Customer Obsessed
The Jeff Bezos approach: Data-driven narratives, working backwards, the six-pager philosophy.
"?" — The entire email Bezos forwards to executives, triggering deep-dive investigations and systemic fixes.— The Bezos Question Mark Method
The Philosophy
The Bezos tonality is built on Amazon's six-pager memo format and the famous "question mark" email. It's obsessively customer-focused, weaving data into compelling narratives rather than dumping bullet points. Every communication works backwards from the customer outcome.
This style equips your champion with a document they can hand to leadership. It anticipates objections, tells a complete story, and frames everything through the lens of customer impact. The "?" email shows that sometimes extreme brevity drives more action than detailed instructions.
Key Characteristics
- •Narrative structure over bullet points (complete sentences, complete thoughts)
- •"Working backwards" from the customer outcome
- •Data woven into compelling stories
- •The "?" email for driving accountability
- •Long-term thinking and strategic alignment
When to Use
- • Complex enterprise sales
- • Strategic partnership discussions
- • Equipping your champion
- • Responding to major customer issues
When NOT to Use
- • Quick transactional sales
- • When you lack customer data
- • Time-sensitive urgent requests
- • Simple product conversations
Copy-Paste Prompts
Six-Pager Proposal Prompt
Write a proposal using Bezos narrative structure
Write a proposal in the Jeff Bezos six-pager style. Context: - Customer: [COMPANY NAME] - Their goal: [WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE] - Current state: [HOW THEY DO IT TODAY] - My solution: [WHAT I'M PROPOSING] - Key data points: [RELEVANT METRICS/NUMBERS] Bezos Six-Pager Rules: - Start with the customer's goal, not your product - Narrative prose, not bullet points (complete sentences, complete thoughts) - Data woven into the story, not dumped in tables - "Working backwards" structure: Start with the press release of success - Address the elephant in the room directly - Include the FAQ section (anticipate their questions) - End with clear next steps Structure: 1. The Customer Situation (where they are) 2. The Vision (where they could be) 3. The Approach (how we get there) 4. The Evidence (why this will work) 5. The Investment (what it takes) 6. FAQs (objections answered) 7. Next Steps Write in a way that your champion can hand this document to their CEO and it sells itself.
Question Mark Email Prompt
Drive accountability with the Bezos "?" technique
Help me write a follow-up email using the Bezos "?" technique. Context: - Original issue: [WHAT HAPPENED/WHAT'S STUCK] - Who needs to act: [PERSON/TEAM] - Desired outcome: [WHAT YOU NEED TO HAPPEN] - Timeline: [URGENCY LEVEL] The Bezos "?" Email Philosophy: - Sometimes a single "?" forward is more powerful than paragraphs - It signals: "I saw this. I expect action. Report back." - Use sparingly for maximum impact - The brevity implies urgency and importance Generate two versions: 1. The pure "?" forward (for internal team, high trust) 2. A slightly expanded version (for external/client situations) The goal is to drive accountability without micromanaging. The "?" says "I trust you to handle this, but I'm watching."
Customer-Obsessed Discovery Prompt
Discovery questions that work backwards from the customer
Generate discovery questions using the Bezos "working backwards" method. Context: - Prospect: [COMPANY NAME] - Their industry: [INDUSTRY] - What I'm selling: [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE] - What I know so far: [ANY INTEL] Bezos Discovery Philosophy: - Start with their customer's experience, not their operations - Understand the "press release" they want to write in 1-2 years - Find the metrics that matter to THEIR customers - Uncover the data they wish they had - Identify the decisions they can't make today Generate questions in these categories: 1. Their Customer (who are they serving, what do those customers want) 2. The Vision (what does success look like in 2 years) 3. The Gaps (what's preventing that success today) 4. The Data (what would they measure if they could) 5. The Decision (what would unlock action) Questions should reveal their "Day 1" thinking vs "Day 2" complacency.
Data-Driven Objection Response
Handle objections with Bezos-level customer focus
Help me respond to this objection using Bezos customer-obsession: Objection: "[THE OBJECTION THEY RAISED]" Context: - My product: [WHAT I'M SELLING] - Their company: [COMPANY NAME] - Their customers: [WHO THEY SERVE] Bezos Objection Handling Rules: - Reframe everything through their customer's lens - Use data and anecdotes together (numbers + stories) - "Disagree and commit" - acknowledge the concern, then move forward - Long-term thinking beats short-term concerns - "Are they right?" - genuinely consider if the objection is valid Response structure: 1. Acknowledge the concern genuinely 2. Reframe through customer impact 3. Provide data that supports your position 4. Share a relevant customer story 5. Propose a "working backwards" exercise together The response should make them think about their customers, not about the objection.
Example Output
Six-Pager Opening (Bezos Style)
"Acme Corp serves 50,000 small businesses who trust them to process payroll every two weeks. When payroll is late, those businesses lose employee trust. When it's wrong, they face compliance risk. Today, Acme's payroll accuracy sits at 94% - meaning 3,000 businesses experience an error every month. Each error takes 4.2 hours to resolve and costs Acme $180 in support overhead. More importantly, it costs their customer confidence in a system they depend on..."