1. The Script
TL;DR > An interview is not an interrogation. Use these questions as a menu to keep the conversation flowing naturally while extracting hard data.
Going into a customer interview without a script is dangerous. You will inevitably default to pitching your product. Use these questions to guide the conversation.
20 / 80
The Golden Ratio
During a successful discovery interview, the founder should be speaking a maximum of 20% of the time. The customer should be speaking 80% of the time.
2. The Core Questions
To uncover the problem: - "What is the hardest part about [doing this task]?" - "Can you walk me through the last time that happened?" - "Why was that so hard?"
To measure the pain: - "How much time did you waste on that last week?" - "How does this problem affect your team's metrics?"
To test the status quo: - "What, if anything, have you done to try and solve this?" - "What don't you love about the solutions you've tried?"
Question Type Frequency
How you should balance your time during a 30-minute interview.
3. The Money Question
The most important questions come at the end, when you test if they will actually open their wallets.
Learn exactly how to ask for money in How to Test Willingness to Pay Before Building a Product.