Jason M. Lemkin tells sales leaders to stop publicly blaming the product for poor results. Blaming the product signals fear and kills your credibility with the board. If the product is genuinely broken, talk to the CEO privately, not the room.
Chapters
What's the simplest excuse in sales? What's the easiest one to come up with? People don't want the product. Product sucks. It's a sign of a loser CRO or VP of sales is blaming the product. Doesn't mean there isn't truth to it. It doesn't mean in quiet moments, the management, you should have discussions with the management team about what you want. If you really believe the product sucks, you should leave. Like if it's really below, below a certain line, you should leave. But whatever you do, do not blame the product. It just, nothing makes a CRO. Listen, lying about the numbers is pretty bad. Missing the quarter is pretty bad, but just railing into the product, it's like, um, not only is it like railing into your children or your aunt or your parents, or it's just, I know that I would, I would immediately pull the CEO aside after the board meeting and say, listen, you got it. You got you. It's not going to work because if they've lost confidence, you're, you're, it's, it's a version of fear. It's a version of fear is blaming the product because it's true.