Customer commitment signals: time, reputation, money

You

Good news! Now that I understand how people buy food, I finally showed the subscription to twelve cat owners. Everyone loved it.

Alex Tutor

Showing it was the right move at this stage. So what happens next with those twelve people?

You

Next? Well… most of them said to let them know when it launches.

Marta

Same story in sales. I pitched the corporate version to eight offices and two pet shops. My pipeline is full of “sounds great, keep me posted”. Nobody has signed a thing.

Alex Tutor

Once you reveal the idea, compliments come back. That's expected. The good news is that now you have a filter for them: ask for a commitment.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Sofia showed the subscription to twelve people. All of them liked it; most asked to be told when it launches. What does the team know for sure?

Choose one answerDemand is proven: twelve out of twelve is a strong resultPeople are willing to pay about the planned priceAlmost nothing about demand: nobody gave up anything to move forwardThe idea is bad, because nobody bought anything

You

So what exactly counts as a commitment?

Alex Tutor

Someone gives up something they value to move forward with you. Not words: their time, their reputation or their money.

Think of it as a currency. A compliment costs nothing, so as evidence it's worth nothing. An evening spent testing your prototype costs a lot, so it tells you a lot.

You

So “I love it” is free, and “here's 1,250 UAH for the first box” isn't.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. There are three main commitment currencies: time, reputation risk and money. Words like “I'll definitely buy it” aren't on the list, however sincere they sound.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

A customer who says “I'll definitely subscribe the day you launch” has made a commitment.

TrueFalse

Alex Tutor

Start with a time commitment: a follow-up call with a clear agenda, feedback on packaging sketches, two weeks of using a trial box and reporting what went wrong.

Oksana

Honestly, send me a trial box. I'll keep a little diary for two weeks: what Murchyk ate, what he ignored, when the delivery came.

Alex Tutor

That's a real offer of effort, much more than a compliment. It becomes evidence when the diary actually arrives.

The second currency is reputation risk. People put their name on the line: an intro to a colleague or a boss, a public review, agreeing to be a case study.

You

Why is an intro expensive? It's one email.

Alex Tutor

If you waste the boss's time, the boss is annoyed with her, not with you. Nobody takes that risk for an idea they don't believe in.

Marta

An office manager at an IT company offered to introduce me to their HR director, who owns the benefits budget. I told her “maybe later”.

Alex Tutor

Say yes today. An intro to the decision maker is one of the most valuable things a B2B contact can give you, and a sign she takes you seriously.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Match what each person did with the currency they paid in.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

Oksana spends two weeks keeping a diary of Murchyk's trial box
An office manager introduces Marta to the HR director
A cat owner pays 1,250 UAH now for a box that ships in March
A pet shop owner says “Love it, keep me posted!”

Answers left to place

Alex Tutor

The third currency is money, and it's the most convincing. A cash commitment doesn't have to be big: a pre-order, a deposit or a signed letter of intent.

You

What's the difference between them?

Alex Tutor

A pre-order: paying today for the first box that ships later. A deposit: say, 200 UAH to reserve one of the first hundred places, refundable if you change your mind.

A letter of intent, or LOI, is for companies: a signed letter saying they plan to buy on certain terms. It isn't legally binding, but a director has put a signature on it.

You

A pre-order for a subscription that doesn't exist yet? Who would do that?

Alex Tutor

Someone who really has the problem. And if nobody does, you've learned it before signing a warehouse lease, not after.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Put these endings of a conversation in order, from the weakest signal to the strongest.

Tap an item, then tap where it should go. You can also drag or use the arrows.

You

So any commitment means they'll become a customer?

Alex Tutor

No, commitments differ in size. A 15-minute look at mockups is a weak signal; a paid pilot is a strong one. The more someone gives up, the more seriously you can take their kind words.

The strongest commitments combine currencies. Marta, imagine that IT company pays for a three-month pilot for the cats of 20 employees.

Marta

Time: they'd organise it. Reputation: HR puts their name on a new perk. Money: 20 × 1,250 × 3 = 75,000 UAH. That would be a real deal.

