Having spent a decade at Google in business and partnership roles, I've had the opportunity to closely observe the dynamic between Sales and Product teams. Collaboration between them is essential for ensuring products meet customer needs, maximize market potential, and drive revenue growth. However, the path to harmony is often hindered by friction.

Sales and Product misalignment in the delivery & GTM phases

Discussions surrounding the pain points between Sales and Product often center on the planning phase, where both teams need to align on customer problems and the subsequent prioritized roadmap. In this post, I will delve deeper into the delivery and go-to-market phases, where Product must keep Sales informed about upcoming features and changes, and provide adequate training.

Most Sales complaints during these phases revolve around the following:

• Lack of visibility into expected roadmap features.
• Difficulty aligning with customers on product releases.
• Confusion regarding delays or feature cancellations impacting client relationships.
• Last-minute notifications of critical launches, leaving them unprepared to address clients effectively.
• Insufficient support for ensuring product commercial success.

Why does this gap exist?

The gap between Sales and Product can be attributed to several factors.

1. Lack of PM role clarity: many companies lack a clear understanding of the PM's role. Is it the responsibility of the PM to ensure cross-functional visibility and alignment during delivery and GTM? Hence the importance to clearly articulate your own definition of product management, specific to your company.
2. Overwhelming workload: Product teams are inundated with requests from leadership and various departments, leading to an overwhelming workload. The time and effort spent on internal alignment can be exorbitant, especially in the current economic climate of downsizing. Many project manager roles are let go, further increasing the alignment burden on product managers.
3. Granularity of existing information: Product teams might assume that Sales can find the information they need about the roadmap and product progress in task management and communication tools such as Jira, Asana, Slack or emails. However, the details provided at the task level are too granular for them, leading to confusion and waste of time.‍
4. On-the-go Sales needs: Sales like to request and consume content on the go, sometimes when talking to customers. They cannot afford to delve deep into emails and reports during these crucial conversations.

Solutions for a harmonious Sales-Product relationship

First and foremost, it's essential for teams to be aligned around common objectives. This alignment allows Product to understand the rationale behind Sales advocating for a specific direction, while also enabling Sales to grasp why Product might decline certain requested features. Shared and tracked OKRs throughout the product lifecycle facilitate this alignment.

Furthermore, effective communication should extend beyond the planning phase. During the delivery and Go-to-Market phases, Product must provide Sales with essential updates from the product roadmap, delivering the right level of information at the right time. Here's how:

• Single source of truth of launches: establish a centralized database that serves as the single source of truth for Sales, providing high-level information without inundating them with unnecessary details. This database should encompass essential aspects such as timelines, key features, updates and training materials.
• Automated reporting: empower Sales, as key decision-makers, by delivering the critical information they need when and where they want it. Ensure they have access to automated reports with the data they require, whether it's through email, Slack, Google Docs, or other preferred tools.
• Intelligent notifications: implement an intelligent notification system that updates sales teams on key changes in the roadmap or feature scope. Deliver these notifications in the tools sales use, such as Slack and email.

The positive impact of alignment

Enhancing the alignment between Product and Sales through the implementation of an automated Launch Success Manager yields significant benefits for companies:

• Sales enablement: Sales teams are aware of the upcoming features and their launch date. Sales are prepared for product launches, equipped to update marketing materials, and create training resources for customers and themselves.
• Customer conversations: by having access to launch data when and how they need it, Salespeople can engage in informed discussions with potential customers, gather feedback, and manage expectations better.
• Competitive advantage: knowledge of the up-to-date roadmap gives sales teams a competitive edge, allowing them to highlight unique selling points and upcoming improvements.
• Customer retention: understanding that requested features are on the roadmap helps retain and upsell existing customers.
• Enhanced focus for PMs: PMs gain more time to work on high-leverage activities and closer collaboration with Sales, including participation in crucial meetings.
• Reduced hiring costs: companies won’t need to recruit intermediaries between Sales and Product anymore. This newfound efficiency leads to cost savings and a more agile organization.

How Luna makes a difference

At Luna, we're committed to fostering a harmonious Sales - Product relationship without disrupting your existing workflows or requiring any data duplication. We seamlessly integrate with your organization's current tools and practices, creating a shared language between Sales and Product. This integration liberates Product Managers from the burden of manual reporting, enabling them to focus on high leverage activities.

With our Launch Success Platform, Sales and Product can confidently navigate together the complex journey of product delivery and go-to-market, enabling them to deliver exceptional products that satisfy customers and drive revenue growth.