50
Likes
11 Comments

The Right Way to Talk to People About Your Business with Rob Fitzpatrick, Author of The Mom Test

Episode #154

Customers will lie to you. So will your friends and family. It's one of the most surprising things you discover when you talk to people about what you're building. Rob Fitzpatrick (@robfitz) should know. He spent years making a habit of talking to customers, only to learn the wrong lessons and have his startup flame out anyway. There had to be a better way. In his book, The Mom Test, Rob shares his strategies for talking to customers the right way, gathering accurate feedback, and even finding people to talk to in the first place. And in this episode, Rob and I dive deeper into each of these topics.

Show Notes

  1. 14

    "If you feel like it's miserable and hard, stop making yourself do the hard thing… It's better to accept that you're lazy and cowardly, and then make it easy enough so you can do it anyway. That's my whole strategy with life."

    This was some of my favorite advice this episode, because it applies to almost everything. It's easy to get obsessed with doing things perfectly, when your real problem is you're not doing things at all.

  2. 5

    Really good podcast, indeed. Jam-packed with great advice & techniques and his energy is electrifying.

    Who is the person he mentions that has good sales advice? Louie Swiss or something like that (at around 36:00 min)?

    1. 4

      @louisswiss -- lots of good stuff in his post/comment history, he runs an course about learning sales as a founder, and he's often around answering questions on here. He's not the only one, of course -- plenty of helpful sales folks lurking around IH.

  3. 3

    I really liked this episode!

  4. 3

    This conversation is gold when trying to build a business.

    I've been listening to Start From Zero. The main idea from it I got is to focus on your customer and the results they want or need. NOT THE METHOD OR MECHANISM.

    This episode alludes to that by doing a better job interviewing your audience.

  5. 2

    This is one of the most inspiring episodes from IH.

    People usually say nice things about your startup / product idea. As a founder, you don't want to build your product based on false input.

    The theme is to come up with the questions so good that even your mom can't lie to you and let find out the truth.

    I went through the book, but I didn't get as much as by listening to the podcast episode. Some stories are more resonating when told from the author.

    Strongly recommended for people finding ways to validating ideas. Also included in my weekly newsletter.

  6. 2

    I have genuinely enjoyed and liked this episode.
    Loved the common sense advise and the general approach to life and startups.

    Episodes like this and the Jason Cohen one's keep bringing me back here religiously.

    Thanks Rob and Courtland

  7. 1

    This podcast was such and amazing record. I am currently working on Customer Development and Mom Test is my go to guide for every problem and after every interview. I have read three books on the topic (Talking to Humans, lean Customer Development, Mom Test) and this one's best.

    @robfitz Can you please once review what I am doing? I am trying everything, following all techniques to my best understanding, going to the book back and forth to double check and re-read but still confused if I am doing it right. I have tried to connect with you everywhere. Please connect once. I promise I won't waste your time.

    1. 3

      Have pinged you via twitter, but if anyone else has questions also, just hit me up at [email protected]

  8. 1

    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.