If you have been following along to parts 1 and 2, you’ve already learned about win rate and product waste.
A quick reminder -
Win rate = how often(%) sales close deals.
Product waste = how often the product team builds something that doesn’t sell - even more specifically, things under sales win-rate.
If you consistently give your sales teams product waste, they have to find some way to make money.
One way they will try to make money is by “future selling” - or selling things that may or may not be built.
Why is the sales team selling things in the future that don’t exist?
They need to keep their jobs. The win rate drives sales incentive - and if they don’t sell, they don’t eat.
If the product team provides things that don’t sell, they will make it up. Before you start to judge, if I see another product manager roll out a roadmap that isn’t real, I’ll break out in hives. We are in no place to judge.
We are, however, in a place to understand and get a clear understanding of what the team is doing.
What’s behind the future selling? Generally, a low win rate and a lack of communication.
The work over the last two weeks has given you enough information to diagnose the future selling.
Now, this week, your job is to start to find out why - time to interact with sales.
I want you to schedule a coffee meeting with a salesperson - and I want you to talk about none of this, don’t diagnose them.
Just start to build a relationship.
You are here to learn.
Action: Book a meeting to talk to sales.
If you have any questions - send an email my way, I read all of them.