness: specific unknowns
  • Pedestal: how they in particular help
  • Ask: explicitly ask them to help you
• ↑ reiterate in intro
• Have a plan, guide, and set the agenda
• Strongly prefer in-person over calls
  • No one makes friends over the phone
• Helpful mental framing: you’re looking to hire them as an advisor, NOT as a client or customer
• How much time?
  • Either until you’ve heard everything before, or
  • Fixed part of life (eg. 4h/w)
    • Eg. 2h/w with sales people, 1h/w responding to customer tickets, 1h/w attending events

7: Choosing your customers

• Focus: startups don’t starve, they drown
  • NICHE DOWN
• Use industry experts to segment industry
• Customer segmentation: slice thinly
  • You should enjoy talking to them
  • Who + where pair
• Know whole value chain
  • All stakeholders, not just the buyer

8: Running the process

• Customer discovery should be shared by all product stakeholders (eg. engineers)
• Store content + emotion (eg. smily face)
• Convey the inputs, not the conclusions to the team
• Touch type
• Don’t just go through the motions*
• Key skills:
  • Asking good questions
  • Avoiding bad data
  • Keeping it casual
  • Pushing for commitments / advancements
  • Framing the meeting (VFWPA)
  • Customer segmentation
  • Prepping + reviewing