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Prospect Interviews

Lesson 14 from: Create a Marketing Plan & Grow Your Standout Business

Tara McMullin

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Lesson Info

14. Prospect Interviews

Next Lesson: Live Presentations

Lesson Info

Prospect Interviews

Now this next one is one everyone can do, but very few of you will do. And that's prospect interviews. Prospect interviews help you actually talk to real people, 'cause when I say prospect interviews, what I mean is actually getting on the phone with people who might want to buy your product, and just asking them questions. Getting genuinely curious about what they want, what they need, what their goals are, what their challenges are, what their problems are. Paul Graham who's one of the co-founders of Y Combinator, says this about prospect interviews: there are two reasons founders resist going out and recruiting users individually, or talking to users individually. One is a combination of shyness and laziness. (laughing) They'd rather sit at home writing code than go out and talk to a bunch of strangers and probably be rejected by most of them. How many of us give this as a reason for not talking to customers individually? I certainly have. I certainly have. It's a lot easier for me ...

to talk like this, than it is for me to get on the phone with someone one-on-one, and ask them questions. Now, I certainly have done prospect interviews, I love prospect interviews, I tend to maybe not do them on the phone, 'cause I hate the phone. I'm such a classic introvert. But I will gladly do them one-on-one here, you won't even know I'm prospect interviewing you, but I will be! (laughing) Watch out! So, but talking to people individually is key. And like I said, that absolutely means getting on the phone and talking to real people. Or getting in person and talking to real people. Having coffee and talking to real people. However it is that makes it easiest for you, talk to real people. But again, don't ask them what they want to buy from you, or how much they think it should cost. Ask them about challenges and frustrations. Ask them about goals. Don't ask them leading questions. Let them lead you to a new, more interesting place! You can take your messaging, or your product, or your marketing as a whole. Don't ask what solutions they want, or would buy, and bottom line, get curious. Get curious. Once you've done that, really take a deep dive for yourself. Really get into the analysis. Does your one-on-one conversation line up with what you've observed online? You know, I think back to what Jessica said. On social media, people are showing you only what they want to show you. In those one-on-one conversations, they often get a lot more open, a lot more vulnerable about what's really true. Do those two things line up? When you're talking to people, think about what's going on beneath the surface here. Why are they saying the things that they're saying? Why are they asking the questions that they're asking? Why are they taking the action they're taking action on? Ask them about it. Get curious. And then finally, what's the real pain or goal that's on your prospect's mind? That's when you can really figure this out, because you guys are all really good at this actually. We're all really good at seeing beneath the surface in these one-on-one conversations. Where it goes wrong is when we start to make generalizations because we're getting into an ideal client profile. The more you use prospect interviews the more you talk to real people one-on-one, the better you can actually just let your social brain just do what your social brain does, which is figure out what's going on beneath the surface.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials

Tara Gentile - 12 Month Marketing Calendar
Tara Gentile - Implementation Month

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Tara Gentile - Campaign Building Blocks
Tara Gentile - Create a Marketing Plan Workbook
Tara Gentile - E-mail Marketing Templates
Tara Gentile - Sales Page Templates

Ratings and Reviews

Sharon
 

Tara, the information you delivered in this class is invaluable. I am in the launching stage of my business, and I know I need to market my business and services and I know I need to write a plan, but I didn't know how to do it. Instagram, content upgrades, Facebook, email marketing, webinars, blogging, etc. etc., I know it all. But I just couldn't get my head around how to truly use marketing campaigns for my business, and especially for my services, to reach my ideal client, help my ideal client and to reach my ideal income. You explained the why behind marketing campaigns and you showed us how to create a marketing campaign from A to Z. The whole sha-bang! You gave me the knowledge and inspiration in how to market my services, how many people I ideally want to reach and above all, a framework I can use time and time again to create a marketing campaign. I purchased the class right after seeing the live broadcast so I can use this class for planning all my next marketing campaigns. You clarified a lot and I am much more confident (and so much more less stressed haha) in creating a marketing campaign plan that works for my business and services. I learned a lot! Thank you! P.S. Love the hot seats.

Susan Best Jones
 

Tara, I love your creative live events I always learn so much and this time was the same. Perfect timing on this info, it is exactly what I need right now and I feel confident that I can do it! I joined CoCommercial and am excited about that. Thank you, Tara.

MaryAnn
 

This class is well worth the time! Tara does an excellent job of not only providing a step by step system for creating a marketing campaign, but she provides clear context and insights along the way. This is important so that you're not just going through the motions and crossing your fingers that your marketing will work. She helps you understand the strategy behind the scenes so you can get the most out of the work you put in. I highly recommend this course to anyone considering doing their own marketing, or people who are already doing their own marketing and want to feel more empowered and get better results.

Student Work

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