Customer Discovery Questions

Help me prepare questions for a customer discovery conversation — I want to learn, not sell.

What I'm exploring: [THE PROBLEM, IDEA, OR OFFER YOU'RE TESTING]
Who I'm talking to: [THE TYPE OF PERSON AND HOW THEY RELATE TO IT]
What I'm trying to find out: [YOUR REAL QUESTIONS — e.g., "do they even have this problem?"]
What this will help me decide: [WHAT YOU'LL DO WITH WHAT YOU LEARN]
How long the chat is: [15 / 30 MIN]

Give me:
1. A friendly opener that frames it as learning, not a pitch
2. Questions about their real, recent experience and behavior — what they actually do now, not hypotheticals
3. Questions that uncover the problem, how they solve it today, and what that costs them
4. A gentle way to test my idea WITHOUT leading them to say yes just to be nice
5. What to listen for that signals a real need vs. politeness
6. A closing question and a natural way to wrap up

Keep questions open-ended and non-leading — the biggest risk here is fishing for the answer I want. Flag any question that assumes my idea is already good. Remind me to listen more than I talk and hold the pitch until the end. Base everything on what I told you; don't invent details about the customer.