This is one of a series of essays about how to relate to common stakeholders. Here, I’ll provide some tips for working successfully with revenue people, like marketing and sales.
- I have never worked with marketing or sales people that didn’t want some or many features and products I did’t have or ever plan to have. Many of these requests came with promises and guarantees of success, revenue, friendship and more (though I was never offered a bribe or kickback, sadly). It doesn’t mean the product is deficient, or you need to chase the supposed opportunities. Triage them reasonably, and individually, but just know that the revenue people always want more.
- Similarly, these functions always want or expect things on impossible time frames. Especially in large or silo’d organizations, where these people often have little concept of the work needed to deliver on their promises. Again, be cynical but optimistic. Gauge the risk, and if you can’t meet their timelines communicate that as soon as you’re sure of it. Get the pain out of the way.
- A corollary of the above is that these are the stakeholders (besides execs) who always want hard deadlines, and are therefore usually the most adamant about thinking about things in waterfall type processes and phased, scheduled, commitments. Do what you need to accommodate them, but never let their need for “dates dates dates” become a thing in-and-of-itself. Deadlines are for customers, press, partners or revenue, not because sales thinks you should have them.
- Sales people are like customers. Listen to them, yes, but pay attention to what they really say and do. Go on sales calls. Go to conferences. How do they talk about the product(s)? What do they really focus on? What do competitors focus on? What is the zeitgeist they’re selling in? Study them in their native environment and discover their true needs.
- Like bonding with engineers over programming languages, one good way to bond with sales (and marketing) is over competitor intelligence. Talk about your competitors, their product, their silliest shortcomings or recent flops. Be genuine and show them you know what they’re up against. It will help them open up about what they think of your product, and focus you on your common enemies.
- Let marketing and sales own public terminology, but listen to the words they actually use — always participate in naming and major branding decisions, if possible. Names matter.
- Just because they bring in the money doesn’t make them the boss. Beware tolerating toxic sales people or allowing them to set the product roadmap. Being pushy, or good at sales, does not make them good product people. Additionally, unlike engineers, in many industries they are generally low skill and replaceable. Be respectful of how vital they are to your livelihood, but they are, more than other functions, best kept contained in their domain. Visit them, do not let them in your domain too often.
- If you are selling a new product, or are in a startup doing enterprise, or any kind of in-house sales, and your first sales person is failing, quickly move on from them. As stated above, engage with the reasons for their failure to iterate on your product, but never let a lone salesperson determine the fate of a product. Now… if your second salesperson also flounders, you probably have some product market fit problems. Or your product might just be a piece of shit.