The Leadership Side of Product Management – What Does It Really Mean?
The leadership side of product management reaches its pinnacle when you have the complete trust of executives, marketing, sales, engineering, finance, customer success, and customers.
The real question is, how do you get there?
Product management leadership comes in two flavors.
- As an individual contributor, i.e., product manager.
- As a product management team steering a portfolio.
In both cases, there are three things you need to be really […]
How to Talk About the Value of Your Product Without Talking About the Product
The value of your product isn’t what the product does. It’s what the product does for the customer. Think situations and outcomes.
Here’s a typical scenario. A salesperson is having an initial conversation with a prospect. One of the first things the prospect will ask is, “Can you give me an overview of your product?”
Product marketing professionals have been trying for decades to create simple responses […]
The One Big Flaw With Data Driven Product Decisions
That fact that we’re even discussing data driven product decisions is a monumental leap for the product management profession.
- What features do customers use most & why?
- Which features do customers struggle to use and why?
- How quickly are new features being adopted?
- What are the most popular features customers request?
- How much time do users spend in my product?
And these are just a few!
The […]
Great Product Demos: More Presenter Than Product?
Product presentations and demos are the biggest speed bump in the early part of the sales process. Nail the demo and the waters you’ll navigate to close the deal will be smoother sailing (in relative terms).
One of the biggest factors that influence how buyers perceive a product presentation is your credibility as the presenter. Not in terms of product knowledge, but your credibility when it […]
PODCAST on Product Led Growth
Join John Mansour and Paul Heller for an insightful 30-minute podcast on product led growth and making the transition from a direct sales model.
Had a lot of fun discussing the differences between a new business starting with a product led growth model and mature businesses making the transition from a traditional direct sales model.
Paul’s company, Sopheon is making the transition.
Podcast on Product Led Growth
Top 10: Why Salespeople Don’t Use Corporate Positioning Decks
Directly from many salespeople (clients) over the past 20 years, here are the most popular responses (in no particular order) to the question, “Why don’t you use the corporate positioning deck?” […]