Listen.
It sounds simple, yet it’s so hard to do sometimes.
Our team often helps design early proofs of concept for founders and CEOs early in their journey to product market fit. Our team will design a quick representation of the potential product, helping the founder get the idea out of their brain and into a simple prototype.
These prototypes are ideal for gathering customer feedback. Sometimes, instead of hiring us to conduct early user research, the founder will take those calls themselves. With our prototypes in hand, they'll gather feedback from prospective customers. Then, they'll bring back what they learned, and work with our team on another round of iteration.
Although we love conducting user research ourselves, we actually encourage founders to interview prospective customers themselves in the beginning. There's nothing more powerful than hearing firsthand what prospective customers think. But it only works if you actually listen.
One time, I was on the interviewee side of such a conversation. The interviewer was a serial entrepreneur with a deep understanding of UX. I was excited to meet with them one:one to learn about their newest concept.
They introduced their new idea and its features in a simple presentation. I realized I was not the target audience. When asked, I answered honestly–I could not see myself using the product, and I shared the reasons why. At that point, it was as if the researcher had left the room and the salesperson had entered. The listening seemed to stop. The remainder of the call was an attempt to persuade me.
It always stuck with me. If this can happen to someone who deeply familiar with UX research, it can happen to anyone. Conduct your own research if you can, but make sure you're asking the right questions. Listen to learn. If you listen well enough, you won't ever have to switch into sales mode.