IT Motives’ Post

Wanna know the thing that's always worried me most about building an early stage SaaS product? It's not... • How to do product discovery better (it could always be better) • How to define—and redefine—our strategy (usually it's fine, for now) • How to shift more of our work to outcome-based vs. feature requests (we'll get there) All of these things are important, but they're not where I look to understand how the product team is performing. When I first stepped into a product leadership role, I certainly did. But not anymore. Now, I'm focused much more on questions like these: • Does the marketing team have what they need to 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 the latest and greatest version of the product to the right audiences with the right message? • Can the sales team talk a prospect through the latest metrics and proof points on how specific features are driving ROI for customers? • How often does a CSM get to reach out to a customer letting them know we got their most-requested enhancement shipped? ...and so on. You'd be right to call out that a number of these aren't necessarily the job of a product leader, or even a product manager. But it all flows back to product, and if you're going to lead product, especially in early stage SaaS, then that all flows back to you.

As a product manager, you know asking and answering questions is a key part of your role. The best ways to avoid getting bogged down in questions daily? 🧘 Pause with gratitude 🧩 Figure out what information gaps exist 📕 Create an internal knowledge base 🌟 Showcase the roadmap's impact Find out more: https://bit.ly/3WVx3Jt #ProductManagement #Stakeholders

OLO's mission is to help companies and leaders achieve higher levels of horizontal and vertical alignment. While I've built great products, the delta between winners and losers usually comes down to a high performing organization (see Patrick Lencioni's The Advantage for more on that). Peter Dudka Provides some excellent examples of what it means to think and act in ways that foster such alignment. We often complain about silos and then ask to be "left alone" to run our silos. You can't have both. Engagement wins the race.

Is your product not performing as expected? 🤔 It's time to explore why: Are your goals misaligned? Neglecting customer feedback? Missing the market? Find out the common pitfalls and consider hiring a Product Manager to get back on track🚀

First 30 days in a new role/job as a Product Manager:Set yourself up for success Suggestions on how to get the most out of your first month in a new role Dive deep into Product Use the product extensively. If it’s a API - write code as how an engineer at your customer end would do it. If it is for SME’s, get a domain/company setup and go through the flow. Critique the product and share your findings with your team and stakeholders. Review all the documentation, videos, and guides available Talk to end users/customers Engage with end users. Listen to their context and how the product fits into their lives. Try to breathe and live in the context of your Top personas. This is sometime hard for products which serve cohorts like IT admin, CXO’s - but get creative. Cold reach outs in LinkedIn, going to conferences where they go - whatever it takes. Make it low stakes indicating that you are just looking to learn and is not a formal user research. Share your notes to build trust. Leverage Data Get Hands on your product telemetry and build usage, engagement, retention and monetisation funnels from scratch. Share it with peers/analytics/engg teams for gut checks. Understand both quantitative and qualitative feedback(app stores, NPS/CSAT surveys, Customer support tickets,G2,TrustPilot, Sales feedback etc.) for your product. Connect with the Team  Talk to cross-functional teams—engineering, design, marketing, support, customer success etc. Be a sponge and take notes. You can pattern match and absorb all the comments later. One tactic which has helped me - At the end of each conversation, ask for one more person you should speak to, and follow the trail Share, Reflect and Refine Publish weekly posts of what you have learned, ask for feedback and identify what you should focus on next.Try not to make or suggest large wholesale changes to Product,Process or People. After 30 days, reflect with your manager and pick one key initiative for the next 60 days. Any other suggestions which has worked for you. Leave in comments !!

What are the key differences between Inbound and Outbound product manager roles and their responsibilities? Inbound Product Manager: • Focus: Internal development. • Works with engineering, design, and QA to define product strategy and build the product. • Key Deliverables: Product roadmap, requirements. Outbound Product Manager: • Focus: External communication. • Collaborates with sales and marketing to launch the product and engage customers. • Key Deliverables: Go-to-market plans, messaging, and sales enablement. In short: Inbound manages what to build, while outbound manages how to sell it. So what role are you playing in your organisation?

The most effective product managers are those who can balance the vision of the leadership, the demands of the sales team, and the capabilities of the engineering team to create products that truly solve user problems.

One thing that I miss about being a full-time Product Manager is writing those 500-word emails explaining why a feature being requested by the sales team as the top priority can not be picked up in the next one year. I just miss it 😅 #productmanagers

When I transtioned into a product manager years back, I began to hear a lot of big acronyms in business/product conversations. A lot were initially strange but are now second nature. They are not only relevant to PMs but founders, executives, marketing/growth and finance professionals. Here are some of the most common: MRR/ARR - Monthly Recurring Revenue and Annual Recurring Revenue CAC - Customer Acquisition Cost GTM - Go to Market KPI - Key Performance Indicator LTV - Life Time Value MVP - Minimum Viable Product USP - Unique Selling Point/Proposition B2B/B2C/B2G - Business to Business/Consumer/Government CLV - Customer Lifetime Value CPA - Cost per Acquisition CTA - Call to Action EBITA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization MMP - Minimum Marketable Product DAU/WAU/MAU - Daily/Weekly/Monthly Active Users ROI - Return on Investment Have I missed any? Please add in the comments Just learning any for the first time? Let me know. You are welcome😊 And please share for others to benefit too.

Product Manager's Go-to checklist: 1. Monitor product performance using metrics. 📊 2. Review customer service reports for improvement opportunities. 🛠️ 3. Strategize a smooth product launch plan. 🚀 4. Identify unique selling points of your product. 💡 5. Maintain focus on product objectives. 🎯 6. Outline actionable steps to achieve goals. 📝 7. Ensure organization of essential documents. 🗂️ 8. Collaborate with team for timely execution. 👥 9. Communicate clearly and frequently with team and stakeholders. 💬 10. Stay updated on competitors' activities. 👀 #productmanagement #productmanager #checklist #goals