Joe Smith, the legendary former Capital Records/EMI executive, recently donated 238 hours of interviews with household names in rock music and entertainment to The Library of Congress. These unabridged interviews of the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, Sting, Ella Fitzgerald, James Taylor (I think you get the idea) were compiled and published in his 1988 ground-breaking book, Off the Record. The Joe Smith Collection will be streamed on the Library’s website www.loc.gov later this year.

The amazing interviews in the Smith Collection reveal the power of the individual interview. Here are five lessons learned that are relevant to and will benefit B2B marketers:

1. The Power to Deliver Rich Insights: If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know my thoughts on how powerful the methodology can be in delivering golden nuggets of insight. I think comments made by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington help illustrate this point. "These frank and poignant oral histories of many of the nation’s musical icons give us unique insights into them as artists, entertainers and human beings…. the world knows these great musicians through their songs, but Joe Smith has provided us an intimate window into their lives through their own words.”
2. Getting Good Data Often Requires Patience and Flexibility: I’m not suggesting that B2B interview research projects span two years – the amount of time it took Smith to complete all 238 hours of interviews for his book. The important take-away is that getting time from professionals today for any form of research is challenging. Individual interviews for Smith needed to be scheduled when and where it was convenient for stars. It was a critical success-factor in getting the information he needed to write the book. Many high-level managers in B2B companies and highly technical professionals - i.e. key decision makers - consider themselves “stars”. Getting them to commit their time to participate in a study is arduous. Experience has taught me that for B2B qualitative research studies, individual interviews are normally easier to schedule and conduct than traditional focus groups.
3. Good Rapport and Trust are Essential Elements for Facilitating Candid Conversations: In listening to the interviews, I was struck with how forthcoming stars were on their conversation with Smith. A couple of examples come to mind: Little Richard’s surprised reaction to hearing Tutti Frutti on the radio for the first time and the public’s unbelievable response. Paul McCartney discussing the impact drug use had on the Beatle’s music. Smith was only able to get this level of candor because he created an emotionally and psychologically safe environment in which the conversation could take place, and because he was seen as trustworthy.
4. The Importance of Mental Agility in Formulating Follow-up Questions: What makes a good interview great is the stellar follow-up questions an interviewer asks. This is a complex skill that requires the interviewer to actively listen to what a respondent is saying, formulating a question as he/she processes what is being heard and clearly articulating questions that provide deeper insight. Smith is masterful in asking great follow-up questions. In his interview with the iconic Dick Clark, who introduced American Bandstand to the nation in 1957, Smith followed-up by asking whether it was Clark that convinced ABC to take American Bandstand national. “Now, when was the first indication that you had a monster on your hands?” Clark’s response, a pithy “About twenty minutes, when we went off the air…. the phones were ringing off the wall.”
5. Preparation, Preparation, Preparation: An interviewer can have great skills (the ability to quickly establish rapport, good verbal and non-verbal communication skills, the ability to process information quickly and ask good follow-up questions) and still conduct a bad interview. Interviewers need to be thoroughly grounded in the subject matter they will be discussing. If not, it will show in the quality of the questions asked and, of course, the corresponding answers. Joe Smith grasped the need to be prepared. He clearly understood the industry and, obviously, did his homework to be able to ask thoughtful questions. In showing up well prepared for interviews, Smith demonstrated respect for the stars. They were confident that he “spoke their language.” This was instrumental in creating a wonderful environment for great conversations. The results, amazing.