Good and bad questions for a customer discovery interview

A good interview uses the “Mom Test” method

People say you shouldn’t ask your mom whether your business is a good idea. Technically that’s true, but it misses the point. You shouldn’t ask anyone whether your business is a good idea. At least, not in those words. Your mom will lie the most (just because she loves you).

• If you ask your mom: “What do you think of my brilliant idea to make phone batteries last longer?” she’ll answer: “That’s great, sweetheart.” It’s a bad question that encourages everyone to lie to you, at least a little.
• If you ask your mom: “How many times a day do you charge your phone?” She’ll answer: “I’ve been charging it twice a day for a while now, because my battery doesn’t last anymore”. That’s a real, useful fact that points to a real problem.

💡 It isn’t anyone else’s responsibility to tell us the truth. It’s our responsibility to find it. That’s what we do by asking the right questions.

These interviews are first and foremost a way to find a business problem worth building a company around. Once that problem is validated, outbound for B2B start-ups helps you find your first customers.

To help you build a good interview guide, here is a list of good and bad questions:

❌“Do you think it’s a good idea?”
❌“Would you buy a product that did X?”
❌“How much would you pay for X?”
❌“What would your dream product do?”
✅“Why do you bother?”
✅“What are the implications of that?”
✅“Talk me through the last time that happened.”
✅“What else have you tried?”
❌“Would you pay €X for a product that did Y?”
✅“How are you dealing with it now?”
✅“Where does the money come from?”
✅“Who else should I talk to?”
✅“Is there anything else I should have asked?”

“Do you think it’s a good idea?”

👉 Only the market will tell you whether your idea is good. Everything else is just opinions.

“Would you buy a product that did X?”

Bad question. You’re asking ultra-optimistic people who want to please you for opinions and hypothetical choices. The answer to a question like this is almost always “yes”, and it’s worthless.

Let’s fix it: ask them how they currently solve X, and how much it costs them. And how long it takes. Ask them to tell you everything that happened the last time X came up. If they haven’t solved the problem, ask them why. Did they try looking for solutions without finding any? Or do they care so little that they didn’t even bother to search on Google?

👉 Rule of thumb: Anything about the future is an ultra-optimistic lie.

“How much would you pay for X?”

How much does this problem cost them? How much are they currently paying to solve it? What budget is allocated to it?

👉 Rule of thumb: People will lie to you if they think it’s what you want to hear.

“What would your dream product do?”

It’s a bad question. Not very useful in itself, but it puts you in a good position as long as you’re ready to make the most of it. The risk is that people give you ideas. But you need to focus on one idea at a time so you can develop it and execute it. Don’t spread yourself thin. Try to understand the reason why they want the feature.

👉 Rule of thumb: People know what their problems are, but they don’t know how to solve them.

“Why do you bother?”

Good question.

👉 Rule of thumb: You’re blindfolded until you understand your prospects’ goals.

“What are the implications of that?”

Good question.

👉 Rule of thumb: Some problems don’t really matter.

“Talk me through the last time that happened.”

Good question. Learn from their actions rather than their opinions.

👉 Rule of thumb: Watching someone carry out a task will show you where the problems and inefficiencies really are, not where the customer thinks they are.

“What else have you tried?”

Good question.

What are they using now? How much does it cost and what do they love or hate about it? What are those solutions worth, and how painful would it be for them to switch to a new solution? Have they looked on Google to see if there were other ways to solve it?

👉 Rule of thumb: If they haven’t already looked for ways to solve this problem, they’re not going to look for (or buy) your solution.

“Would you pay €X for a product that did Y?”

Bad question.

Adding a number doesn’t change anything. The question is bad for the same reasons as the others: people are too optimistic about what they might do and want to please you.

Another way to fix it, if you’re far enough along, is to literally ask them for money.

👉 Rule of thumb: People stop lying when you ask them for money.

“How are you dealing with it now?”

Good question.

👉 Rule of thumb: Although people rarely tell you exactly what they’re going to pay you, they will often tell you what it’s worth to them.

“Where does the money come from?”

Good question.

It isn’t something you necessarily have to ask a user (even though you can), but in a business-to-business context it’s essential. It leads to a discussion about where the budget comes from, and who else has the power to torpedo the purchase.

👉 Rule of thumb: You’re running a business, you need to talk about money.

“Who else should I talk to?”

Good question.

End every conversation with this question. Lining up the first conversations can be hard, but if you’re onto something interesting and you treat people well, your leads will multiply quickly thanks to the new contacts they introduce you to. If someone doesn’t want to introduce you, that’s fine. Leave them alone. You’ve learned either that you’re messing up this conversation (probably by being too formal, pushing your pitch too hard, or being too pushy), or that the problem you’re tackling doesn’t really interest them.

“Is there anything else I should have asked?”

Good question.

Usually, by the end of the meeting, people understand what you’re trying to do. Asking this question gives them the chance to politely fill in your questions. And they will!

👉 Rule of thumb: People want to help you. Give them an excuse to do it.