The love-hate relationship between Product and Sales
As the discussion began, I couldn’t help but notice a remark from a gentleman- “Sales promise to go to pluto when the product can only go to the moon and then force products to go to Andromeda galaxy”. This totally cracked me up when I happened to engage with a community of Product managers, just a few weeks back. As the discussion proceeded, I felt I was the only unbiased person in a zoom call full of super frustrated Product managers.
If you’re into the SaaS or IT industry, you would have surely come across instances of disagreement between the Product and Sales team. The common notion remains undisputedly the same, that, the Sales team overpromises the client and the product team tends to push the timelines for the releases.
While. I am not the domain expert but speaking from the little experience I have, especially my transition from a Sales x Product role to a consultant role, made me accept the fact that, no matter how much these functions don’t get along, one simply cannot exist without the other. What’s a badass sales team without a product and what’s the role of a lethal product team if there’s no one to position, market, or sell the product?
Both the teams add significant value to the company’s scalability and growth, there’s a never-ending dispute between the two in any growing organization. Although, the two may seem to have different motivations-for one it’s more about achieving the targets through customer acquisitions, the other wins when they build a good product with a great adoption rate. Somehow the end goal remains the same- revenue generation and happy clients. Sure, there would be some undeniable and plausible reasons for the conflict.
The question arises how do we bridge the gap between these two key elements? Thus a middle ground is important, driven towards a synergistic approach, to avoid blasphemous results.
Here are some of the key insights that can help us avoid miscommunication effectively:
1. Listen to the customers- Customer is the King. The tricky part comes when you are in a B2B segment. Especially in cases, when the customer is not the end-user.
2. Prioritization is key based on both customer delight as well as that of the company. Hence, there should be the involvement of the Business team in the discussions revolving around sprints and road-map.
3. Breakdown of the requirements based on core fundamental assumptions and feedback is crucial. Hence, a collaboration between the Product Manager and Sales Rep during some (not all) important client meetings can help to address the teething issues and customer requirements.
4. Sometimes, tweaking an existing feature can be a quick fix rather than building a new feature altogether.
5. Empathy is needed from both the ends sales X product. Goes without saying.
6. An agile feedback loop is important. Period.
Do you also have similar experiences? What are your thoughts on the same? If you’re a product enthusiast or an aspiring PM, would be glad to connect at mailtogurpriya@gmail.com
