Why PMs Should Not Be Impulsive
If you're a product manager at a software company, there is no more dangerous statement from a sales rep than "we have to build this feature - it's in the contract." Especially if you weren't involved!
Here's a hint. A lot of times, it's not true. I remember a feature bouncing around ChannelAdvisor back in the day within one of my teams for about 3 weeks until it hit my desk. I studied the emails, and then decided to go back to the source.
I walked up to the rep, who seemed to agree it was in there. I then asked the legal team for the agreement. Of course that takes time! After finally getting it, guess what? It wasn't in the agreement.
Talking to the rep again, they got sheepish very quickly. "Well we promised it."
Who promised it? Silence.
The good news is, talking to a customer usually puts all this to bed. The customer often turns out to not care about the feature at all, or it wasn't a deciding factor.
Don't be impulsive in Product. Start with the facts. Verify the agreement, and then interview the customer anyway. You may find what they actually need to make their business grow.
