Salespeople Do The Darndest Things Product Camp 2010

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Salespeople Do the Darndest Things – And It Might Be Product Management’s Fault!"

Presented by:

Tom Evans - Lûcrum MarketingSheryl Posey – Consultant

Mike Boudreaux – Emerson Process Management

March 27, 2010

Panel Discussion - 1

Share a couple of examples of things salespeople have done that has caused tremendous irritation and frustration to you as a product manager?

Some Darndest Things

• Pursue opportunities outside of focus• Request marketing tools for solutions that don’t exist• Sells features (even those that don’t exist)• Promise features for products• Demands new features to close a deal

What is the impact to your company, to your product or to sales when salespeople do these things?

The Impact

• Wasted resources on an opportunity that was a long shot.• New features in the product that nobody needs.• A frustrated and irritated executive team.• Confusion in the market place on what the company does.

Why sales people do the darndest things?

1. That’s just the way sales people are.

2. They were never properly enabled with the right knowledge and tools.

What are some tools that you have created or used that were effective in enabling the sales team?

Goals of Sales Enablement

• Ensures everyone (marketing, sales, executives) is marching to the beat of the same drum.

• Defines clear target market.• Communicates clear & consistent messages.• Enables sales to talk with the right buyers.• Pursue target opportunities that company can win.

Sales Enablement (Base Components)

• Product Backgrounder• Sales Questioning Guide• Executive Level Presentation• Message Driven Demo

Now that you have done this work (creating tools and messages), how do you get the sales team to buy into sales enablement and actually use this work?

Now What?

• How do you get sales to use these new tools?– Have an executive sponsor (Sales VP/CEO).– Train them and train them some more.– Test them on their knowledge via certification process.– Make the tools real (not ivory tower).

Closing Thoughts

• Review on a regular basis.• Make sure marketing and the executive team participate.• Use for channel partners.• Much of info should already exist - MRD, Market Plan, etc.

Enhances your role as market expert!

Thank You

Tom Evans

Lûcrum Marketing

tevans@lucrum-marketing.com

+1-512-961-5267

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Product Backgrounder

• Target Markets / Segments• Market Needs / Challenges• Buyer Profiles - Personas / Needs / Challenges / Goals• Market Messages

– Value Proposition– Positioning Statement– Key Messages– Key Benefits

Sales Questioning Guide

• Aka - Pain Sheets / Solution Development Prompters• One per buyer role per market segment• Challenges / Impact / Capability / Benefits• Match to your sales methodology (if any)• User buyer’s language/terms

Executive Level Presentation

• Market / Buyer needs• High level discussion of how your solution addresses

needs.– Remember the key messages

• Benefits / Value Proposition• Case Study• 10 to 15 slides

Message Driven Demo

• Communicates key messages.• Show how buyers needs are solved.• Build it as story.

Salespeople Do The Darndest Things Product Camp 2010

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