How Do Product Teams Perceive Their Relationship With Sales?
In our recent study of high performance product teams we asked a question regarding how product teams view their relationship with the sales organization. As it turns out, just over 9% of product teams report being “completely aligned with the sales organization with little or no friction.” Here’s a closer look at the findings.
Product Teams Perceptions of the Relationship with Sales
When asked how they would describe the relationship between the sales organization and the product team, nearly three quarters of responders, 73.41%, indicated that they are either mostly aligned with the sales force with occasional friction or completely aligned with little or no friction.
Still, over a fourth of respondents were both lacking alignment and feeling a significant amount of friction (23.70%) or were in a constant state of friction with the sales force (2.89%).
For these companies, there is definitely significant opportunity for improvement in relations that have the potential to greatly benefit the bottom line.
Are All Forms Of Friction Actually A Problem?
While this year’s study did not differentiate between different types of friction it is our belief that some friction can be healthy – if managed appropriately. Healthy friction can result from the product team and the sales organization appropriately channeling their different points of view in the best interests of the organization.
Product teams typically take a longer view of what they are trying to accomplish normally represented in a product strategy or a 12 month roadmap. Conversely, sales teams are under pressure to deliver on a quarterly basis. Therefore, it is not improbable that friction results from these two variances in perspective and expectations. The key is to effectively balance the long-term goals of the product team against the shorter-term needs of the sales organization and this often entails compromise or in more extreme cases adjudication by executive stakeholders.
Conclusion
If properly managed, friction can be healthy and potentially lead to better outcomes. If poorly managed, or left to fester, friction can lead to toxicity. The good news is that the majority of product teams perceive that they are effectively handling the sales relationship. The bad news? Over a quarter of product teams currently report a high degree of dysfunction in this important relationship.
So that leaves us with a final question. How do sales organizations perceive THEIR relationship with the product team? The other half of this equation will be very telling.