Sales -> Marketing
Steve Johnson as an interesting post over at the Pragmatic Marketing Blog regarding an article that he read.
Take this quote:
"Marketing should strategically define the key steps of the sales cycle,
and the tools that support each step, giving sales people a roadmap to move
clients from leads to close and beyond."
I kind of agree, but only in specific cases. I’m a beliver that (if appropriate), the VP / Lead of Sales should be constructing the sales cycle with the assistance of Marketing and other members within the organization (just for that team-based approach that I’m a fan of). Yes, it’s true Marketing can qualify some leads for Sales, however, from what I’ve seen, Sales usually qualifies leads for Sales and Marketing is left to tend to MarCom and product communication / corporate messaging. Of course, whatever suits the business best is what should be done.
So where does Product Management fit? Since a PM serves as facilitator between Development, Sales, and Marketing, communication occurs on that pivot. The PM should be equipped with the knowledge of where Development is at, and how long something could take if it comes up (or when it comes up) in the Sales cycle. If they don’t — they should be asking and not assuming.
Again, same goes for Sales. If they are unsure of when something will be done, if it will be done, or if it’s even something that would be considered, they need to ask first, then close the deal. In a small, agile organization, the answer may simply be "sure, we can do that". However, everyone (including the customer) needs to be on the same page with cost / scope / schedule.
It’s too easy to say "yes" to close a deal. All nighters featuring Red Bull and pizza may be OK for a while, but eventually they will have their toll on moral. A roadmap should be followed fairly closely based on market reaseach and the vision / objectives / strategy of the entire company. And that means everyone should be behind it — PM’s can’t serve as dictators, especially in small companies. Delegation this way brews resentment.
The organization needs to work together to ensure knowledge is communicated properly. Remember, one message from Development needs to be delievered differently across Sales, Services, and Marketing. Content is based on audience.
February 23rd, 2006 at 10:22 am
But what if the folks doing the work love staying up all night drinking Red Bull and smearing their pants and keyboards with Cheeto Orange (which has to be a real Pantone color by now)?
Some folks just love the scramble. If you are in an organization that runs best in interrupt mode, how do you introduce order?
February 23rd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
I am totally going to answer, but in a new post. This is an awesome question, Bob.