November 2016 Issue


  • Product Leadership - Be The Big Fish in the Pond
     
  • Managing Sales Fire Drills - Three Helpful Tips

In the Trenches FAQs
  • What's the Definition of a Business Solution?

Product Management Playbook 
  • Portfolio Marketing - The New & Improved Solutions Marketing

Sidebar
  • What's a Portfolio Playbook and Why Should You Have One?

 
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Quick Links...

The Hardest Thing About Getting Started is Getting Started! 


Eliminate Competing Priorities and Shiny New Object Syndrome! 

 

There's More to Agile Product Management Than User Stories!

 

Stop Positioning Tactical Products and Start Marketing and Selling Strategic Solutions!

 



There are a lot of ways to be a leader in your market space. A common denominator in all of them is knowing how to play to your strengths.

This month we use the "big fish, small pond" analogy to define your market space in a manner that allows you to consistently play from a position of strength.

Enjoy our November issue.
 
 
John Mansour, Managing Partner
Product Leadership
Be The Big Fish in the Pond
 
 
Which category do you fall into? Big fish in 
a small pond, or small fish in a big pond? If you're a big fish in the pond you're probably one of the leaders in your market space.  This is a sign of good focus and leading with your strengths, the foundation of a strong portfolio strategy.

Conversely, if you're a small fish in a big pond it's possible that you're trying to be everything to everyone, which dilutes your strengths and takes away any competitive advantage you might have. In big ponds, little fish are in constant survival mode because the big fish get most of the food, or worse yet, eat the little fish. 

Redefine the size of the pond so you can be one of the bigger fish and consistently play to your strengths!


Managing Sales Fire Drills - Three Helpful Tips 
 
 
As a rule, product managers are an accommodating bunch. But managing sales fire drills can sure test their hospitality. Most product managers are already stretched beyond their limits, and sales requests are just one more distraction that adds to their stress and frustration of trying to do too many things and not doing any of them well.

Here are three common requests from sales and some helpful tips for qualifying each request before pushing the "hair-on-fire" button.



In The Trenches 
 
FAQs For Inquiring Product Management Minds

 
  • What's the Definition of a Business Solution? We Use the Term Loosely for a Lot of Things.
     

Product Management Playbook 
 
Quick Refreshers to Keep Your Team at the Top of Its Game
 
 
 
  • Portfolio Marketing - The New & Improved Solutions Marketing
SIDEBAR
What's a Portfolio Playbook and 
Why Should You Have One?
 
 
Your portfolio playbook is analogous to the game plan for a sports team. The team goal is to beat the competition and grow the fan base. Everyone on the team plays a part in achieving that goal. 

Can you imagine what would happen if every player on a sports team had a different game plan?  That's exactly how many B2B organizations manage their products. It makes the organization's goals difficult if not impossible to achieve because every product is going in a different direction.

In B2B, the purpose of a portfolio playbook is to make it easier for your organization to meet it's goals by aligning product, marketing and sales to common goals. 

Here's the rub - the goals in your portfolio playbook aren't the goals of your organization. They're the goals of your target customer organizations. Why does this matter?

Customer goals form a common vision. And that vision unites product, marketing and sales teams behind a common purpose, just like a game plan for a sports team. 

Sales and marketing take a short-term focus of helping prospective customers meet their goals with existing products, whereas product teams take a longer term approach of helping customers meet those same goals with new capabilities.

If you need to align your product, marketing and sales teams to a common customer-focused goal, contact us to discuss how our customer-centric framework and training programs make it easier than you ever imagined.