Comments on: Sales: OMG! Teh Raodmap sUxOr!

By: If we're so smart… — On Product Management

If we're so smart… — On Product Management — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:16:39 +0000

[...] blogs are making about other groups in technology companies. Enough with the missives about Sales Monkeys or arrogant engineers. Seriously, like this is news that they think or work differently than [...]

By: You Don't Really Own Your Roadmap | Product Beautiful: Building Product Management by Paul Young

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:09:27 +0000

[...] deals can also derail the roadmap.� In a smaller company where there is immediate revenue pressure, the allure of a special deal [...]

By: Saeed Khan

Saeed Khan — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:12:58 +0000

Hi, thanks for the response to my posting: If we’re so smart…

http://onproductmanagement.wordpress.com/2007/06/21/if-were-so-smart/

I’ve posted a response back…

http://onproductmanagement.wordpress.com/2007/06/21/if-were-so-smart/#comment-9

Thanks

Saeed

By: If we’re so smart… « On Product Management

If we’re so smart… « On Product Management — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 03:13:37 +0000

By: Bruce McCarthy

Bruce McCarthy — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:11:57 +0000

Sales people are bred, trained, and compensated to be driven by their next quarterly number. Some do rise above that, but it’s rare because the job is designed that way.

I agree with Roark that making them feel listened to is key to gaining buy-in on your roadmap. What’s also key, though, is avoiding making commitments as to dates in those sessions. Make clear what trade-offs you are balancing and let them know their input it valuable but only one input among many.

Whether you take their advice or not, letting them feel like they are part of the process and giving them just a taste of your resource constraints helps the medicine go down.

By: Prod Mktg VIP

Prod Mktg VIP — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:15:35 +0000

Pollack must live in a perfect world.

When you are a PM at a small company, trying to balance the needs of product for 3 different markets, it’s really difficult.

Not only do the sales people for each market beleive that we should not be in the other markets, they are not sensitive to the resource contraints of the business.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:39:03 +0000

Thanks Roark. My post was firmly tongue-in-cheek, I do agree with what you wrote. While I hope that PM’s don’t have to deal w/ this situation often, I see it far too much.

There are usually 1 or 2 “good apples” on the sales team who are progressive, forward thinkers who want to provide good customer service and understand the trade offs that the business must make.

Unfortunately, there are always the 1-2 “bad apples” that use any delayed feature as an excuse for not making their number and can only see as far as their next spiff. They making teaming tough because of their tendency to whine usually rubs off on the rest of the team and snowballs.

By: Roark Pollock

Roark Pollock — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:56:40 +0000

This is a very true reflection of what often happens, and I am sure all of us can relate to this situation. However, it is critical in building a long term business that a product roadmap have a healthy balance of (1) new to the world / market innovations, (2) new to the company products, and (3) new features and bug fixes to existing products. Unfortunately, all but the most forward thinking sales persons will only be interested in the new features to existing products that customers are asking for now.

To minimize this conflict with the sales team I find that a regular dialogue with the key power brokers in the sales team is extremely helpful. The sales team power brokers are not necessarily the sales managers or the best sales performers, but the sales individuals that have the most respect from their peers and can therefore be excellent advocates once you have them persuaded.

After all, the job of product managers is to meet the needs of their entire sales channel, and for most of us that sales channel includes direct sales teams. In fact, sales teams are like everyone else; they want to be listened to. If they feel like they are included in the process they will support the final roadmap much more readily, and will do a better job supporting it and selling it to customers!