#21. BOOK REVIEW: The Mom Test: How to talk to customers and learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.”
INTRODUCTION
After the last book review on Inspired, I was eager to write a review of another book that has influenced by ‘Product Building/ Entrepreneur Toolkit’: The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. This is a straightforward handbook on how to ask the right questions about your idea, avoid biases, and get actionable feedback.
The Mom Test
If you ever asked your mom about your idea, she is likely to lie to you and say your idea is great. This is emotionally satisfying but does nothing to impact the success of your idea.
Here are 3 simple rules to help you get relevant insight:
Talk about their life instead of your idea
Ask about specifics in the past instead of generic s or opinions about the future
Talk less and listen more
10 Favourite Quotes
1.“The measure of usefulness of an early customer conversation is whether it gives us concrete feedback about our customers’ lives and world views”.
2. To be sure a customer is willing to pay for a solution to a problem they say they have – “If they haven’t looked for ways of solving it already, they’re not going to look for (or buy) yours”
3. Using the Mom Test – “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”
4.DEFLECTING COMPLIMENTS – “Most of your meetings will end with a compliment. It feels good. They said they like it!”. “With the exception of industry experts who have built very similar businesses, opinions are worthless. You want facts and commitments, not compliments”.
There are 3 different types of conversation fluff such as Generic claims (“I usually”, “I always”, “I never”), Future-tense promises (“I would”, “I will), and Hypothetical maybes (“I might”, “I could”)
5. When someone starts talking about what they “always” or “usually” or “never” or “would do”, they are giving you generic and hypothetical fluff. Ask good questions that obey The Mom Test to anchor them back to specifics in the past. Ask when it last happened or for them to talk you through it.
6. 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
7. DIGGING BENEATH IDEAS – “Entrepreneurs are always drowning in ideas. At some point during a good conversation, the person you are talking to may want to give you more ideas. Write them down but don’t rush to add them to your to do list”.
8. “Startups are about focusing and executing on a single, scalable idea rather than jumping on every good one which crosses your desk”.
9. “Every time you talk to someone, you should be asking at least one question which has the potential to destroy your currently imagined business”
10. LOOK BEFORE YOU ZOOM - “Everyone has problems they know about, but don’t actually care enough about to fix. And if you zoom in too quickly and lead them to that problem, they’ll happily drown you in all the unimportant details. This would confuse your learning”
11. BONUS. “If you don’t know what you’re trying to learn, you shouldn’t bother having the conversation”
A GOOD CONVERSATION
If you asked someone what their biggest problem with staying fit, they’ll probably say it’s the time cost of going to the gym. But then if you build a workout-at-home app, they’ll probably ignore it.
Consider a better conversation.
You: “How often do you go to the gym”
Them: “Um. Not really ever.” (Looks like we’re done here)
You: “Why not?” (Instead of taking for granted that staying fit is one of their top priorities, let’s dig into the motivations.)
Them: “I don’t know, it’s just not something I’m that worried about, you know?” (Not trying to fix this, so unlikely to buy or use an app.)
You: “When’s the last time you did try? Have you joined a gym or taken up jogging or anything?” (Let’s anchor the generic just to make sure…)
Them: “Oh yeah I used to be into sports in high school. It just hasn’t been a big deal since I settled down. Running around after the kids gives me all the cardio I need!”
You: “Ha-ha, gotcha. Thanks for the time!” (This was a pleasant conversation and we learned what we came for, so we can abandon ship and leave him to his day.)
CONCLUSION
If you aren't sure about how to ask the "right" questions to ascertain whether there is real customer pain, The Mom Test is the best book for you.
I hope you found this informative and relevant.
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Also, if you have any questions about any topic, you would like me to tackle, kindly email me at notesbynero@gmail.com .