At the conclusion of a customer interview, the most common trap is the "zombie lead." This occurs when an interviewee leaves you feeling encouraged by offering positive words, but gives up nothing of real value in return.

Pyramid diagram of commitment currencies ranking financial pre-orders, time commitments, and reputation stakes above empty verbal compliments
Figure 5.1: The Three Currencies of Customer Skin in the Game

In The Mom Test, Rob Fitzpatrick presents a key distinction: conversations must end in either Advancement or Rejection. If an interaction ends in a warm, non-committal limbo such as "Send me your deck whenever it is ready," you have learned nothing about their actual intent to purchase.

The Currency Rule: Real validation requires the prospective buyer to surrender one of three non-recoverable assets: their time, their reputation, or their capital.

The Three Currencies of Validated Commitment

Before scheduling an interview, determine what specific commitment you will ask for at the end of the call:

  1. Time Commitment: Agreeing to spend 60 minutes testing an unstyled, manual prototype next Tuesday, or handing over historical raw log files for diagnostic parsing.
  2. Reputation Commitment: Introducing you directly to their VP of Engineering, procurement officer, or direct industry peers. A user will not risk their internal social standing for a vanity product.
  3. Financial Commitment: Signing a binding letter of intent (LOI), paying a non-refundable $100 reservation fee, or putting down a deposit for early pilot access.

✘ The Fluffy Departure

Founder: "Thanks so much for the input! Can I add you to our mailing list so you know when we go live?"

Customer: "Definitely, sign me up! Good luck with the launch!" (Zero skin in the game).

✔ The Advancement Ask

Founder: "We are building a pilot cohort limited to 5 design partners. It requires access to your staging logs and a weekly 20-minute call. Are you open to that?"

Customer: "Actually, our security policy forbids sharing logs." (Valuable, authentic operational objection surfaced).

How to Handle Polite Resistance

When you request a concrete commitment, the customer's polite exterior often drops. This is where discovery succeeds, not fails. A polite refusal is infinitely more valuable than vague enthusiasm:

  • If they balk at a time commitment: The problem is simply not painful enough to justify their attention. Pivot to a different segment or re-evaluate the workflow friction.
  • If they refuse an internal referral: You have not demonstrated sufficient value to justify their social capital. Unpack what risks they perceive before continuing.
  • If they push back on a paid deposit: Their problem is a minor annoyance, not a commercial emergency.

Commitment Currency Matrix

Currency Low Stakes (Fluff) High Stakes (True Validation)
Time Signing up for a marketing newsletter Scheduling a 45-minute working workshop with production data
Reputation Liking a founder's post on LinkedIn Arranging an introduction to their Chief Technology Officer
Financial Claiming "I'd pay $50/month for that" Executing an LOI or placing a non-refundable deposit

Pros and Cons of Enforcing Hard Commitments

Pros: Separates genuine design partners from casual cheerleaders; protects your runway from lukewarm prospects; builds a committed pipeline of initial pilot users.

Cons: A higher percentage of discovery conversations end in clear rejection; requires overcoming the fear of hearing a direct "no" from people you respect.

Never leave an interview without a clear next step. Seek advancement through meaningful commitments, embrace clear rejections when they occur, and stop accepting polite encouragement as evidence of business demand.