《B2B产品管理的20条实用规则》（25000字）

RULE 1 If product managers don’t do their jobs, the other departments will fill the void. 如果产品经理不做好自己的工作，其他部门就会填补空缺

When I first worked as a product manager, I wasn’t all that sure what I was supposed to do. So I waited for everyone else—Engineering, QA, Tech Writing, Marketing, Sales Support, Customer Service—to stake their claims; then I ran around filling in the gaps. At the time, this struck me as a quite handy and pragmatic way to define my job. But it was a bad idea—and not just because I got stuck with all the stuff no one else wanted to do. As it turns out, products end up being better if someone truly owns the entire thing.

当我第一次担任产品经理时，我不太确定我应该做什么。所以我就等着其他人——工程人员、质量保证人员、技术写作人员、市场营销人员、销售支持人员、客户服务人员——来证明他们的观点；然后我跑着填补空白。当时，我觉得这是一种非常方便和实用的方式来定义我的工作。但这是个糟糕的主意——不仅仅是因为我被那些没人想做的事情困住了。事实证明，如果某人真正拥有了整个产品，那么产品最终会变得更好。

As so often happened during the course of my long career, I learned the hard way that good product managers aren’t just pragmatic, they’re proactive. They don’t just sit around waiting to see what everyone else does; they make it clear up front what their role is. And then they fill that role, rather than the gaps.

正如在我漫长的职业生涯中经常发生的那样，我从惨痛的教训中认识到，优秀的产品经理不仅务实，而且积极主动。他们不只是坐在那里等着看别人做什么；他们很清楚自己的角色是什么。然后他们填补这个角色，而不是留白。

Here are just a few of the things that can happen when product managers don’t fill their roles:

以下是一些产品经理不称职时可能发生的事情:

If you don’t provide clear and supported input to the process, the engineers will develop what they please. It’s your responsibility to talk to your customers (and your prospects), check out the competition, listen to the analysts, learn about your industry, learn about your customers’ industries, find out what your sales engineers and customer support reps are encountering, look at those RFPs, and glean market intelligence. And it’s your responsibility to translate all this “stuff” into product requirements that you communicate to your engineers.

如果你不提供清晰和可支持的输入过程，工程师将开发他们想要的。你有责任与你的客户(和你的潜在客户)交流，了解竞争，倾听分析师的意见，了解你所在的行业，了解客户所在的行业，了解销售工程师和客户支持代表遇到了什么，查看这些建议请求，收集市场情报。你有责任把所有这些“东西”转化成产品需求，然后传达给你的工程师。

Yes, there will be things that your developers come up with on their own—and a lot of it will be great. But you need to be the driving force behind what goes into that product, or you could end up with a magnificently engineered product that nobody wants or needs.

是的，你的开发人员自己会想出很多东西，而且很多都是很棒的。但是你需要成为产品背后的驱动力，否则你可能会得到一个没有人想或需要的伟大的工程产品。

If you don’t provide clear direction about your target customers, Sales will go wherever they please. Your products should be built with some particular use and customer in mind…shouldn’t they? Please let Sales know.

如果你对你的目标客户没有明确的方向，销售就会随心所欲。你的产品应该考虑到一些特殊的用途和客户，不是吗？请让销售知道。

Even if your products are entirely horizontal— every company can use a database and a word processor—products need to be targeted to specific customers and/or buyers. You may also have a product that’s better suited for certainsized companies or specific geographies. There may  be good reasons to target industries as well. (If you’re selling to later adopters, for example, Get-a-Life Insurance is more apt to buy if One Life-to-Live Insurance is on your customer list.)

即使您的产品是完全水平的——每个公司都可以使用数据库和文字处理程序——产品也需要针对特定的客户和/或购买者。你也可能有更适合特定规模公司或特定地区的产品。或许也有很好的理由将目标瞄准行业。(例如，如果你要卖给后来的接受者，如果你的客户名单上有一份One Life-to-Live保险，那么Get-a-Life保险就更易于购买。)

The point is, you need to send Sales where they stand the best chance of winning. Even if you have the most generic product, you have to start somewhere. Pick that somewhere wisely, or Sales will pick it for you. And, in the short run, they’re not necessarily going to choose wisely (i.e. in support of your long-run strategy). Sure, they may make a sale or two, but it may not end up being a good thing for your product or your company.

