The ugly truths of Enterprise B2B sales
How to mitigate pitfalls of early sales by startups In my Big 5 consulting years, I had worked with many large enterprises. My clients had ranged from Fujitsu, Agilent, Cisco, Freescale Semiconductors, Epson, Microsoft, Expedia and others. As a junior I was responsible for strategy, design, implementation and got to learn a lot about how […]
B2B startups guide to the first customer pitch
You only need 9 slides, and one is blank. The First Pitch The first customer pitch is a crucial stepping stone for a startup trying to land an enterprise deal. Crafting a compelling and effective pitch requires a combination of clear communication, understanding the prospect, and showcasing the unique value your startup brings to the […]
Product Manager’s Guide to Commanding Presentations
The importance of crafting and delivering impactful presentations Mastering the art of presentation is a valuable skill that can elevate your communication prowess and captivate any audience. In this guide, discover essential tips to enhance your presentation skills and leave a lasting impact. The Slide That Killed Seven People We often hear about death […]
How technical should a B2B Product Manager be?
Levels of technical proficiency for a B2B product manager Frequently, product managers wonder how technical they should be in order to be effective. There is no right answer. It depends. (As my MBA professor said, if you say “it depends”….you must clarify. Here goes. ) Product managers do a number of things in order to […]
Becoming a whole product manager
B2B product managers should embrace whole product thinking As a B2B product manager, you are primarily responsible for building the right product for your ideal customer that provides them value. In order to ensure that your customer is able to extract the desired value, just relying on the core product features is not enough. You […]
Becoming a whole product manager
B2B product managers should embrace whole product thinking As a B2B product manager, you are primarily responsible for building the right product for your ideal customer that provides them value. In order to ensure that your customer is able to extract the desired value, just relying on the core product features is not enough. You […]
Sources of Competitive Analysis for B2B product managers (Part 2)
Where and how to gather competitive information Part 2 In the first part of this article series on competitive analysis, we discussed the importance of conducting competitive analysis and what type of information to gather. In this article, we discuss where and how to get the relevant competitive information. How to obtain competitive information? So […]
Competitive Analysis for B2B product managers (Part 1)
Importance of being competitive aware and the types of intel to gather Part 1 The common adage for B2B SAAS (or any business for that matter) is not to care about your competitors. Legendary companies like Apple and Amazon have said that they are relentlessly focused on the customer. If you are customer obsessed you […]
Differences in Product Management in startup vs mature product teams
I had the fortune of working in B2B Product Management in a startup (6 years) as well as slightly larger companies (7+ years). Product management is very different in these two sized companies. For the sake of definition, I consider startup to be pre product market-fit and a larger company that has found PM fit […]
Importance of personas in product design
How to use personas in creating a compelling product experience In this article, we delve into a critical aspect that sets the foundation for building successful products: personas. As a product manager, you know that understanding your users is key to crafting experiences that resonate, solve their problems, and drive business growth. Personas are the […]
