Buzz 22 Product Planner blog

Dear Garry,

I attended one of your training courses and the message about Product Managers are nothing more than another voice in the company unless we back our views with real feedback from real customers really hit home. When I returned I dutifully tried to see loads of customers but found that the sales team where blocking us.

Initially they were really keen but when it came down to it every salesperson seemed to have a good reason why it shouldn’t be their customer at that moment in time. Excuses included “We’re at a sensitive point in the negotiation”, “It’s not a product area they’re interested in” and “They’re a difficult group to work with”. How can I fix this problem without burning my bridges with the sales team?

Dear Mr Dutiful

What lies behind this? Well, it could indeed be a “sensitive point in the negotiation”, but it could equally be a degree of nervousness about letting product management into the account – we could set expectations, make commitments and generally just promise stuff that doesn’t happen, leaving the sales team to pick up the pieces. OK, I can hear the gasps – the irony isn’t lost on this product manager either!

It really comes down to risk vs reward and for this particular sales team the risk of letting some wet-behind-the-ears product manager loose on customers was much bigger than the reward ie potentially a new product in 18 months’ time. And remember, sales people don’t work on the same time axis as the rest of us. One month is an unacceptable length of time for you to deal with their request for complete new product architecture. 18 months approximates to infinity in the sales world.

So what can be done? The answer lies in trying to rebalance that risk/reward. Lowering the risk is all about building confidence…  What exactly are you going to tell customers? What if they ask about price? What if they ask about discounts? What if they ask about delivery dates?  The sales team needs to understand that you know how to handle these types of questions. Present to them, let them ask all those difficult questions, let them take your pitch apart, show your capability in dealing with the issues. And the reward side?  Think of the win/win – what does the sales team need from you? For example, the sales team might not want product managers to engage with customers on future products, but will be quite happy for product managers to demo the current offering. One win/win would be to link these two activities together “I’d love to come and demo my product next Tuesday, as long as I can have half an hour with the customer to talk about my future product plans”. Oh , and don’t forget to share your success stories – a salesperson telling the sales team how well the meeting went is worth ten product managers saying the same thing.

GARRY’S TOP TIPS FOR GETTING SALES TO OPEN THE DOOR TO CUSTOMERS

1. When you get a sales road block, work out why.

2. Build the sales team’s confidence in you – show you understand their concerns (whilst trying not to show the inconsistencies in their argument!)

3. Agree on ownership and protocol before any meeting – who will deal with pricing/dates/etc.

4. Look for the win/win.

5. Share successes.