The Art of Selling Your Vision: The Power of an Effective Product Roadmap
Are product roadmaps sales tools? Absolutely!
Think of a product roadmap as a sales pitch for your product. It doesn’t just show what you’re making but also why you’re making it. Thinking of your roadmap this way is helpful when you want to get support from stakeholders and gauge interest from customers — important people who care about your product’s future.
When you share your roadmap with stakeholders, you’re setting expectations. You show them where your product is going and how it will get there. This clear picture can build trust and confidence, making it easier for stakeholders to back your product. After all, people are more likely to put time, money, or resources into something they understand and believe in.
When you share a roadmap with customers, you qualify them while setting expectations and conducting user research. In the process of sharing your future direction, you learn their needs. And by listening to their needs, you build trust and confidence. Conversations around the roadmap uncover important buying criteria, ultimately shortening the sales cycle.
So, imagine your roadmap as the rockstar salesman and closer when you seek investment or engage with customers.
How to use roadmaps to sell
Leverage product roadmaps as sales tools to:
- Set Expectations. Your product roadmap gives stakeholders and customers a clear understanding of what to expect from your product. This helps to build trust and confidence.
- Build excitement. A product roadmap can help to get people excited about your product. You can create a sense of anticipation and excitement by showing them what’s coming up. A roadmap should stir curiosity and eagerness, turning spectators into participants awaiting the next chapter of your product’s journey.
- Energize. Roadmaps motivate the team tasked with the creation and delivery of the product. Roadmaps inspire the team by laying bare the ‘why’ and the bigger vision, creating a sense of shared purpose and common objectives. Essentially, you are selling the team on your vision of the future.
- Market. Roadmaps guide the creation of sales materials and release communications, which are marketing documents. Used correctly, a roadmap serves as a beacon, guiding and informing your communication strategy around the product and product releases, maximizing their impact and reach.
- Qualify and close. A product roadmap can help you qualify leads by showing them which features are most important to them and when they can expect them to be released. It can also be used to show them how the product can help them achieve their goals. As a result, the roadmap can help you to close deals faster and more efficiently as you engage customers in conversations about their needs relative to the product roadmap.
Here are a few tips when using your roadmap as a sales tool
Here are some additional tips for using your product roadmap as a sales tool:
- Keep your product roadmap up-to-date. This will show potential customers that you’re serious about your product and that you’re committed to delivering on your promises.
- Make your product roadmap easy to understand. Use clear and concise language and avoid jargon.
- Tailor your product roadmap to your target audience. Highlight the features that are most important to your target customers.
- Use your product roadmap to generate leads. Share your product roadmap on your website, marketing materials, and industry events.
Sell, sell, sell
In short, product roadmaps aren’t just plans — they’re sales tools! They show your product’s projected future and help us win over those who care: customers, team members, and stakeholders. An up-to-date, clear roadmap excites people and builds trust in your product. So, let’s make our roadmap work for us!
But at the same time, remember, a roadmap is merely a tool, and like any tool, you determine its effectiveness as the product manager.
It’s incumbent on you to make the sale. So sell, sell, sell!
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