When you became a product manager, did anyone take the time to mention to you that you were signing up to become a member of your company's sales department? You might have thought that you were joining the marketing department, but if your product doesn't sell, then you won't be holding on to your product management job for long!
What You'll Find Inside:
• HOW TO WORK WITH SALES
• PRODUCT MANAGERS & RFPS: IT'S A LOVE / HATE THING
• HOW PRODUCT MANAGERS CAN MANAGE A COMPLEX SALE
• A 3-STEP PRODUCT MANAGER SYSTEM TO MAKE YOUR PRODUCT SUCCESSFUL
Every product manager needs to take the time to discover how to work closely with the members of their sales department. Yes, you control the product, but they control how well it sells and in the end, that's all that matters. Your product is competing for their time and attention with all of the other products that your company wants them to sell. You've got to find a way to get their attention and motivate them.
The sales process is a fixed thing. Customers realize that they have a problem, they go searching for solutions and then they encounter your company's sales teams. When this happens your sales teams have to know about your product. They have to understand how it works. They have to know who it competes against and why your product is better.
No two products are the same. This means that the responsibility of training the sales teams ultimately falls on your shoulders. No matter if you are selling a physical product, a license, or a service, you need to teach your sales team how to sell it correctly.
In most companies, the sales teams won't report in to you. However, you are going to have to build a relationship with them that will allow you to work closely with them. When they encounter a problem or a new competitor, you are going to want them to feel comfortable enough with the relationship that you have built with them so that they'll come to you for help.
In this book we're going to cover just exactly what a product manager needs to do in order to create a working relationship with his or her sales department. We'll discuss how complex sales processes can be managed, how to deal with RFPs, and how extra services can be added to an existing sale.
For more information on what it takes to be a great product manager, check out my blog, The Accidental Product Manager, at:
