Buyer perceptions are a dangerous thing. I remember it all too well from my quota-carrying sales days. There were competitive products that solved the same exact problems, and then there were competitive products that didn’t even come close, but their marketing or sales teams did something to convince buyers otherwise. […]
Remember the last time you bought a car? You bought the car that did the best overall job of meeting your needs. There were other cars that had a better GPS, a faster engine, a nicer interior, etc. But in the end, those deficiencies weren’t enough to sway your decision because all the positives together [...]
Take a minute and go read a few of your product web pages or a piece of product literature. They’re well-worded, proper and grammatically correct, which also means they probably lack emotion. In this day and age where buying decisions are 50-80% made (depending on the study) before prospects ever engage, establishing an immediate emotional [...]
Imagine that your positioning is so clear and so simple that it doesn’t require anyone to think. They just get it! It’s rare but you know it when you see it, and it’s the simplicity that stands out. Great salespeople are masters at doing it verbally. The Playbook: […]
Great product positioning begins with the customer’s vision. If you’re a car enthusiast, go read the marketing copy for your dream car. The product marketers do a masterful job of getting you to envision how awesome you’d look and feel behind the wheel of that car. Apply the same concept [...]
The B2B Product Manager Magazine April 2019 is now available. If your perception of portfolio management is that it's more advanced or involved than traditional product management, it may be time to reconsider. This month we focus on the upside of adopting a portfolio approach to product management and the strategic value it brings to [...]
Business requirements and value propositions are one and the same. What’s different is the purpose for which they’re written. Business requirements are written to communicate the WHO, WHAT & WHY value that’s required to justify building new products and features. Value propositions are written to communicate the WHO, WHAT & WHY value that existing products [...]
The B2B Product Manager Magazine February 2019 is now available. Product roadmap decisions are among the most debatable in every organization, especially when you don't nail the customer value narrative. Align your roadmap value narrative to the customer organization from the top down and there's a whole lot less to debate. Enjoy our February/March issue. [...]
What suggestions do you have for overcoming bad product PR? I have a product that has a poor reputation based on legacy quality issues that have since been resolved. Rebuilding product credibility continues to be difficult internally and externally. […]
Sales discovery can be tricky. Even when your solution solves every buyer problem, a win is still more elusive than you think. The earlier in the sales process you uncover “THE BIG WHY” the sooner you can position unique value and get the jump on the competition. […]
