Your product and sales teams are at odds over priorities. How do you find a balance?
When your product and sales teams clash over priorities, it's essential to find a middle ground that aligns with your company's goals. Here's how to achieve that balance:
How do you balance priorities between your product and sales teams?
Your product and sales teams are at odds over priorities. How do you find a balance?
When your product and sales teams clash over priorities, it's essential to find a middle ground that aligns with your company's goals. Here's how to achieve that balance:
How do you balance priorities between your product and sales teams?
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When product and sales teams clash, focus on common goals: delivering value to customers and driving business growth. Listen to both perspectives—sales understands immediate needs, while product focuses on the long-term. Align priorities through a balanced roadmap, regular communication, and shared wins to foster collaboration.
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Both Sales and Product teams need to understand that their ultimate goal is to provide the value to customers. They should have regular meeting over the product roadmap and prioritize the items in terms of ROI and customer needs. Sales team should also ensure that instead of focusing on one customer requirement, they should be focused on product features which are generic in nature.
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In my experience, both Sales & Marketing should have same objective towards business goals. The sales might have more focus on revenue, while marketing metrics could be focused on lead generated & promotion of products so both department can allow work together to meet success in business.
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To balance priorities between product and sales teams, use the Prioritization Matrix to evaluate initiatives based on impact and feasibility. Engage both teams in Joint Roadmap Workshops to align long-term product goals with short-term sales needs. Leverage Agile Scrum Sprints to integrate both perspectives, allowing flexibility for immediate sales priorities while keeping the long-term product vision intact. Regular cross-functional meetings foster transparency and collaboration, ensuring that both teams are aligned with business objectives.
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-> You can make use of data-driven decision-making to evaluate the potential impact of each priority. For example, which initiatives will maximize ROI, strengthen customer retention or improve market positioning? -> Form a collaborative group with representatives from both teams to regularly discuss and align on priorities. This fosters mutual understanding and shared accountability. -> Adopt an iterative approach where short-term sales-driven needs can coexist with longer-term product roadmap goals. Allocate capacity for both in sprints to ensure neither team feels neglected.
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Balancing the priorities of product and sales teams requires active collaboration and clear communication. First, establish shared goals that align both teams with the overall company mission, encouraging a sense of joint ownership. Regular meetings foster transparency, allowing each team to express their needs and constraints. Utilize data-driven insights to prioritize features and initiatives that support sales objectives while also enhancing product quality. Empathy is vital; understanding each team's challenges helps bridge gaps. Ultimately, fostering a culture of teamwork transforms conflicts into collaborative problem-solving, driving success for both product and sales.
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I facilitate a joint discussion between product and sales teams to align on shared goals and priorities. By understanding each team’s perspectives, focusing on customer needs, and finding common ground, I create a collaborative roadmap that balances short-term sales targets with long-term product vision.
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A/B testing is essential. Not only at a time of crisis, when it turns risky, but rather way before the first problems arise. Sales generate insights that can modify products or their iterations. But sales techniques must actualize and adapt to new times and audiences, which demand new products. Yes, meetings and communication. But also short, mid and long term result reviews on a weekly and monthly basis. In the end, it's all about actual team work. There's no competition. And as a reminder, some projects will be sales-led, and others will be project-led. How do we know? Study, observe and analyze constantly. Learn to ride the wave with a few gut-planned risks here an there.
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To balance priorities between product and sales teams, - Foster collaboration and communication. - Involve sales in product prioritization to align on customer needs and business goals. - Encourage cultural alignment by understanding each team’s challenges and objectives, ensuring both work towards the company’s vision. - Use a sales prioritization matrix to focus on high-value opportunities, optimizing resources and aligning efforts with strategic goals. - Establish clear guidelines and cultivate a culture that values customer-centricity while driving growth, ensuring decisions benefit both the customer and the organization
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To achieve a balance through regular meetings, shared roadmap, and clear communication, the foundation lies in Continuous Prioritization Exercise. Work with the Product Manager, who should co-lead the exercise with you and representative of the Sales team. On a monthly/quarterly basis, do the following: - Take a tab of the new idea - Conduct a preliminary discovery to define and position the idea - Strategically assess the idea (is it aligned with the vision and mission of the company) - Perform a deeper analysis and follow the PLC process - For prioritization use frameworks like RICE or Impact Effort matrix Continue with this iterative approach
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