It’s 2011 and I’m pacing back and forth in a parking lot in LA.

I’m about to go on This Week in Startups to talk about Flowtown which had just been acquired, but I’m stressing out…

I’m on the phone with Sean Ellis – the creator of the Customer Development survey – walking through the customer feedback I’m getting for a new product I’m starting to work on called Clarity.

I’m having a hard time figuring out my next steps.

People are signing up, but many aren’t making calls or coming back…

… so I’ve sent out a survey to ask them specific questions so I can better understand their needs and expectations.

That’s when Sean shares with me the Rosetta Stone of understanding my customer’s suggestions.

He says “Oh, just lock down all answers for the “How can we improve our product to better meet your needs?” question, with everyone who answered “Somewhat disappointed: to the; How would you feel if you could no longer use our product? question.

He then quickly explains that if I focus on the one or two features that those specific users are suggesting, then I can move them from somewhat disappointed, to VERY disappointed – and that’s how I’ll build a winning product!

Need to read that a second time?

It’s cool.

My head almost exploded too.

Of course this is how you do it, but for the past 3-4 years I had been using this survey and I guess I really didn’t understand how to use it.

That’s what I want to share with you in this week’s video.

The absolute POWER of using the right question, at the right time, and the equivalent Rosetta Stone translator, that will help you NAIL your core problem, marketing positioning & product roadmap to build something extremely valuable.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that questions hold incredible power.

For example, if you’re stuck wondering how to expand your product or services, just ask your customers this question…

“What do you do 3 minutes before, or 3 minutes after you use our product?”

Their answer will give you insights into how you can fully serve their needs around your core solution – and generate more revenue doing so.

It’s magical really.

That’s why I’ve spent a good part of my life studying the best question frameworks that you can use to overcome the biggest obstacles in your business.

I break em’ down into these 3 pain points and frameworks:

• Pain -> Ask Method
• Positioning -> Jobs To Be Done
• Product -> Customer Development

If you learn how to ask the right question, to the right person, it’ll transform your business.

It even works on your own mindset but I’ll save that discussion for another day.

Till then, I would love to hear your experience talking with customers…

… what questions do you ask of them?

Leave your answers below in the comments and I’ll collect the best ones and add them to my Top Customer Questions by Learning Category tip sheet (link in the description under the video).

Can’t wait to read your stories.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell