Delight the Customer
Rachel Docherty
Crushing It?
At my last company, due to market dynamics and an R&D budget crunch, I moved from Product Manager to Account Management. I knew that I needed direct sales experience to further develop my resume on paper. But, deep down I was like “Yeah yeah, I’ve met with customers I understand what it takes to get someone to buy something.” After spending a year in sales, I now know that meeting with customers is only 25% of the sales job, and unless you’ve been responsible for the whole effort it is difficult to fully understand. As a product manager, I was always looking at my sales experience with an eye towards how could the product managers help me perform. I thought I crushed it as a product manager. I did some things well, however after being a sales rep for the products I managed there were obvious holes in my performance.
My fundamental realization was that sales reps, who communicate the products, are the product manager’s real customers. If you would have asked me before I was in sales who my customer was, I may have answered “the sales reps.” But, I didn’t really understand what that meant. Especially, since I was meeting with the end user so much, it was easy to lose track of who was my real customer.
Delight the Customer
Most of what I recognized as missing from my skill set centered around communication. As the product manager, I spent a lot of time making sure my product documentation, marketing collateral, and technical documents looked impressive and were easy to use. When I moved into sales, I realized that the other sales reps did not know anything about what I had created. Sure, I sent emails with my documents to these men/women and I had mentioned it once or twice in meetings. However, just mentioning something or putting one printed brochure into the hands of a sales representative does not result in them using it in a presentation or understanding what the documents are for. And, the sales reps I was working alongside were top notch. The reason the information wasn’t absorbed or used, was because I failed to communicate it in a way that they could recognize the value. I wasn’t delighting my customer.
As a sales rep, I was delighted when I was meeting with a customer, could clearly communicate the value of the product, and answer all their questions easily. Most of the time, this feeling came when I was discussing the products that I had been the product manager of. I knew everything about the products! I had just spent 2 years digging into every detail about the product, which equipped me to be a great resource for the client. The other sales reps, didn't have this advantage. The product manager must ensure the sales reps are positioned to feel this delight every time they’re selling or communicating their product to the client.
Position them to Win
The goal is to have a sales force with the knowledge and confidence to communicate your products' value to their customers. The key points for communicating with sales reps are: Clarity, Consistency, and Listening.
Clarity
Everything you do when communicating with the sales reps needs to be done clearly. Starting with the portfolio of products. The portfolio needs to be simple so that it is clear when to use the product, why choose it over another option, and what are the added features that can be deployed. Beyond the products, the messaging must be simple and clear. Basically, more images and less text. The goal needs to be that anyone, in the business or out, would understand the value the product provides.
Sometimes the product or its application is extremely complex. If so, all the communication needs to be created with an eye towards simplicity and clarity. Break it up. Simplify each step and communicate them individually so that the process or assembly is easily understood. Multiple simple messages of the individual parts over time will build a deeper understanding than one long complex message that never be fully absorbed.
Consistency
While crafting the right message is critical, consistently communicating your message may be even more important. Early on as a product manager I made the mistake of thinking that once I’ve emailed or presented a product once that I was done communicating. I was wrong. No one ever expects to get the sell on the first try, why would your internal customers be any different?
Your message must be communicated consistently over time for it to become fully accepted into the knowledge base of the organization. It has to be done in a way that is fresh every time to avoid having your customers become numb to your words. Email, post videos, give presentations, go to lunch with them, just constantly grab their attention with your message.
Nick Rhyder, Dandilion
Listening
Just like understanding the market creates your value to the organization, knowing your customer will make sure you are bringing them the most value. What is the best way to reach them? What do they really care about? How do they feel about the products? What do their customers care about? Ask questions, listen to the answers, and act on what you learn. On top of learning how to serve them better, you will learn more about the market as well.
Clearly and consistently communicating with and listening to your sales group is key to building trust, product understanding, and success with your products.