Secret to Product Success: Relationships with Sales and Marketing
In the latest episode of Some Goodness, Richard Ellis Talked with Darin Archer, YOTTAA's Chief Product Officer. Darin explained that he (like most good product leaders) learned the hard way that great products often fail. He shared a truth about product leadership...most product leaders think building great products is enough. It's not. Product success depends on two relationships: sales and marketing.
Sales teams know what customers want. Marketing teams know how to reach them. Most product leaders ignore both. They build products in isolation. Then they wonder why nobody buys.
Here's how to fix that.
Listen to Your Sales Team
When sales complains about pricing or missing features, don't argue. They're telling you about real problems. Dig deeper. Ask questions. Find out what's really happening in the market.
Your sales team faces rejection every day. They hear every objection. They know why customers say no. This information is gold. But most product leaders waste it.
Think like a journalist. When a sales rep complains, ask why. Then ask why again. Keep asking until you find the real problem. The first answer is rarely the whole story.
Trust Your Marketing Team
Marketing knows how to tell your story. Let them do it. Give them room to experiment. Don't force them to use your technical language.
In the podcast, Darins shared a story. His team once had a CMO who hated testing. Refused to try new approaches. The team found a workaround. They showed the CMO one version of the website. Everyone else saw test versions. The tests won. They proved what the marketing team knew all along.
Modern marketing teams can test ideas quickly. They can try different messages. Different designs. Different approaches. This power is wasted if you don't use it.
Smart product leaders use marketing insights before building features. Test the message first. If you can't explain the value, maybe there isn't any.
Build Real Relationships
Don't just talk to executives. Talk to everyone. Hold office hours. Join sales calls. Sit in marketing meetings. Learn what happens on the front lines.
The best product insights come from unexpected places. A junior sales rep might spot a trend before anyone else. A marketing writer might understand the customer better than you do. A support agent might know the real problems customers face.
You'll miss all this if you stay in your office. If you only talk to other executives. If you think you already know everything.
Change How You Work
Here's what Darin does differently now:
- He joins sales pipeline reviews. Not every week. But enough to hear what's happening. As Darin put it, "I listen more than I talk."
- He holds open office hours. Anyone can join. They talk about anything. Sometimes he hears problems he never knew existed.
- He reads marketing's customer interviews. Not just the summaries. The full transcripts. He wants to hear customers' actual words.
- He admits when he's wrong. This is the hardest part. But it's crucial. Your team needs to know you'll listen. That you'll change your mind when the evidence says you should.
The Real Job
Your job isn't to be the smartest person in the room. It's not to have all the answers. It's to create an environment where good ideas can win.
Sometimes those ideas will come from you. Often they won't. That's okay. Your job is to make the product successful. Not to prove how smart you are.
Great product leaders build bridges. Between sales and product. Between marketing and engineering. Between what customers say and what they need.
This isn't easy. It takes time. Patience. Humility. But it works.
What Success Looks Like
You'll know you're doing it right when:
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Sales brings you problems, not solutions
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Marketing tests ideas before you build them
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Team members at all levels tell you the truth
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Your best ideas come from others
This approach won't make you popular with everyone. Some product leaders will say you're not "visionary" enough. Some engineers will say you're not "technical" enough.
Ignore them. Focus on results. Are customers buying? Are they staying? Are they telling others? That's what matters.
The Bottom Line
Every product success is a team success. Your brilliant idea means nothing if sales can't sell it. Your perfect feature is worthless if marketing can't explain it.
Want to be a better product leader? Start by admitting you don't have all the answers. Then go find the people who do.
Go listen to the whole episode: Some Goodness - Episode 14.
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