The meeting which “went well” was actually a failure

It is easy when you run a startup to be overwhelmed with dozens of leads, especially when you are in exploration phase. You keep pitching to whomever wants to listen to you. They seem to love the product, they say “I would definitely want to hear more about your product when it’s ready”. You believe you nailed it. You come back to the office saying: “the meeting went well”.

And then nothing happens.

You are stuck.

Sounds familiar? This is what is described in the short, practical, book “The Mom Test – How to talk to customers and learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you”, by Rob Fitzpatrick.

The Mom Test

Rob goes on writing: “startups don’t starve, they drown. You never have too few options, too few leads, or too few ideas. You have too many. You get overwhelmed. You do a little bit of everything.”

Instead, when you explore the market with potential customers, you want to validate their pain points based on real ground, based on their real experience. You don’t want people to be nice to you. So, to pass the Mom Test, you should do the following – at every exploration meeting:

1. Talk about their life instead of your idea

2. Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future

3. Talk less and listen more

4. Ask only 3 questions, but they should be the important ones to help define your market.

Customer Slicing

If the responses you get from these conversations are too scattered, there is the danger of feature creep, hence a diverging roadmap, which will result in having a “good enough” product for everyone, but not “an absolutely great” product for a select few who will become your lead customers.

Instead, you apply the “Customer Slicing” concept described in the book. Customer slicing forces you to narrow down your target audience into specific, actionable segments to avoid drowning in mixed signals.  Start with a broad segment and refine it by asking:

• Who within this group wants your product the most?

• What are their specific motivations or problems?

• Where can you find them?

This specificity helps focus your efforts, tailor your product, and find customers more easily. A good customer segment is a "who-where pair," meaning you know exactly who they are and where to find them.

Then, when you have a bunch of “who-where” pairs, you can decide who to start with based on who seems most:

• Profitable or big (think “PR impact”)

• Easy to reach

• Rewarding for you to build a business around

The zombie lead

Finally, be mindful about this meeting which “went well”. It usually is a failure. A meeting that "went well" often results in compliments or vague promises, which are misleading and unhelpful. Compliments like "I love your idea" or "Let me know when it launches" provide no actionable data and can lead to false positives.

Instead, a successful meeting ends with:

• Concrete facts: Specific insights into the customer's life, problems, or goals.

• Commitment: The customer gives up something valuable, such as time, reputation, or money.

• Advancement: The customer moves closer to a sale or the next step in your funnel.

If a meeting lacks these outcomes, it is considered a failure, even if it feels positive. To fix such meetings, push for clear commitments or next steps.

I leave it to Rob to conclude. “When you fail to push for advancement, you end up with zombie leads: potential customers who keep taking meetings with you and saying nice things, but who never seem to cut a check. It's like your startup has been friend-zoned.”

A question: when is the last time that your startup has been friend-zoned after a meeting which “went well”?

Thank you.

Philippe

P.S.1. You may take the “From Tech To Growth” self-assessment scorecard. It is free, it only takes two minutes. It offers some reflective questions on your business growth and provides some tips based on your score.

P.S.2. Whenever you are ready, you can take a short, complementary appointment with me to discuss your business growth issues at hand. Go to the “From Tech To Growth” Recognition Call.

Philippe Poggianti, CEO, Poggianti Insights

[email protected]

+33-6-6404-3802