Kate Shanahan’s Post

Financial Advisers Discover the hidden gems in client conversations that can transform your business. The insights you extract from client interviews are critical for your business. Why it's a problem: Without skilled questioning techniques, you may miss important facts, red flags, or opportunities, leading to suboptimal advice and processes. Solution: 1. Learn to ask probing, open-ended questions to uncover the full client story. 2. Develop active listening skills to catch subtle cues and unspoken concerns. 3. Practice empathy and avoid judgment to encourage candid sharing. https://buff.ly/3yWaJ8T https://buff.ly/3XgfcgK

"The most common pitfall during system implementations is users’ tendency to replicate old system functionalities, hindering the adoption of new processes." Don't miss this engaging interview with Tammy Plowman, a seasoned solution architect with unparalleled drive for client success. Click the link to subscribe to our DX Insights newsletter: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCx8T7re Discover how Tammy solves business challenges through a blend of innovation and practicality while balancing client needs with technical feasibility to drive project success. #digitaltransformation #interview #newsletter #clientsuccess #victoriafide

Transform your hiring process with MyCredibility's AI-verified video testimonials. Go beyond traditional resumes and uncover the true potential of your candidates. Discover more at: 🌐 www.mycredibility.biz

🎯 Unlocking Better Customer Conversations: Lessons from The Mom Test Book - Chapter 1 Talking to customers about your business idea can feel exciting—but it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeking approval rather than truth. Chapter 1 of The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick highlights why traditional customer interviews often fail and how to fix them. 🔥 Key Lessons: 1️⃣ Stop Asking for Validation: Avoid questions like “Do you think this is a good idea?” People will often say "yes" to be polite, even if they don’t mean it. 2️⃣ Ask About Their Experience, Not Your Idea: Focus on how they currently solve the problem, what challenges they face, and what they've done about it. Real behavior beats hypothetical interest. 3️⃣ Dig Into the Past, Not the Future: Questions about past actions are more reliable than future promises. “How did you deal with this issue last time?” is far better than “Would you use this product?” 💡 Pro Tip: If the person you’re talking to doesn’t complain about the problem on their own, it’s probably not important enough to solve. #ProductDiscovery #CustomerInsights #TheMomTest #StartupLessons #ProductManagement

Finding daily cancellation rate Problem description: Table: Trips +-------------+----------+ | Column Name | Type   | +-------------+----------+ | id     | int   | | client_id  | int   | | driver_id  | int   | | city_id   | int   | | status   | enum   | | request_at | date   |    +-------------+----------+ id is the primary key (column with unique values) for this table. The table holds all taxi trips. Each trip has a unique id, while client_id and driver_id are foreign keys to the users_id at the Users table. Status is an ENUM (category) type of ('completed', 'cancelled_by_driver', 'cancelled_by_client'). Table: Users +-------------+----------+ | Column Name | Type   | +-------------+----------+ | users_id  | int   | | banned   | enum   | | role    | enum   | +-------------+----------+ users_id is the primary key (column with unique values) for this table. The table holds all users. Each user has a unique users_id, and role is an ENUM type of ('client', 'driver', 'partner'). banned is an ENUM (category) type of ('Yes', 'No'). The cancellation rate is computed by dividing the number of canceled (by client or driver) requests with unbanned users by the total number of requests with unbanned users on that day. Write a solution to find the cancellation rate of requests with unbanned users (both client and driver must not be banned) each day between "2013-10-01" and "2013-10-03". Round Cancellation Rate to two decimal points. Return the result table in any order. Solution: with aggregations as (   select t.id   ,t.request_at as Day   ,u.banned as client_banned   ,u2.banned as driver_banned   ,t.status   from trips t   left join users u   on t.client_id = u.users_id   left join users u2   on t.driver_id = u2.users_id   where u.banned = 'No' and u2.banned = 'No' and t.request_at between "2013-10-01" and "2013-10-03" ), calculations as (   select Day   ,(sum(case when status = 'cancelled_by_driver' then 1 else 0 end)+sum(case when status = 'cancelled_by_client' then 1 else 0 end))/(sum(case when status = 'cancelled_by_driver' then 1 else 0 end)+sum(case when status = 'cancelled_by_client' then 1 else 0 end)+sum(case when status = 'completed' then 1 else 0 end)) as Cancellation_Rate   from aggregations   group by 1 ) select Day ,round(Cancellation_Rate,2) as 'Cancellation Rate' from calculations ; Using CTE's that clearly identifies each step in the process makes the code easier to maintain. In this case we used a CTE for aggregating the data together, and another one to perform the calculations needed. If more formatting were required, we could have used another CTE to add the format. This solution beats 100% in Leetcode https://lnkd.in/gPTYAQen

I've been having some 1:30 AM customer interviews here in Helsinki with a couple of companies in San Jose, California. (I employ The Mom Test currently). There's a lot of similarity in challenges I see despite interviewing totally different companies (a real estate investment firm and a director at the Santa Clara County). At some points I let them RANT. 🤩 1. They all have manual tasks they HATE. 2. They'd rather focus on the 20% of their time that drives the most business. 3. They don't have time to learn complicated stuff to solve manual problems. They typically hire internally to get manual tasks figured out. I haven't shared anything about my solution on purpose. These guys are hustlers. I intend to co-design with them as we go along, but next steps are clear! We will deep dive more into what they hate and why (for learning, of course 😉 ).

💡 Quick Favor—Got 10 Minutes? I’m doing customer discovery interviews to learn how people make financial decisions and what challenges they face. Just 4 quick questions, less than 10 minutes! Your insights will help shape something exciting. Drop a 🙋♀️ in the comments or DM me if you’re in! #CustomerDiscovery #MoneyManagement #FinancialDecisions #UserInsights

One of the most valuable aspects of my marketing audits? The customer insights that emerge from in-depth interviews. I once helped a ceiling systems manufacturer uncover a "Fast Custom" positioning opportunity based on conversations with architects and designers. When was the last time you gathered candid customer feedback? If you'd like to explore how customer research could sharpen your strategy, let's connect. Book a complimentary 15-minute consultation to discuss your growth goals: https://swiy.co/MFSQ

SCARY STORY TIME 👻 You’re home alone, prepping for a customer interview. Sifting through hours of call recordings. You get that feeling…the hair standing up on your neck… 😳 “I 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 there’s a nugget of gold in here somewhere.” But wait, what’s that creeping in the corner of your Slack? *𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗣* It’s Laudable 😈   Ask it to do the prep for you - and watch it 𝙙𝙞𝙜 𝙪𝙥 customer insights across _all_ call recordings. Suddenly, your customer stories are alive 🧟♀️ ️And your case study prep? No longer cursed ⚡️ Want some paranormal power in your Slack? DM me, I’ll set you up with a free trial. (Real customer, just anonymized👇🏻)

Why are case studies so great? Because they check a bunch of different boxes in a marketer’s checklist. Case studies provide testimonials, demonstrate use cases, and give prospective clients an idea of what it’s like to work with the product and company behind it. They provide a lot of clout to marketing claims. And, they don’t have to be that difficult to pull off! If you have a client who’s willing to spend some time on a phone call singing your praises, you can have your own case study. Set me loose and I can: - Set up the interview time - Provide questions in advance to your client so they feel comfortable with the process - Conduct an interview that will get all the best answers from your client - Draft an outline for the client to tweak and approve - Make any changes that might be necessary The whole thing can be wrapped up before you know it, and you’ll have one of the most powerful assets at the ready! Give me a shout to get started!