Originally published in 2010. Updated and republished in May, 2015. A reader asks: "Can you please enlighten me on the art of pricing?" At the risk of misinterpreting, I believe the reader is asking specifically about enterprise software, where price lists are usually secret, transaction volumes are relatively low, and »
Sales people are known for having a short-attention span -- they are always focused on the needs of their in-progress deals. Many won't put in the time to learn all about the competition until they absolutely need to. So, you need a way to get them up-to-speed on the competition »
Economics are a big deal when deciding whether to go with a NoSQL, NewSQL, MPP DBMS, or traditional RDBMS. Many of the products (in all four of these categories) claim that economics are on their side, because either… Their products are ultimately cheaper than the alternatives, or Their products produce »
Almost every time I read about a new B2B startup or product, I get a sense of déjà vu. Alas, it's not a glitch in the Matrix. It's because pretty much every product pitch sounds exactly the same. Watered down, generic, and 100% free of taste. A grinder is at »
In our coupious spare time, Product Management bloggers just LOVE writing haikus. Check it: here (Pivotal PM), and here (my previous post), and here (Product Management Meets Pop Culture), and here (Tyner Blain), and here (On Product Management). The fun just never ends. Anyway, here's some brand, spankin' new haiku. »
Oh goodness. This April Fool's send-up of technology analysts has been creeping around the Internet for some time. But this is the first time I've seen it. Please read. Very funny stuff. It's about Harvester Research's launch of ForceSales.com, the industry's first Analyst-as-a-Service (Aaas) offering. I especially like their »
In my last post, I mocked Crypto-Descriptions of companies and products. Microsoft and Oracle were the targets of my crankiness. Anyway, inspired by the ensuing discussion, I figured it might be fun to see if I can create the Worst. Positioning. Statement. Ever., but still have it be believable as »
I wish I could start a vendetta against the Marketing Cryptospeak that is so prevalent in the software industry. You know... those meaningless, boilerplate-ish, hyper-generic, jargon-oozing, designed-by-committee, ridiculously cryptic descriptions of what a product (or company) supposedly does? Those nonsense-filled sentences that leave readers so confused about what type of »
Remember this? The Product Management Haikus (originally inspired by Pivotal PM)? I am inspired to once again dust off my quill pen and write some more poetry. Poetry that no one but you, a reader of a product management blog, could possibly understand. If you are similarly inspired, post your »
Inspired by the fine folks at Pivotal Product Management, here are some enthralling and inspirational haiku I whipped together. Join in the fun! Submit your own haiku in the comments. Only bad PMs Don't install or even use The products they own. Their go-to excuse: "Technically impossible," Code Boyz and »
OK, true confessions. I lust after real estate. When it comes to gawking at beautiful homes and all the fantabulous things in them, I am totally into it. And when I go away for the weekend, I am prone to fantasizing about buying a vacation home or even just flat-out »
Today we have an excellent guest post from an anonymous IT Industry Analyst! I'm not naming names, but this person is from a firm that sounds kind of like Gardener or Forest Rangers or something similar. Enjoy this article. As you would expect from someone who writes "planning assumptions" and »
At most companies, everyone agrees that Win-Loss Analysis is very important. After all, without understanding why you are winning deals and why you are losing, how are you to know what you’re doing right and what you need to change? For example: Are your sales people blowing it by »