EN RU SR

JTBD Switch Interview checklist: before, during, and after the switching story

This checklist covers the JTBD Switch Interview method from Bob Moesta’s Demand-Side Sales framework. It tracks the full cycle: recruiting both hirers and firers, covering six buying timeline stages, mapping four forces, and synthesizing into job stories and actionable recommendations.

Before the interviews

  • Decision type defined (sign-up, purchase, upgrade, switch, cancellation)
  • Target profile: recent switchers, 30-90 days
  • Mix planned: roughly equal hirers and firers
  • Screening criteria drafted (behavioral, decision-maker, hirers vs firers)
  • 8-12 participants recruited (over-recruit 25%)
  • Timeline framework prepared (six stages: first thought → passive looking → active looking → deciding → onboarding → ongoing use)
  • Probing techniques reviewed (contrast, bracketing, five whys, unpacking, energy tracking, “play dumb”)
  • Recording setup tested
  • Incentives confirmed
  • Force debrief template created (core job, trigger, dominant force, hiring criteria, competitor, emotional peak)

During each interview

  • Recording started with consent
  • Documentary-style opening (story, no right/wrong)
  • Names of key people collected early
  • All six buying timeline stages covered
  • Four forces surfaced (F1 push, F2 pull, F3 anxiety, F4 habit)
  • At least one contrast question per stage
  • Vague words unpacked (faster than what?)
  • Emotional energy tracked (emphasis, sighs, pauses)
  • Five Whys used at least once
  • Catch-all question: “Anything I should have asked?”

After the interviews

  • Force debrief within 15 minutes per session
  • Pattern matrix started after interview 3
  • Transcripts coded for F1-F4
  • Six-stage timelines reconstructed
  • Stories clustered by jobs and triggers
  • Job stories written per cluster
  • Force diagrams drawn per cluster
  • Competitive map (actual alternatives)
  • Hiring criteria ranked
  • Anxiety inventory compiled (onboarding input)
  • Trigger inventory compiled (marketing input)
  • Findings → positioning, onboarding, sales recommendations