In the present time, product, sales, and marketing go hand-in-hand. Companies undergo difficulties when specific departments aren’t getting what they are supposed to. Product managers face this challenge, especially when involved with multiple stakeholders with different priorities.
Alignment is extremely important to improve certain processes, and the lack of alignment can lead to disputes and miscommunication. This applies to every department. This is where the need for getting everyone on the same page comes into the limelight. When alignment is prioritized, many things in the team fall back in place.
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- Topic: Importance Of Aligning Product and Sales Teams
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Why Is Alignment Between the Product & Sales Team Required?
What defines a great partnership between the product and sales team? Well, a lot of things do, but it works if and only if the principles and guidelines share common ground for success, and the process of communicating with one another is collaborative.
If this is not maintained, the relationship between both parties can go through ups and down. Plus, more stress will build up.
For instance, the product teams will have a notion for the sales team that they will do whatever it takes to sell the product and make money. On the contrary, the sales team will assume that the product team will build products that will do everything except make money.
So, what is the right way to resolve this? Here it goes
1. Success Measurement of the product
A product has to be successful, and it is only possible when the product and sales team are aligned on a common agenda. Here’s what defines a successful product.
- The product has to be Valuable, and for people to pay for it, it should solve a real problem.
- A product should be Marketable; hence, its presence should attract more customers.
- The worth of the product should be Justifiable and signify the importance of time and money.
- Adaptability is another major success factor for any product so that customers can quickly adapt.
However, that’s not everything that justifies the meaning of a great product. The product should also be:
- The product should be Scalable, i.e., the present and future customers should be able to use every feature.
- For products to be Usable is, again, a mandate. There is no point in creating a product that has no vision.
- A product has to be Secure enough to restrict new attackers and intruders.
- When building a product, Reliability is a measure that must be accomplished; otherwise, unresolved bugs can hamper productivity.
2. Understanding Each Other
The product team and sales team have to be on the same page. The product team must take roadmap feedback from the sales team; if this isn’t happening, the potential market and its requirements are not being heard.
Furthermore, the product and sales teams must put their input into drafting the product roadmap. This is because, primarily, only the sales team interacts with the customers about the product; if the product has issues, the customers would not be impressed, which is why the product team is also required to craft the roadmap.
Advantages of Aligning The Product & Sales Team
Many benefits come together due to the product and sales team alignment. Here are the primary ones.
1. Agreeing on a common Strategy
When there is a sync between the sales and product teams, there are fewer chances of disagreement on a common idea, goal or strategy.
The product team should ensure that potential customers are aware of every detail pertaining to the product. Once this is accomplished, it is then on the sales team to turn them into customers.
When these departments are aligned, they can understand and analyze each other’s perceptions along with the objectives. This will assist them in working together and pulling in more leads. Also, it helps the product and sales team to gather each other’s expectations to reach a common goal.
2. Understanding the customer
Sales and product departments deal with different segments. However, the end goal is the same, and that is to interact with leads and customers.
When the sales and product teams have a mutual understanding, deciding on the potential customers becomes flawless. Both departments need to know the customer’s needs at each step.
Through the alignment process, both teams can share their knowledge within themselves to make compelling product roadmaps that will increase the customer base. Plus, the product team can focus on bringing more leads for the sales team.
3. Leads are important
When sales and products are aligned with each other, it guarantees the potential for lead conversion. The product team will only forward lead that will actually be converted. These prospects will be forwarded to the sales team to work alongside further.
The leads play a crucial role, and the sales team must identify them to save time and resources. Once the customer base is established, it will help create an impactful brand image and automatically inculcate customer loyalty.
There are many other advantages, like creating a unified brand perception and shifting the market dynamics.
Some of the strategies that a product manager can follow to align the sales and marketing teams together are:
- When product and sales agree on a common buyer persona, it becomes easy to Identify the ideal customer. A buyer persona resembles an ideal customer and helps achieve the target.
- Using customer feedback is another solution for the alignment of sales and products. The input can be accumulated to jot down the pain points.
Conclusion
If your sales and product teams aren’t aligned, it is time to start now. The picture is clear, and so is the idea behind the implication. Businesses that have their teams aligned with one another are doing the best they can.
The product and sales team needs to glue together to make good products.
Photo by Rodolfo Clix
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