Why Product People Must Learn to Sell

Balance is everything—too much sales pressure, and the product falls.

The Growing Gap Between Product and Sales

Many companies start with a great product. Over time, sales and marketing take over. Product leaders lose their voice.

This shift creates problems. Sales teams chase quick wins. Marketing pushes flashy promises. Product quality suffers.

As Steve Jobs said:

“So the people who make the company more successful are the sales and marketing people, and they end up running the companies. And the ‘product people’ get run out of the decision-making forums. The companies forget how to make great products. The product sensibility and product genius… gets rotted out by people… who have no conception of a good product vs. a bad product.”

If you build products, you must learn to sell. Selling isn’t just for sales teams. It’s how great products stay great.

Why Product Leaders Must Understand Sales

No product sells itself. Customers need to see the value.

If product teams don’t understand sales, they struggle to:

✅ Make products that solve real problems

✅ Communicate value in simple terms

✅ Influence decisions at the highest level

A strong product voice keeps a company balanced. Without it, sales leads. The results can be very negative. Over-promising. Under-delivering. Customer trust erodes.

Key Sales Approaches for Product People

If you are a "product person" you already think in terms of solutions. Your focus is on fixing problems and improving customer outcomes. But understanding the solution isn’t enough. Customers must also see the value in your product or service.

To do that, product teams need to adapt their thinking. They should focus on how customers perceive value, not just on how the product works.

Two sales approaches that can help product people do this:

1. Value-Based Selling: Show the ROI

Customers don’t care about features. They care about what they get. Value-based selling means showing the real impact of your product.

📌 What to Do: 

🔹 Translate features into measurable results.

🔹 Use data, case studies, and real-world examples.

🔹 Answer the question: How does this make their business better?

📌 Example: Instead of: “Our platform has an AI-powered scheduling tool.” Becomes: “Our platform reduces scheduling errors by 30%, saving your team 5 hours per week.”

Why It Works: Business leaders need to justify every purchase. Numbers speak louder than features.

2. Consultative Selling: Guide, Don’t Just Present

Customers don’t always know what they need. They might not realise the full value of your product. Consultative selling means acting as a trusted advisor—not just explaining the product but helping them make the best decision.

📌 What to Do: 

🔹 Ask the right questions to uncover their real pain points.

🔹 Connect their problems to your product’s solutions.

🔹 Focus on their success, not just your product’s capabilities.

📌 Example: Instead of: “Our software has the best data analytics.” Ask: “How are you currently tracking performance? Are you missing any key insights?” Then, guide them toward how your product fills the gap.

Why It Works: Helping customers solve a problem builds long-term loyalty.

How Product People Can Apply This

🚀 Shift from features to outcomes – Always ask, “What’s the real benefit here?”

🚀 Get involved in sales conversations – Listen to customer concerns firsthand.

🚀 Help sales teams craft better messaging – Make sure value is always clear.

By using Value-Based Selling or Consultative Selling, product people can connect their expertise to revenue growth. They don’t have to become salespeople—but they do need to understand the sales process in order to sell their vision.

This is how great products stay at the heart of great companies.

Sell or Be Ignored

Great products don’t win by accident. They win because their value is clear.

If product people don’t sell, someone else will. And that person might not care about the product.

Become proficient in sales. Keep control. Build products that truly succeed.

Your product deserves to win. Make sure people see why.

Let’s Improve Your Sales Enablement

If you’re a product-focused business owner, your sales strategy should be just as strong as your product.

Get in touch with us today to discuss how to improve your sales enablement and ensure your product’s value is crystal clear to every customer. 🚀

References:

Sen, P. (Director). (2012, November 26). Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview [Video recording]. Revolver Entertainment.