Get to know your customer: what to ask after the first deal
The first deal is the best moment to learn from a customer. What to ask, when to ask it, how to avoid polite non-answers and turn feedback into repeat business.
Most people treat the first deal as the finish line: the quote is accepted, the order is in, the waitlist has a new name. In fact it is the best moment you will get to learn from a customer. They have just chosen you, they remember why, and they are still forming an opinion. A few good questions now are worth more than a hundred survey responses later.
Why the first conversation matters so much
- You learn why they chose you. That is your real positioning, in your customer’s words, ready to reuse on your website and in your posts.
- You catch problems early. A misunderstanding about scope or delivery is cheap to fix in week one and expensive in week six.
- You build trust. People buy again from people they have talked to, and they recommend them.
When to talk
- Right after the deal: say thank you, confirm the details and agree the next step.
- After first use or delivery: ask how it went while it is fresh.
- A few weeks later: ask what changed for them, and whether they would recommend you.
Ask about the past, not the future
“Would you use this?” and “Would you pay more for X?” invite polite guesses. People are kind, and kindness is terrible data. Ask about what they actually did and felt instead. This is the core idea of customer interviews made popular by the book The Mom Test: talk about their life, specifics and the past, not your idea.
Questions that get real answers
Right after the deal
- What made you pick us over the other options?
- What were you using or doing before?
- What would make this a clear success for you?
- Is there anything you are unsure about?
After first use or delivery
- Walk me through the last time you used it. What happened?
- Where did you get stuck, even for a moment?
- What did you expect that wasn’t there?
- If this disappeared tomorrow, what would you do instead?
A few weeks later
- What has changed since you started?
- Who else do you know with the same problem?
- Would you be happy for us to quote you?
For founders validating an idea
If people joined the waitlist for something you are building, the conversation is your validation. Ask what they are doing today to solve the problem, how much it costs them in time or money, and what would make your product a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Our guide on how to validate a startup idea goes deeper, and how to build a waitlist covers getting those people in the first place.
How to do this on Who Wants What
Every deal on Who Wants What now comes with a private chat between the two of you, so you can keep the conversation going without swapping numbers first.
- Accept a response on your post: a quote on a want, an order on an offer, or a waitlist signup on something you are building.
- Open Deals in your dashboard and click Chat, or go to Messages in the sidebar.
- Say hello and agree the next step. New messages appear within a few seconds, unread conversations are marked in the sidebar, and you can see when your message has been read.
- Turn on notifications on the Messages page, and you will get a browser notification when a reply arrives while you are working in another tab.
- The person who responded sees the same conversation under Messages, so either of you can start it.
Prefer email? The other person’s address is one click away in the conversation.
Etiquette that keeps people talking
- Keep it short. One or two questions per message beats a questionnaire.
- Reply quickly. Fast replies signal that their input matters.
- Close the loop. When you change something because of their feedback, tell them. Nothing earns loyalty faster.
- Don’t sell in feedback conversations. If they want more, they will ask.
Turn conversations into improvements
Keep a simple note of what each customer said, using their exact words. After five to ten conversations, patterns appear: the same confusion, the same missing feature, the same reason for choosing you. Fix the most common problem first, use the most common reason in your marketing, and update your post on Who Wants What so the next customer finds the answer before they need to ask.
Ready to find your first customers? List what you offer on the offers board, or post what you are building and start collecting a waitlist to talk to.