Anyone who has done entrepreneurship long enough knows that when it comes to market research, interviews are your best bet. Getting a person’s first hand perspective on their problem helps you identify if you have a product that could be viable with that market. In an interview, the interviewee is the important part. What they say is what the conversation would revolve around. You have to stay involved, asking relevant questions, and get them to open up over the course of your discussion. If you jump too far ahead, make an assumption about what they mean, or project insincerity in the discussion, they will likely give veiled answers and halt your attempt to get to the bottom of the issue.
In sales, you also have to prepare. You have to build rapport with your prospect before you jump into the issues, and you can’t project your own thoughts or make assumptions. If you practice perspective taking, know what to look for, and really listen, you will get to the answer quicker, whether it is yes or no.
BoweryJE22
I made this same connection while I was doing interviews for my Lean Launchpad class. We had to do many interviews, and as I got better, I would really just try to listen to them and search for pain. And in sales, you have to determine whether it is a good fit or not. Similar to the Lean Methodology, you have to determine whether your solution solves their problem and if not, then make it so that it does. I also like what you said about going where the customer goes. At first, I was just focused on what my next question was. But then, I really tried to understand where they were coming from and then we entered another topic that presented an opportunity for me to ask a question later on in the process. It went much smoother and felt more natural.