You don’t always want to cut out the middle man.
Sure, sometimes they’re an unnecessary communication step between two parties. Often, though, having someone in that spot serves a critical purpose — be it editing, translation or having another eye on a project.
This is especially true in the communication pipeline between product, sales and customer. Not only does a salesperson have the necessary skills to communicate how a product would satisfy the specific needs of each customer, they also bring customer feedback to the product team. As a result, salespeople play a key role in developing a product’s roadmap.
“Being on the front lines allows us to hear directly where the product need is and provides an understanding of how our service will impact a client’s business,” said Rick Holtman, VP of sales and media security for cybersecurity company HUMAN. “Oftentimes, sales is able to identify early market changes and discern where new pockets of attainable growth are forming.”
As a company dedicated to stopping bot attacks, it is critical for HUMAN’s team to know what is happening in the market and adapt as bot behavior changes. The sales team plays an important role in this task: By having a direct line of communication and trust to clients, they learn about their experiences and needs and can bring that information back to product to influence feature development.
“Having prospects and clients actively participate in the development process makes them feel that their business needs are being heard and adequately addressed,” he said.
Built In sat down with Holtman to discuss the benefits of a sales-product relationship and the advice he has for strengthening that bond.
Give an example of how you have impacted the organization’s product roadmap. What was your goal, and what was the result?
Sales can often have a major impact on a company’s product roadmap.
As a specific example, we recognized that the video game category has incredible potential for explosive and sustained growth. The goal was to refine our existing service and offer an enhanced product set that addressed this new and developing market segment. We accomplished this by consulting with clients and prospects to ascertain the necessary feedback and understanding to move into the product development phase.
The result of this collaborative approach is a set of engaged prospects and a full and growing sales pipeline.
What are some tips you’d offer to sales leaders looking to build constructive relationships with their company’s product team?
One of the best tools I have used to earn trust and credibility with the product team is, simply, education. If the sales team is able to truly convey market needs and incorporate prospect feedback, it leads to sales and product team alignment. This core value is essential for a healthy internal relationship and ultimately the engine for company growth.
Another valuable method to keep sales and product in lockstep is to create a Slack channel dedicated to a growing market category and invite the product team. This provides a medium to continually demonstrate how topical and relevant the category is by providing a stream of market updates. Articles, market research and prospect feedback are all important sources of information to feed the sales-product dynamic.
One last tip is to make sure that the sales and product teams do not become siloed. Facilitating regular, in-person interaction is essential to creating the feeling of being one large team working to accomplish a shared goal.
If the sales team is able to truly convey market needs and incorporate prospect feedback, it leads to sales and product team alignment.”
In your opinion, why is it important for sales teams to have an influence over the product roadmap?
We often maintain the closest relationship with the prospect or customer.
Trust is often formed at this phase of a sales cycle — delivering a product that positively impacts a client organization is how you create customer lifetime value and evolve from a vendor to a trusted partner. Strengthening the sales and product team dynamic within a company unquestionably leads to more meaningful and productive client relationships.
