The B2B Sales Silo Problem and How to Solve it
Let’s start with the problem
Typically, a Product Manager interfaces with multiple Sales Managers, often in a 1:10 ratio.
Each Sales Manager usually manages several customers, sometimes in a 1:5 ratio or more.
The problems starts, when Sales Manager just think about their customers. And do not look beyond the horizon.
While Sales Managers have the best intentions for their customers, this narrow focus can lead to issues:
Silo Thinking: „My customer needs this specific feature.“
Competition: „But my customer needs it right now.“
Tremendous communication effort for the PM
The silo thinking is a real issue in B2B organizations and truly drives Product Manager nuts.
What could be a possible solution?
In my company we took several measurements:
💡Direct Feedback
A value we life since day 1, however, in this case it was (and still is) very important to give direct feedback once the problem occurs again (and again). Missing awareness is sometimes a key root cause to this issue.
How does it address the problem? If I do not know I’m doing something wrong, how am I supposed to make it better next time? I guess you know where this is going.
💡Feature Request Template
Don’t let the channels for feature requests get out of hand, use a ticketing tools such as Github. Do not leave the requester (e.g., the Sales Manager) alone. Give them a template and ask for specific information you need, such as Problem Statement, Solution Idea, Business Value, Time Criticality. This shall help you to get as many information as possible and lead to the requester to really think through what they actually need.
The Business Value is here the key part: here you will see, whether the Sales Manager is in their silo, or whether they actually discussed this need with other (Sales Manager) and all agree, that this is something for everyone, except just one customer.
How does it address the problem? Tickets are not private, which means, everyone can see the tickets which were created. This increases transparency and so also other Sales Manager can see the tickets.
💡Bi-Weekly Feature discussion
One key contributor to break the silo at my company was getting the Sales Manager together on a bi-weekly basis. Prior all feature requests were collected and in this meeting the Sales Manager must discuss every single feature request together and give their input concerning business/customer value, scalability, criticality etc. They must agree on this!
How does it address the problem? Well, having a joint discussion is the silo breaker. You will be surprised, how different the perspectives on each request are. Super helpful and also an eye opener for the Sales Manager.
💡Product Strategy and Goals Alignment
Without having a Product Strategy how do you want to give valid feedback to requests? The Product Strategy paper must be shared within the company, constantly revised and constantly referred to.
And Product Goals? Also a great way to communicate what you want to achieve in a given timeframe (e.g. one year).
What is highly important: share all of this! Discuss all of this! Don’t just work by yourself, it is a team effort!
How does it address the problem? You do not leave the product strategy discussion and decision to someone else. Additionally, it helps aligning everyone early on the joint goals and the strategic direction the product shall take. This will help the Sales Manager in any customer conversation and they can already steer the discussion early in the process. Best case “strange” request do not even get through to the customer.
💡Feedback Loops
A silo problem does not go away just because you put in some measures. You need to constantly measure those and get into feedback loops (e.g. having a retrospective) with the people involved.
I can surely tell you, it takes quite some time to get everyone on board. So you better keep this in mind, when trying to start breaking silos.
But you know what they say: Good things take time!
How does it address the problem? Humans tend to start initiatives but not follow it through. You must make the process a habit, therefore, constant feedback loops are important to align on the process and make it good and efficient for all involved parties.
💡Customer meet Customer
In April this year we had a huge customer event. And here customers discussed their product ideas. And you know what? Other customer gave direct feedback and said “No, this does not make any sense.” Here you go, nothing more to do for me.
On a serious note, this was a great way, so that the industry actually talks to each other, to understand problems and issues and even support each other “Hey, did you already try this or that”.
How does it address the problem? Eventually this also supports the Sales Manager in their role. They are in their silo with the customer, why not break it up and connect customer with customer?
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You might wonder now: “Why is Sales talking to the customer and the PM does not”.
Sales has a strong customer relationship and frequent interactions, making them a valuable source of insights.
Furthermore, our PMs do talk to the customer, but not as frequently and often as the Sales Manager. Therefore, the requests can come in meetings without the PM. In this case, you need channels and processes to ensure the requests get addressed to the right people and managed in an efficient way.
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? But did it help tho ?
Yes, but it is work in progress. In general we can say:
It reduced the amount of misunderstandings
Sales engages in a productive dialogue about feature requests
Sales proactively thinks more about the business and customer value
But again, it is work in progress and changing habits take time
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TL;DR B2B organizations often face silo thinking, where Sales Managers focus narrowly on their customers’ needs, leading to competition and communication overload for Product Managers. To address this, implement solutions such as Feature Request Templates, Bi-Weekly Feature Discussions, Product Strategy and Goals Alignment and Feedback Loops.
These steps help break down silos, promote collaboration, and streamline communication.