How to prepare for a customer interview: 3 key questions

You

The call with Andrew went well! He's never paid for anything cat-related in advance, and he changed shops once, when prices went up. Two scary answers.

Alex Tutor

What made it go well?

You

I wrote my questions down the evening before. Whenever I wanted to drift into small talk, the list was right there.

Alex Tutor

Make it a habit. Before every conversation, write down your list of 3: the three most important things you want to learn from this type of person.

You

Why three? Why not ten?

Alex Tutor

Ten turn into a questionnaire, and you'll rush through them. Three fit in your head, even in a five-minute chat. And choosing them calmly in advance is how the scary ones survive the awkward moment.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Why does Alex suggest three big questions rather than a list of ten?

Choose one answerThree is the most a customer will put up withThree fit in your head even in a short chat, and choosing them calmly in advance keeps the scary ones from being skippedThe third answer is always the most honest oneTen questions would reveal the idea too early

You

So how do I pick them?

Alex Tutor

Ask yourself: what's the riskiest thing we believe right now? Which answer would change the plan? At least one should scare you. And don't agonise: they'll change soon anyway.

You

My draft for cat owners: 1. Does running out of food cost them real time or money? 2. Do they ever pay for pet things in advance? 3. Who decides on the food and pays for it?

Alex Tutor

Good. Notice these are things you want to learn, not lines to read out. On the call you reach each one through honest-answer questions about the past.

You

So “Who decides and pays?” becomes “Who bought the last bag, and whose card was it?”

Alex Tutor

Exactly. The big question is the destination; the conversation is the route.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Which items would work well on Sofia's list of three big questions for cat owners? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyDoes running out of food cost owners real time or money?Which colour of packaging do owners prefer?Do owners ever actually change where they buy food, and why?Do owners like the name “CatChow Box”?Do any owners already pay for pet products in advance?

Megan

Can my team borrow your list? Next week we're calling the pet shops that stock CatChow.

You

Hmm. My questions are about cat owners. Shop owners are a different story.

Alex Tutor

Right. Each type of person gets its own list. A shop owner can't tell you how Olivia feels about paying ahead.

But a shop can answer the question that worries us most about shops: how will they react when CatChow starts selling directly to their customers?

Megan

Oh. That one scares me. Half our revenue goes through those shops.

Alex Tutor

Then it goes first on their list.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Match each type of person to the big question that fits them best.

Pick an answer for each row. Choosing an answer that is already used moves it to this row.

Cat owner
Choose an answer
Owner of a pet shop that stocks CatChow
Choose an answer
Manager at a courier company
Choose an answer
A sales manager in Megan's team
Choose an answer

You

Should I also ask shops how many cat owners live in their district?

Alex Tutor

Could you find that out without them?

You

Probably. City statistics, maybe the shop's own reviews online.

Alex Tutor

Then find it first. Anything you can learn from the web, the CRM or the analysts, learn before the call. A conversation is too expensive to spend on facts that are just lying around.

You

Like asking Andrew how long he's been our customer. I nearly did.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. The CRM already knew.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which item should Megan's team drop from the pet-shop list and research before the calls instead?

Choose one answerHow the shop would react if CatChow sold directly to its customersHow many bags of CatChow the shop ordered last quarterWhat the owner did the last time a supplier changed its termsWho in the shop decides which brands to stock

You

What if a call is short and I only get through one question?

Alex Tutor

That's fine. You don't need all three from every person. Question one from Olivia, two and three from Andrew: together they complete the picture.

You

And if I already have solid answers to question one from six people?

Alex Tutor

Then stop asking it. Pick up where you left off and spend the time on what you still don't know.

You

That makes every call shorter.

Alex Tutor

And short calls are much easier to get. More on that next lesson.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

For the data to count, every person you talk to has to answer all three big questions.

TrueFalse

You

After eight calls, question one has an answer. For owners with a shop nearby, running out is cheap: ten minutes, no drama.

Alex Tutor

So for them it's a vitamin. Anything else in the notes?

You

Two owners have cats on prescription diets. Their food is often out of stock, and one of them drove across the city for it twice last month.

Alex Tutor

That's your next list. The old question one is answered, so it goes. New segment, new risks, new three.

You

Doesn't that mean my first list was wrong?

Alex Tutor

It means it worked. Each list gets you onto firmer ground and shows you the next questions. A list that never changes means you've stopped learning.

Alex Tutor

Question 6Short answer · AI-checked task

Write Sofia's new list of three big questions for owners of cats on prescription diets. One line each; mark the scary one.

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Megan

My team wants to add one for the shops: “Would you like to sell CatChow subscriptions in your store?”

Alex Tutor

What would you do differently depending on the answer?

Megan

Hmm. Everyone will say yes. It costs them nothing to say it.

Alex Tutor

Then it won't teach you much. Prep together instead: fifteen minutes before a round of calls, everyone brings their best guess and scariest question, and you agree on three.

You

Should the developers come too?

Alex Tutor

Yes. They'll spot product risks the rest of you miss, and once they've helped choose the three, they'll trust the answers. That's conversation prep: short, shared, before every round.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Megan's team wanted to ask shops: “Would you like to sell CatChow subscriptions in your store?” Write (1) the big question hiding behind it, as a learning goal, and (2) one question a sales manager could actually ask on the call.

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You

So Megan's team needs its own three for the pet-shop calls, chosen together.

Alex Tutor

Yes. Write a draft with them. And keep your owner list on your phone too.

You

Why on my phone?

Alex Tutor

Because the best conversations aren't scheduled. When you meet a cat owner in a shop queue, you'll know exactly what to ask. That's our next lesson.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Case · AI-checked task

Prepare the pet-shop list for Megan's team.

CatChow sells through about 120 independent pet shops, which bring in roughly half of its revenue. Megan's sales managers will call 15 of these shops next week. At the same time, CatChow is planning a direct-to-consumer food subscription. The sales records already show each shop's orders for the last two years.

Write:

The team's three big questions for pet-shop owners; mark the scary one.
For one of them, the actual question a sales manager would ask on the call, following the rules for honest answers.
One thing the team should research before the calls instead of asking.
Who should join the 15-minute prep, and why (1–2 sentences).

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Megan

Fifteen minutes of prep, and my team finally knows what the calls are for.

Alex Tutor

And the answers will come back to all of you, not just to whoever made the call.

Alex Tutor

Next time: how to use the list outside meetings, in quick, casual chats that people don't even notice are interviews.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Keeping it casual: conversations, not meetings