You’ve got a million-dollar idea. A SaaS product poised to revolutionize an industry. But how do you know it’s not just a pipe dream? The answer, as outlined in Rob Fitzpatrick’s insightful book “The Mom Test,” lies in talking to potential customers, but not in the way you think. Forget the generic “Would you buy this?” questions. As business creator, you have to master The Mom Test, a revolutionary approach to customer conversations that’ll separate the gold from the fool’s gold.

In this article, I’ll distill the key ideas I’ve learned from Fitzpatrick’s work, and show you how to uncover the hidden truths about your product’s potential.

The Mom Test isn’t about finding validation; it’s about unearthing the truth. It’s about understanding the real problems your potential customers face, the solutions they’ve already tried, and what they’d be willing to pay for something better. Think of it as a detective’s toolkit for uncovering the hidden desires and frustrations that drive your target market

Forget the generics, embrace the specifics:

Imagine you’re building a software to streamline the hiring process for small businesses. Instead of asking “Do you struggle with finding the right candidates?”, you dive deeper with “Tell me about the last time you hired someone. What were the biggest challenges you faced? What tools did you use? What frustrated you the most?”

The Mom Test is all about real-life examples. It’s about digging into their past experiences, extracting concrete data about their pain points, their current solutions (even if they’re inefficient), and their hopes for a better way.

Listen, don’t lecture:

You’re not there to sell, you’re there to learn. Let your customers lead the conversation. Ask questions that steer them towards their problems, their goals, and their current workflows. You might discover a whole new set of needs and frustrations that you never even considered.

The Mom Test rules:

Talk about their life, not your idea: Focus on their problems, their goals, and their daily challenges. Don’t get lost in the excitement of your own vision.

Focus on the past, not opinions about the future: “Always” and “would” are dangerous words. Get specific details about real-life situations. “How did you handle that situation last week?” is much more valuable than “Would you use this tool?”

Listen more, talk less: You’ll learn more by being silent than by trying to impress.

Unmasking the “Why” behind feature requests:

When someone throws out a feature request, don’t just add it to your to-do list. Dig deeper! Ask, “Why do you want that? What would it let you do? How are you coping without it?” You might find that the feature isn’t as important as it initially seemed, or that there’s a bigger underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

Emotional signals are goldmines:

Pay attention to your customers’ body language and tone. If they get particularly excited or frustrated about a specific problem, that’s where the real pain lies. Ask them to elaborate, dig deeper, and uncover the root of their emotions. Use phrases like:

“Tell me more about that.”

“That seems to really bug you — I bet there’s a story here.”

“What makes it so awful?”

“Why haven’t you been able to fix this already?”

Don’t be afraid to ask the “destroy-your-business” question. This means asking questions that could potentially invalidate your idea, but could also lead to invaluable insights:

“Do you think we should push back the launch add that feature, or is it something we could add later?”

“How would that fit into your day?”

The Mom Test Thumb Rules:

You’re shooting blind until you understand their goals: Focus on their aspirations and what they’re trying to achieve.

Watching someone do a task will show you where the problems and inefficiencies really are, not where the customer thinks they are: Observe their actual workflows and processes, not just their opinions.

If they haven’t looked for ways of solving it already, they’re not going to look for (or buy) yours: Find out what they’ve already tried and why they’ve settled for their current solution.

While it’s rare for someone to tell you precisely what they’ll pay you, they’ll often show you what it’s worth to them: Observe their reactions, their level of frustration, and their willingness to pay for a solution.

People want to help you, but will rarely do so unless you give them an excuse to do so: Frame your conversations in a way that makes them feel like they’re contributing to something valuable.

Start broad and don’t zoom in until you’ve found a strong signal, both with your whole business and with every conversation: Get a general understanding of their needs before focusing on specific features or solutions.

Keep having conversations until you stop hearing new stuff: Don’t stop at the first few conversations; keep exploring and learning until you’ve exhausted all the key insights.

If it feels like they’re doing you a favour by talking to you, it’s probably too formal: Keep it casual and conversational; avoid rigid interview formats.

Give as little information as possible about your idea while still nudging the discussion in a useful direction: Focus on their needs and experiences, not your own pitch.

The Mom Test isn’t about finding validation, it’s about finding the truth.

And the truth, however painful it may be, is what will ultimately lead you to build a product that people will truly love and pay for.