VECTOR Reference Guide
Buyer Psychology 101
Frameworks, templates, and tools to understand what drives your buyers — and how to discover it through interviews.
View workshop slidesWhat founders say after applying these frameworks
Real feedback from deep tech founders who’ve put buyer psychology into practice through VECTOR.
“We started with a lot of mixed opinions in our team and we walked away knowing exactly who to target, how to talk to them, and what to do next.”
Bijan
CEO, Mach42
“What we were doing previously was 'Oh, are they interested? Let's do a POC.' But now we shouldn't be putting any resource in until we know what your commercial pain point is, how we're solving that, and if it's worth trying to address. Having the criteria to kill deals — that's the key.”
Aaron Wade
BD Lead, Gaussion
Supply Side vs Demand Side
Most founders sell from the supply side — features, specs, what they built. Buyers live on the demand side. Understanding this gap changes everything.
Supply Side
How founders typically sell:
- •Features and specifications
- •What you built and your roadmap
- •Your vision and technology
- •Benefits you think your product has
Demand Side
What buyers actually think about:
- •Their struggle and current workaround
- •What “done” looks like for them
- •Goals, aspirations, pains and problems
- •What they’re afraid of
Jobs to Be Done
People don’t buy products. They “hire” them to make progress in their lives. The job isn’t about your product — it’s about the progress they were already trying to make before you existed.
Use this template to articulate the job your product does from the buyer’s perspective, not yours.
JTBD Statement Template
When I [situation/context], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome].
Example
Founder version (supply side):
“When I need ML inference, I want to use our optimised API, so I can get faster results.”
Buyer version (demand side):
“When my team is waiting hours for model outputs, I want to unblock production deployments, so I can ship features on schedule and keep my board confident we’re executing.”
Three Types of Outcomes
Every purchase satisfies three kinds of outcomes — and founders usually only think about functional ones. The emotional and social outcomes are usually what tips the decision.
Functional
It works better, faster, or cheaper.
"This tool processes data 10x faster than our current setup."
Emotional
I feel confident, safe, or in control.
"I won't be the one blamed if there's a security breach."
Social
I look smart, innovative, or responsible to my team and board.
"My CTO will see me as the person who modernised our stack."
Buyer vs User
In B2B, the person who feels the pain and the person who approves the budget are often different people — with different “jobs.” You need to understand what each one cares about.
P&L Owners / Business Unit Heads
Ultimately stand to gain from your product being adopted. Motivated by business outcomes, revenue, and efficiency.
Assume they are your buyer until you have concrete evidence to the contrary.
CTOs, Heads of Engineering, R&D
Motivated by introducing a new technology (or by blocking it). Usually not motivated by profit directly.
Must progress past them to the P&L owner to close the deal.
Purchasing and Legal
Purchasing negotiate discounts. Legal ensure compliance. They have their own "jobs" but they are process gates, not decision-makers.
They are not your buyers. Don't treat them as such.
The Four Forces of Progress
Every buying decision is a battle between four forces. Buyers move from their current way to the new way when the forces of attraction are greater than the forces of resistance.
Push: “My current way just won’t cut it anymore”
Pull: “This new way looks pretty good to me”
Inertia: “There’s things holding me back from changing”
Anxieties: “I have a few concerns about this new way”
Your job isn’t to push harder. It’s to reduce anxiety and break habits.
Reduce Anxiety
Case studies with peers, free trials, easy migration, social proof.
Break Habits
Show the hidden cost of the status quo, make switching painless.
Amplify Push
Help them see the pain they’ve normalised.
Clarify Pull
Business cases, ROI, mirror their language — not yours — to understand the goal they want to achieve.
Four Forces Worksheet
For your product, map out: PUSH: What's so broken they're willing to look for something new? PULL: What does "better" look like in their mind? INERTIA: What habits keep them stuck with the status quo? ANXIETIES: What fears stop them from switching?
The Discovery Interview
You now see the buyer’s world. The question is: how do you learn what’s actually in their head? You ask them. But most founders are terrible at it.
