interview prep no. 57

ChatGPT vs. Wendy-Lynn: 1 Mock with 2 Different Grades | One Tweak A Week | Bad GTM Experience

This Week’s Highlights

1. Product Sense GTM Fail

2. One Tweak A Week Filler Words/Sounds

Paid Subscribers ONLY

1. Mock Interview ChatGPT vs. Your Coach

2. Live Coaching Sessions Tuesdays & Thursdays

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Product Sense

GTM Fail

Today, we are talking about EightSleep. I will walk you through how the product solved a need, but the GTM implementation failed. Yes, thinking about GTM can help with Product Sense.

The Product Price Point

EightSleep is an obscenely expensive system ($3k) that goes on your bed and helps keep you cool or warm so you can stay asleep or get better quality sleep. And it works—not perfectly, but enough that I didn’t return it.

In my case, it is cheaper than fighting my co-op board to allow for A/C. But, I can get two really nice laptops for the price of one EightSleep Pod with Sleeping Pad (you have to have both at a minimum). Their marketing includes quotes from Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Huberman, and professional athletes, so it is for those who can afford anything (or have TERRIBLE insomnia and would give up a vacation just to sleep).

The Innovation Event

This week, they announced an upgrade from Pod 4 to Pod 5. The Innovation: Instead of just cooling from below, they designed a blanket to lie on top of you. This could be the game changer that makes it work for me all of the time and not just some of the time. If you have the pod unit, you can upgrade the pad and blanket at a discount (yes, you have to buy a new pad to make the new blanket work).

The Problem: What was the price?

(I was willing to pay, I just wanted to know the price before trying to check out.)

The GTM Fail

Tuesday morning, I saw a launch email and clicked to learn more from my phone. Long story short, it was IMPOSSIBLE to find the pricing for the upgrade only.

I was in a hurry, but being a good product person, I emailed back and explained my issues trying to find the price. I do not exaggerate when I say I had 7+ emails with Customer Service (CS), and no one would just email me the price for the upgrade. At one point, I said, “We all know your product is expensive. Hiding the price from me isn’t helping anything. I just want to know what it is.” And I still couldn’t get a price.

It turns out I can’t see the pricing for the pad and blanket until I log in, and CS didn’t know because the discounts are all over the place, not everyone gets the same discount. The emails (and I got a ton) always take me to the website, which doesn’t know my password. I am loath to change my password because it will screw up access to the app and thus the device. (I eventually, after about 5 days, found that if I went into the app, I could see the pricing. Why the email didn’t link to launch my app, I will never know.)

The upgrade price is $1,000 with a discount for existing customers (1/3 the full price). But by the time I found the pricing, I was so exhausted and disgusted with the brand that I didn’t want to give them any of my money. I am likely to cave eventually, but maybe not.

Product Sense Lesson

Know your users. If I spent the price of two Apple Laptops on your device, I expect the upgrade to be expensive; thus, hiding the pricing isn’t helping anyone. If I can afford the product, I am probably busy, and if I can’t easily buy it when you announce the product, you will likely lose the sale.

Homework: Think of a GTM or Customer Service experience you had in the last few months. What was it? How did they do? Did they reach you where you were?

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One Tweak A Week

Filler Words

Yesterday, I was listening to a podcaster in the weight loss space talk about “One Tweak A Week.” And I thought that was brilliant, I am going to borrow it. And so, I have added a new section focused on small changes.

If you try to do everything I recommend all at once, you will fail. But if we try to improve one thing a week, we will slowly improve, and making those changes long term is much more viable.

In this week’s recording, you will find I use “uh” and “um” so often that it is painful. I have obviously stopped listening to myself at least five minutes a week. My tweak this week is to focus on identifying filler words/sounds in my speech. I will try to replace them with silence. I will clearly not make them go away; this week’s tweak is just about becoming more self-aware.

Join me in focusing on filler words this week. Or, if that isn’t a problem for you, consider one of these topics: Eliminate fishing questions. | Always state a goal in simple English. | Always have a count for a metric.

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Mock Interview

Wendy-Lynn vs. ChatGPT

Today, I ran a test: coach’s feedback vs. ChatGPT feedback on a mock interview for Product Sense. For paid subscribers, I am sharing (1) audio with an interview, plus the coach’s debrief, and (2) feedback from ChatGPT.

TL;DR - ChatGPT doesn’t understand how product sense cases are really graded. While ChatGPT can point out a few high-level concepts, it misses the most crucial feedback.

Generally speaking, ChatGPT seems afraid to give critical feedback on top of not knowing how to grade a product sense prompt.

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