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Recent Articles
04019 Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
July 13, 2004
Product Managers usually find that their success depends in large part in how well they work with teams of others to accomplish goals related to requirements, marketing collateral, sales support, analyst relations, and much more.
It’s a situation that involves influence rather than direct control, and direct responsibility but with indirect authority over others. It involves working with people who may be tough to get along with, or trying to get people who can’t stand each other to work with you like you’re all one big, happy family.
It’s a funny thing that while the details of why people don’t get along well are as unique as the individuals involved, the causes often fall into rather simple patterns. And the problems often aren’t sparked by unusual actions, but stem instead from very typical ways that people fail to communicate with and understand each other.
Read on below for some tips on how to appreciate and reach out to a person when your personality types and communication styles don’t naturally mesh.
04018 Building an ROI Calculator
July 6, 2004
One important contribution that Product Managers make is to play a key role in
developing tools for the sales force that qualify prospects and reduce the
sales cycle.
This
is a natural outcome of the Product Manager having deep familiarity not only
with the product and benefits but also with the needs and goals of the
product’s users.
When a business buys software, the critical question it must answer is: “Will
this make more money for us than we are going to spend on it?” If the answer is
yes, and especially if that money is made up within a year of purchase, then
you have a good chance of winning a customer.
An
ROI (Return on Investment) Calculator helps a sales rep work with a prospect to
answer this question. It helps the rep attract prospects and helps them quickly
figure out whether they stand a chance of making a sale.
People
have created all sorts of ROI Calculators for all kinds of different products.
The one you create for your product will be unique to reflect the very
individual ways your product can save money for customers. Read on below for
some tips on building an ROI Calculator that leads to better sales at a lower
cost.
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