7. How to secure Blueprinting Interviews

If you're having difficulties getting enough customers to agree to Blueprinting interviews, these 4 strategies--often in combination--can help:

1. Conduct fewer Discovery interviews

2. Enlist the right "askers"

3. Tailor your "ask" to your market

4. Seek alternative routes

Let's take a look at each strategy...

1. Conduct fewer Discovery Interviews

The main reason you conduct Discovery interviews is to adequately diverge to avoid "errors of omission." That is, you don't want to overlook an important customer outcome when its time to converge on customers' most desired outcomes via Preference interviews.

So you can stop when your Discovery interviews render mostly "echoes" of past interviews. (There are two exceptions: 1) You want to engage more key customers in the process, or 2) you want your teammates to have more interviewing practice.)

If you conduct interviews with AI first, you'll likely conduct about half as many Discovery interviews... perhaps 3-to-5 instead of 6-to-10. See Using AI to Prep for Discovery. Also, you'll find that Blueprinting Rapid Research tools help you gather excellent industry background, which can also reduce the number of Discovery interviews needed.

2. Enlist the right "askers"

The likelihood the customer will agree to an interview goes WAY up when the "asker" and customer contact already have a strong relationship. It's simply hard to say "no" to someone you often work with. In many B2B companies, this "asker" is your salesperson calling on the customer.

But some salespeople are resistant, for several reasons:

• They're being rewarded for hitting sales quotas this year, not developing new products.

• They don't understand these interviews well enough to portray benefits to the customer.

• They see this as a distraction. If they're going to ask for something... it's the sale!

Here are some approaches you can take to mitigate these issues:

• Ensure your sales leaders are sending strong signals that these interviews are important.

• Include these in sales incentives... to turn your "sales force" into a "learning force" as well.

• Familiarize your salespeople by sending them to www.BlueprintingForSales.com. So they'll take time to read this, schedule a call to "see if they have any questions."

• Conduct VOB (Voice of the Business) interviews with them before VOC. When salespeople play the role of the "customer" they understand that customers will appreciate this.

• Arm your salespeople with the right tools. Go to www.BlueprintingCenter.com > BlueTools > Schedule Discovery Interviews to download and send them 1) Discovery Interview Agenda Template (after you customize it), 2) Script for Requestion Discovery Interviews. See more Tools for Setting Up Interviews.

3. Tailor your "ask" to your market.

How do you make your request for an interview as appealing as possible? That depends on the type of B2B market you serve. See which of these 4 B2B market types best describes yours. Then check out the strategies below, with special attention to those matching your market type.

• Do you use Open Innovation? (for Type A or B): Many large companies pride themselves on "open innovation"... their ability to seek innovation from outside. Let them know you're a great source of open innovation... but first you need to understand their needs.

• Share your "industry research" (for Type A or B): Let prospects know you'll be conducting industry research and will share the results with those you interview. It's up to you how much you share: For more on this, watch the 2-minute video, Persuade Customers to be Interviewed. See a sample "Market Insights" report at www.BlueprintingCenter.com > BlueTools > Schedule Discovery Interviews > Sample Market Insights Report.

• Offer incentives (for Type C or D): Most large companies have policies preventing employees from accepting any incentives. But this approach works well with tradespeople, craftsmen, nurses, etc. You can often invite customers from different businesses (hospitals, plumbing services, etc) who are not in fierce competition to be interviewed at a local hotel. Bring in great food, offer door prizes, gifts and/or gift cards.