Alex Tutor

And a real signal. Compare it with “sounds great, keep me posted”: the same friendly smile, a completely different price.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

How five conversations ended. Which endings include a real commitment? Select all that apply.

Choose all that apply“I'd definitely buy it for my two cats.”A café owner pays a 1,000 UAH deposit to be in the first delivery round.“Let me think about it and I'll get back to you.”An HR manager books a call with her CFO and Marta for Thursday at 10.A customer writes a public review of the trial box on the CatChow Instagram.

You

One of the twelve was different. Before I finished explaining, she asked how she could pay.

Alex Tutor

Tell me about her.

You

Two cats, one on a prescription diet. She buys from three online shops and tracks every bag in a spreadsheet so she never runs out.

Alex Tutor

That's an early evangelist. She has the problem, knows it, has searched for a fix, has built her own workaround and can pay. The spreadsheet is the giveaway.

People like her are rare, and they commit before it looks rational: they'll pay for a half-finished product because the pain is real. Find them first and keep them close.

You

And the ones who just smiled?

Alex Tutor

Be nice to them, but don't count on them for your first sales.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

Which of these customers looks most like an early evangelist for CatChow's subscription?

Choose one answerAndrii: “Great idea! My neighbour would love it too.”Kateryna: runs out of food about once a month, shrugs and buys whatever the corner shop hasNadia: after two emergencies she set phone reminders, keeps a spare bag at work and asked whether she can pre-pay three monthsBohdan: “I'd subscribe if it were 30% cheaper than the shop.”

You

I'm calling Oksana again on Friday. What should I ask her for?

Alex Tutor

Decide before the call, not during it. Think of one thing in each currency that fits where she is now. Keep them concrete: what, when, how much.

You

And if she says no to all three?

Alex Tutor

Then you've learned something true about her interest. A clear no is useful; a vague yes isn't.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Name one concrete commitment in each currency (time, reputation, money) that Sofia could ask Oksana for at the end of Friday's call. Be specific: what, when, how much.

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You

My weekly report says: “12 conversations, 12 positive.” I'm guessing that has to change.

Alex Tutor

Count commitments, not smiles. What actually happened after the twelve?

You

Nine said “let me know when it launches”. Two agreed to look at our app mockups; one of them sent feedback. And Nadia asked to pre-pay, but I had no way to take her money.

Alex Tutor

That last one hurts. An early evangelist ready to pay, and nothing to pay with. Next time, have a payment link ready. Now rewrite the report.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

Rewrite Sofia's report line “12 conversations, 12 positive” in one to three sentences, based on commitments. Nine said “let me know when it launches”; two agreed to review mockups and one of them sent feedback; one person (Nadia) asked to pre-pay but couldn't.

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Marta

Here's one from my list. The owner of Murchalnia, a cat café with nine resident cats, said “Love it, keep me posted.” How would you handle her?

Alex Tutor

What do we know about her as a fact?

Marta

She spends about 7,000 UAH a month on food and orders from two shops, because one of them keeps running out of the brand her cats eat.

Alex Tutor

A real problem and a real budget. Then “keep me posted” is a missed chance, not a verdict. Plan what you'll ask her for, step by step.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Plan the commitments Marta should ask the cat café owner for.

Lead: Olha, owner of the cat café Murchalnia (9 resident cats).

Known facts: she spends about 7,000 UAH a month on cat food; she orders from two online shops because one of them often runs out of the brand her cats eat; last month the café went three days on a substitute food and two cats had stomach trouble.

What she said after Marta's pitch of CatChow for businesses (monthly delivery, 10% below retail): “Love it, keep me posted!”

Write a plan (150–300 words): which commitments Marta should ask for, in what order, in which currency each one is, and what a yes or a no to each would teach CatChow. Include at least one cash commitment with a realistic amount.

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You

So “everyone loved it” was never the result. The result is what people were willing to give up.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. Compliments are free. Time, reputation and money aren't, and that's why you can trust them.

Alex Tutor

Next lesson: how to end every conversation with a concrete next step, and how to rescue one that's drifting into compliments.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Next steps and advancing the conversation