HockeyStack’s Post

Oh this one will be hard to swallow for some founders & product leaders. Would love to hear Jason M. Lemkins & Kyle Poyars input on this. Is this an excuse for mediocre sales & marketing performance? Or have they been given an impossible mission? Is it easier to fire a sales rep or marketer than questioning the positioning and product that built the company? What do you think Emir Atli?

now i feel bad because we're cheap, easy to use and have many integrations 😢

There's a category of differentiators that make total sense when realized and articulated by users, but are absolutely pointless when used by vendors. Two are most prominent for me: 1. Easy-to-use (this can be a huge differentiator - something that used to take months and eat up a ton of resources from various teams now runs almost on autopilot. But you'll never believe this claim from a vendor until you see it influence your own processes). 2. Best people/support (if you buy a complex product and need to speak to CS regularly, this is crucial - but no guarantee you'll "click" with your CS manager, so again you need to experience it yourself). And it's always a challenge for marketers - you're tempted to use them because they're backed by customer's words, but you can't. Those are differentiators for retention, not acquisition.

I had read a very interesting quote that the only way to be different in the market is keep being different. Everyday new products are launched. Nothing is inimitable. So how do you differentiate? - keep introducing new solutions to customer problems you're seeing - talk to more and more people in your industry(thought leaders, customers, buyers, competitors) - share your voice online. Be where your buyers are. Start small and as you master few channels enough, jump to other potential channels. Your marketing & conversations needs to facilitate the feedback loop to product development. That's how you will stay ahead

Exactly. The founder owns differentiator. It’s not a marketing exercise.

Even the best sellers can't save poor products. Several founders think their sales team isn't working well but truth is they aren't ready to hear that their baby is in fact ugly.

Perfectly said. The best marketing (or sales, for that matter) team in the world cannot solve for a mediocre product.

Totally agree! In my experience, companies often get caught up in perfecting sales tactics when the real issue is lack of a unique value prop. It's like trying to sell another project management tool in a market flooded with options - no matter how slick your demo is, if you're not solving a real problem in a unique way, you're just adding to the noise. Product differentiation + magic sales project heroes is where the real magic happens.

I hear a lot of chatter from CROs who are saying the exact opposite. I think it shows hubris when a revenue leader thinks they can rescue an undifferentiated offering with ‘sales process’. CEO’s number one job is to ensure the company reaches, then maintains product-market fit. Revenue leaders can’t solve this and they’ll burn themselves out trying.

Another point seen here is “AI integrated customised/tailored solutions”, when the algorithm suggests same or 99% similar solutions to everyone. A true tailored solution is difficult to give to every individual but using it as a bait has, again, has gone to old-school “differentiator”. Gotta do better I guess than just adding “AI integrated” nowadays