Compliments are lovely. They are also free.
People will praise an idea to be kind, end an awkward conversation, or encourage you. Buying behavior begins when the problem is specific enough and the offer is clear enough to require a decision.
Ask about past behavior, then request the next honest commitment. Count qualified people who act. Do not count votes, hypothetical willingness, or enthusiasm from people who would never be responsible for buying.
Find the moment the problem becomes expensive
Customers buy around triggers: a deadline, embarrassing failure, new rule, lost revenue, special event, broken tool, or task they cannot postpone again. “Do you struggle with bookkeeping?” invites agreement. “Walk me through the last month you could not reconcile” reveals whether the problem has teeth.
Use six questions that do not beg for praise
- Tell me about the last time this happened.
- What did you do first?
- What else did you try?
- What did the workaround cost in money, time, delay, or risk?
- Who decides whether to pay for a solution?
- What would make switching feel unsafe or annoying?
Never lead with your feature list. Ask permission to show the offer after you understand the situation. Then ask what is unclear, what would prevent a purchase today, and what the person would do instead. Silence is useful. Rescue pitching is not.
Climb a commitment ladder
A view, save, like, poll vote, or compliment. Useful for message testing only.
An email, introduction, scheduled call, or permission to inspect the current process.
Completing intake, sharing data, trying a prototype, or involving the budget owner.
A deposit, paid pilot, preorder, or purchase with real terms and a real path to delivery.
Money is powerful evidence, yet one sympathetic buyer does not prove a repeatable market. Ask whether the buyer fits the intended segment, paid a sustainable price, received the promised result, and would buy or refer again.
Treat objections as diagnoses
| What you hear | Possible diagnosis | Next question |
|---|---|---|
| “I need to think.” | Weak urgency, unclear value, trust gap, or absent authority | “What part needs more information?” |
| “Too expensive.” | Wrong segment, weak outcome, cash timing, or true price ceiling | “Compared with what you do now?” |
| “Send me details.” | Polite exit or missing specificity | “What decision will the details help you make?” |
| “I would use this.” | Hypothetical approval | “Would you like one of the pilot spots at $___?” |
Do not fake scarcity, readiness, or proof
If the product is unfinished, say so. If a human is manually delivering what may later become software, say so. Give preorder customers the delivery date, refund terms, material limitations, and contact path. Do not manufacture reviews or make incentives conditional on positive sentiment; the FTC’s rule addresses fake and misleading reviews.
Make 20 targeted invitations. Aim for five real conversations and ask each qualified person for the same clear next commitment. Record yes, no, no response, and the reason. The count is less important than whether the sample and offer match the future business.
Your finish line
You can answer: who buys, what triggers the purchase, what they do now, who approves the money, what objection stops them, and what fraction of qualified prospects accepted the same offer. That is far more useful than “people seem interested.”