Finding Out If Anyone Wants It · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Ask before you build it

Life Skills · Entrepreneurship · ages 12-13
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. You interview five people about your idea. What should you write down?

    • Your hoped-for meaning, with doubtful words changed into encouraging ones.
    • Only the encouraging answers, with every refusal left out of the notes.
    • Their exact answers, including replies that do not support your idea.

  2. Which set of questions leaves room for someone to report no need or interest in a pencil case?

    • Have you bought a pencil case? What did you choose? What, if anything, would you change?
    • You need a new pencil case, right? Mine is better, isn't it? You'll buy one today, won't you?
    • You like my pencil case, don't you? Everyone needs one, right? You'd recommend mine, wouldn't you?

  3. A person declines a free sample. This proves that they have no interest in the product.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. You want to sell art postcards to visitors at a school fair. With adult help and the school's permission, which small test best checks whether visitors will pay $2?

    • Give postcards away to visitors and count everyone who accepts a free one.
    • Ask family members to praise the designs and count each compliment as a sale.
    • Offer a few postcards at $2 to fair visitors and record actual purchases.

  5. Why is a person's past purchase stronger evidence of buying interest than saying they would buy that kind of product?

    • A purchase records money spent; a promise predicts a choice.
    • A purchase proves they will buy every new version at any price.
    • A promise records money spent; a purchase predicts a choice.

  6. In one observation, 2 of 20 shoppers stop at a juice stand. What can this observation alone tell you?

    • Two shoppers stopped during this observation; their reasons remain unknown.
    • The other eighteen shoppers disliked the juice; their reasons are now known.
    • Every later group of twenty will include two shoppers who buy this juice.

  7. Ana and Ben test $1 bookmarks for students who read printed books. Three students buy from Ana for their own reading. Three adults buy from Ben as gifts. Whose test gives more direct evidence about the target group's buying for its own use?

    • Ben's, because adults buying gifts reveal students' own buying choices.
    • Ana's, because students bought bookmarks for their own reading.
    • Both, because equal sales show that both groups have identical needs.

  8. Before testing a $3 badge, you decide to stop this version if fewer than 3 of 10 target customers buy. All 10 receive the offer, and 2 buy. What follows your planned rule?

    • Keep this version and lower the stop rule after seeing the result.
    • Stop this version, then consider a change and a new test.
    • Keep this version because two sales prove that most people want it.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Ask before you build it W1-mt_99X6saJ6Kt-s1

  1. Their exact answers, including replies that do not support your idea. · Exact notes, including refusals, preserve what people said rather than replacing it with what you hoped to hear.
  2. Have you bought a pencil case? What did you choose? What, if anything, would you change? · Questions about experience and possible changes let people describe their needs without being pushed toward praise.
  3. False · A refusal is useful evidence, but it does not prove the reason. The person might lack time, trust or a need for the sample.
  4. Offer a few postcards at $2 to fair visitors and record actual purchases. · Offering postcards at the stated price checks whether visitors will pay. Accepting a free item or giving praise does not record a purchase.
  5. A purchase records money spent; a promise predicts a choice. · A past purchase records an action involving money. A statement about a future purchase is a prediction, not a completed sale.
  6. Two shoppers stopped during this observation; their reasons remain unknown. · The count describes what happened during this observation. It does not explain shoppers' reasons or predict every later group.
  7. Ana's, because students bought bookmarks for their own reading. · Ana records purchases by the target group for its own use. Ben's gift sales answer a different question. Neither small test proves wider demand.
  8. Stop this version, then consider a change and a new test. · Two purchases are fewer than three. Your rule says to stop this version. It does not say that every changed version must also fail.
Worksheet · LightMySky