My team was hungry to create products that delighted people. We had the talent to build software as charming as Github, Asana, and others. There was only one problem.The sales team focused on the people signing the checks. They wanted to fill every item on the requirements list. Closing the large deals is what mattered.Understanding how the business works is a core to prioritizing roadmaps.
The sales team reviews the features and approves the product backlog. Requirements are prioritized based on what will close the biggest deals.Sales declare that requirements change to help close new deals.Sale-driven companies are great for projects that get defined up-front. Consultancies come to mind here. Consultancies define the project requirements before a contract is signed. When requirements change, the costs get added to the final bill.
Sales-driven companies are not great for products. Enterprise customers often ask for one-off features. These requests incentivize the Sales team to change the company roadmap. Products deteriorate as more specialized settings get added.