A listener named Ashwin asks Sam how he structures customer discovery calls for his new business. Sam breaks down his two-phase call process: the first half is pure discovery — confirming whether the person actually has the problem you’re solving — and the second half is a live close, getting them to articulate the value themselves and then asking if they want in. He also makes the case for doing 10-20 calls per day rather than one per week.
Speakers: Sam Parr (host), Ashwin (listener, question submitter)
Listener Question: Customer Discovery Calls [00:00:00]
Ashwin: Hey, this is Ashwin. My question is for Sam regarding customer discovery. I saw on a recent webinar that your calendar was booked with dozens of calls each day with potential customers for your new product. I’d like to know what kind of questions you ask in those meetings, and how you use their feedback to influence the business plan and product. Thanks.
Sam’s Discovery Call Framework [00:00:20]
Sam: All right, so the question was basically — I did a little small talk session for a private group, and I showed my calendar. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll do like 10 to 20 ten-to-twenty-minute calls with customers. They asked what questions do I ask.
So I do a few things. The first thing is: if you haven’t read it, there’s this book called The Mom Test, and it talks about how to ask good questions. I’m not asking questions that a lot of people ask, like “would you pay for this?” I don’t ask that. I don’t ask “would you use this?” I never ask that stuff.
In my case — and not just in my case, but in all cases — I’m not even asking them if they want the solution I’m proposing. What I’m looking for is confirmation: does this person have my problem? The problem I’m trying to solve. And then I’m trying to figure out: if they don’t have the problem, are they even the target market I’m going after? What type of archetype, what demographic, what psychographic — what type of person consistently has this problem?
What Sam Actually Asks [00:01:30]
Sam: I don’t want to talk too much about the specific business I’m starting because I’m not ready to reveal it yet — but it is working really well, and we’ve done a lot of revenue in a very short amount of time, all from these calls. So I’ll use some vague language, sorry about that.
I’ll say something like: “Have you ever tried to use [blank] before?” And they’ll say, “Oh, you haven’t, but you’ve wanted to?” And I’ll ask, “Well, why haven’t you?” And they’ll tell me things like, “Well, no good one has ever presented itself,” or, “The brands that currently solve this seem a little old-school to me.”
And I’ll say, “Tell me about that. Why do you think they seem old-school? Why do you think they seem archaic?” And they’ll give me all these reasons.
In my head, I’m using that feedback to identify a constant pattern: people say (a) they want to use a product like what I’m offering, but (b) they haven’t because none of the existing offerings appeal to them — they’re all old and people want something new.
Sam: So what I’m constantly doing on these calls is getting them to tell me whether they do or do not have the problem I’m trying to solve.
The Second Half: The Close [00:03:00]
Sam: The second thing I do is try to close them — and when I close them, I kind of get them to sell me first.
I’ll say something like, “Well, this product — if you used it, how much do you think it would help you?” And often they’ll say, “It would help me by doing X, Y, and Z.” And I’ll say, “How much value would that bring you, numerically? What type of revenue? What type of time would it save?” And they’ll say, “It would save me this much money and this much time, and it would help with this, this, and this.”
Then at the end of the call I say, “All right — I’m offering this. I’m solving this problem. I have a product already. In the future I’m going to charge [X], but right now, because you’re early, I’m going to charge $500, which is a fraction of what it’ll eventually cost. If I can make all this happen, are you in? And by the way, I’ll refund your money entirely if you’re not happy.” And often they say yes. Then I send them a link.
I’m typically able to close about 80% of people.
Why You Should Close on the Call [00:04:15]
Sam: The first half of the call is pure discovery. I never say “would you buy this?” I just ask really broad, open-ended questions to get them to describe whether they have the problem I’m solving.
If they don’t have the problem, sometimes I’ll ask why — and that helps me figure out whether this is actually a problem worth solving or not. If they do have the problem, I get them to tell me: How have they tried to solve it in the past? What worked and what didn’t? Why aren’t they already using an existing solution?
When they do that, they basically tell me the attributes my solution needs to have in order to appeal to someone like them.
Then in the last few minutes, sometimes I’ll try to sell them. I try to close the deal right there, because if I can get them in, I can get feedback faster. I never ask “would you buy this?” I just say, “Well, you said you wanted this. I’m offering this. Do you want it?” And if they balk at it, then I know this isn’t that big of a problem — there’s not that much of a need there. That’s why I try to sell them on the call.
Pack Your Calendar [00:05:30]
Sam: That’s how I do calls when I’m in the discovery phase of a business. I’ll be on calls literally eight hours a day.
I think something people do wrong is they don’t get on the phone with potential customers. They’ll do like one call a week at most. And I’m like, no, no, no, no — pack your day. I’m literally back to back to back to back.
I usually have a script. I take notes. I use this headset that looks like a gamer’s headset with a microphone. And I go on walks while I’m doing this, because it helps me stay focused and be loose.
Anyway, that’s one question. Try it.