A discovery interview IS:
- A structured conversation to understand the buyer's world
- 25-30 minutes of focused listening
- The highest-ROI activity in early-stage
- A way to discover what's already in your buyer's head
A discovery interview IS NOT:
- A sales call or demo
- A chance to pitch (not even a little)
- A survey or focus group
- A conversation where you talk more than 30% of the time
The five-part interview structure
Context
(2 min)"Tell me about your role and what you're working on"
Trigger
(5 min)"When did you first start looking for a solution to X?"
Journey
(10 min)"Walk me through what happened next..."
Four Forces
(5 min)"What almost stopped you from switching?" "What would you go back to if this disappeared?"
Outcomes
(3 min)"What does success look like for you?"
Interview Question Template
CONTEXT (2 min) "Tell me about your role and what you're working on" TRIGGER (5 min) "When did you first start looking for a solution to X?" JOURNEY (10 min) "Walk me through what happened next..." FOUR FORCES (5 min) "What almost stopped you from switching?" "What would you go back to if this disappeared?" OUTCOMES (3 min) "What does success look like for you?"
Three Rules for Great Interviews
These rules separate useful interviews from useless ones.
No Pitching
Not even a little. Not even "what if there was a product that..." Your job is to understand, not to sell.
Past, Not Future
Ask about the past, not the future. "Tell me about the last time you..." not "Would you ever..." Real behaviour beats stated preference, every time.
Follow The Emotion
When they say something with energy — frustration, excitement, relief — that's where you dig deeper. Emotion signals what really matters.
The “First 10” Framework
You don’t need 100 interviews. You need 10 quality conversations in the next two weeks. Focus on immediacy and quality.
interviews
days
hours total
That’s less than one per day. Each takes 25–30 minutes. The ROI is clarity on your buyer that months of building in isolation can’t give you.
Where to Find Interview Subjects
Five places to find people to interview this week.
1.Your existing network
Advisors, investors, LinkedIn connections, intro requests, warm referrals. Start here — you'll be surprised how many people are one degree away.
2.Customers and communities
Current customers, design partners, beta testers. Also: Slack groups, Reddit, Discord, and industry forums where your buyers hang out.
3.Events and communities
Meetups, conferences, webinars. These people are already in "learning mode" and open to conversation.
4.Cold outreach
LinkedIn DMs and email. If you lead with genuine curiosity (not a pitch), response rates are surprisingly high. See the template below.
5.Customers of competitors
G2 reviewers, case study subjects, people discussing alternatives online. They've already been through the buying journey you need to understand.
The Outreach Message
This template gets a 40%+ response rate. The keys: no pitch, genuine curiosity, time-bounded ask, and an offer to share what you learn.
Outreach Template
Hi [Name], I'm researching how [role/industry] teams handle [problem area]. I'm not selling anything — I'm trying to understand the problem better before building a solution. Would you be open to a 20-minute conversation? Happy to share what I learn. Best, [Your name]
Why this works:
Resources
Keep practising. These AI-powered Claude skills let you apply today’s frameworks to your own product right now.
Claude Skills
Bob Moesta Interview Reviewer
Analyse your discovery interview transcripts. Maps the Four Forces, the purchase decision timeline, and coaches you on interviewing technique.
Four Forces Challenge
Stress-test your understanding of the push, pull, anxiety, and inertia acting on your buyers. Get challenged on blind spots.
Jobs & Outcomes
Sharpen your JTBD statements and map functional, emotional, and social outcomes. Reframe from supply-side to demand-side thinking.
Related Articles
Understanding Customer Progress Drives Product Adoption
The Four Forces of Progress in practice — how to map push, pull, anxiety, and habit for your product.
Read articleHow to Identify Your Customers' Burning Needs
A practical method for discovering, validating, and communicating customer needs using JTBD interviews.
Read articleFrom POC Failures to Predictable Sales
Using the MEDDIC framework to qualify deals objectively — turning discovery conversations into closed revenue.
Read article