Lesson 80.5 warned against the question that teaches nothing: "would you pay $X?" Nobody knows what they would pay for something they have never bought. This appendix replaces prediction with evidence — what they already do, what it costs, what they tried, who decides, and whether they will fund a small paid test now.

The rule: behavior beats prediction

Willingness to pay is revealed by past spending, current workarounds, and a yes to a small real offer — never by a hypothetical number. Your job in the interview is to collect costs, alternatives, and decision mechanics. The price hypothesis comes later, from the pattern across conversations. For the mechanics behind value metrics and order-of-magnitude pricing that these interviews feed, keep the Paddle pricing strategy guide nearby — interviews supply the raw material, the guide supplies the packaging logic.

The six-question script (25 minutes)

Open plainly: "I am testing whether this problem is worth solving for money. I am not selling today — I want to understand what you already spend. May I take notes and quote you anonymously?"

1. Current workaround. "Walk me through the last time this problem came up. What did you actually do, step by step?" Listen for time, tools, people involved, and pain. Follow up: "How long did that take, and who else was pulled in?" 2. Cost of the problem. "What did that workaround cost — in hours, delays, fees, or lost work?" Convert with them: "So roughly six hours across two people plus a missed deadline?" Do not supply the number; let them total it. 3. What they tried. "What have you already paid for or built to fix this — products, freelancers, templates, courses?" Past payment is the strongest signal in the room. Ask what broke: "What made you stop using it?" 4. Alternatives on the table. "If you did nothing new, what would you compare this against — another tool, hiring help, doing it manually?" This names the reference price your offer will be judged against, per Lesson 80.5. 5. Decision process and budget owner. "If something clearly fixed this, who decides, and how does money get approved? Is there a budget it comes from, or is it out of pocket?" A buyer without a budget is a fan, not a customer. Note the cycle: "How long does that approval usually take?" 6. Small paid-test close. "I am opening two [scope] slots in [timeframe] at [price] — [deliverable, timeline, boundary]. Want one, or want me to hold the notes and follow up [date]?" This is a real offer with a real cap, not a survey. Record the answer verbatim — yes, no, or "yes if."

Note template (one per interview)

## Price interview — [name/role], [date]
- Workaround (last occurrence): ___
- Cost stated (time + money): ___
- Tried before / why it broke: ___
- Live alternative + its price: ___
- Decider / budget / cycle: ___
- Paid-test offer + verbatim response: ___
- Strongest objection (exact words): ___

After three interviews: the synthesis

Lay the three notes side by side and answer: which workaround cost recurs monthly? Which alternative price anchors expectations? Who actually signs? What objection repeated? Write one price hypothesis in this form: "Buyers like ___ pay roughly ___ for ___ today; our test offer at ___ removes ___; evidence: [quotes]; unknown: ___." If no pattern appears, the learning is "no repeatable cost found yet" — run three more interviews in a narrower buyer slice before touching price.

Rules and failure modes

• Never debate the objection. Write it down word for word and thank them. Objections are the offer draft for next week.
• Never discount on the call to rescue a no. A discounted yes teaches you nothing about the real price. Offer the follow-up date instead.
• Cap the test at two or three slots and say so. Scarcity here is honesty about capacity (see Appendix 83.D), not pressure tactics.
• Stop at the close. If they say yes, send payment and delivery details within a day. If they say no, ask: "What would have to be true for this to be worth it?" — then leave.
• Collect the paid test through a real checkout, not a promise — even a simple storefront works; check fee reality on Gumroad pricing so the test price you name is the price you keep.