The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn if Your Business is a Good Idea When Everyone is Lying to You
How to have customer conversations that reveal truth, not politeness
"The measure of a useful conversation is whether it gives you facts about their lives and world views."
— Rob Fitzpatrick
My Review
Fitzpatrick's framework for customer conversations is about honest signal detection - learning to extract real information from conversations where people's natural politeness obscures truth.
Why It Matters
Signal detection in customer conversations requires overcoming social politeness. Fitzpatrick provides techniques for extracting honest signals.
Key Ideas
- People will lie to be polite - structure conversations to avoid this
- Ask about behavior, not opinions
- Talk about their life, not your idea
- Commitment and advancement are the only valid signals
How It Connects to This Framework
Book 5's honest vs. deceptive signals and the signal detection concepts throughout.
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The full Biology of Business book explores these concepts in depth with practical frameworks.