关键是，你需要把销售送到最有可能赢的地方。即使你有最普通的产品，你也必须从某个地方开始。明智地选择它，否则销售人员会帮你挑选。而且，在短期内，他们不一定会做出明智的选择(比如支持你的长期战略)。当然，他们可能会卖出一两个，但这对你的产品或公司来说可能不是件好事。

While we’re on the subject of sales, if you don’t establish pricing, Sales will make it up. You absolutely need to listen to what Sales has to say on the matter. But it’s up to you to determine pricing that will work, that’s commensurate with the value provided, that’s not out-of-whack with the competition, and that is what the market can bear. If not, you’ll be in the wonderful world of having your sales team cannily figuring out what the prospects have in their wallets, and then establishing that as the price du jour—or just low-balling and overpromising to get the deal. (Just watch out when customers get together and compare notes.)

虽然我们谈到了销售，但如果你不确定价格，销售可以弥补。你绝对需要听听销售人员对这件事的看法。但这取决于你自己来决定价格是否合适，是否与所提供的价值相称，是否与竞争不相违背，这就是市场所能承受的。如果没有，你将处在一个美妙的世界里，你的销售团队会敏锐地发现潜在客户的钱包里有什么，然后将其确定为交易价格——或者只是低报并过度承诺以获得这笔交易。(只是要注意客户聚在一起交换意见的时候。)

If you don’t provide clear direction about target customers and the right message for them, Marcom will go wherever they please and say whatever they want. Like Sales, if you’re not providing guidance to Marcom about target customers, they will come up with it on their own. Their programs may make spectacular sense; they may not. It’s best not to leave things to chance.

如果你没有提供目标客户的清晰方向和正确的信息，公关部会想去哪儿就去哪儿，想说什么就说什么。就像销售一样，如果你不针对目标客户向传播人员提供指导，他们会自己想出办法。他们的项目可能壮丽非凡；也可能不会。最好不要听天由命。

Similarly, if Marcom doesn’t know what the product is and does, they will come up with their own story. Again, their story may make spectacular sense; it may not. Again, it’s best not to leave things to chance. I worked for a company that was teetering, very publicly, on the brink of bankruptcy. One day, I saw a banner ad for one of our services. The ad touted our financial stability. I immediately called the ad person in Marcom and pointed out that this wasn’t exactly our strong suit. “But that’s what our buyers are most interested in,” she told me.

同样的，如果传播人员不知道产品是什么，他们会想出自己的故事。同样，他们的故事可能很有意义；也可能没有。再说一次，最好不要让事情听天由命。我曾在一家濒临破产的公司工作过。有一天，我看到了我们其中一个服务的横幅广告。广告吹嘘我们的财政稳定。我立即打电话给公关部的广告人员，指出这并不是我们的强项。“但那是我们的买家最感兴趣的，”她告诉我。

I could go on about how important this rule is, but by now you get it. And you were likely well ahead of me in getting it.

我可以继续说这个规则有多重要，但是现在你明白了。你很可能比我先得到它。

Of all of the Pragmatic Marketing rules, I find this the most important. And that’s not because those who will be filling whatever void you leave are evil and must be stopped. (Hey, you may even want, need, appreciate their suggestions and advice.) But, if engineers are figuring out what’s in the product all on their lonesome… if Sales is pulling prices out of their ear on the way to a call…if Marketing is claiming that your product solves world peace when it’s really designed for warmongers—they’re all trying to do something that is neither their expertise nor their responsibility. That responsibility is yours. Take it and use it.

在所有实用的营销规则中，我认为这是最重要的。这并不是因为那些填补你留下的任何空白的人是有害的而必须被阻止。(嘿，你甚至可能想要、需要、感激他们的意见和建议。)但是,如果工程师正在基于他们的寂寞发现产品中应该有什么……如果销售人员在打电话的时候把价格拉出了他们的耳朵……如果营销是声称你的产品是真正为战争贩子设计，解决了世界和平的时候-他们都在试图做的这些，既不是他们的专业技能也不是他们的责任。这是你们的责任。拿去用吧。

目录

RULE 1 If product managers don’t do their jobs, the other departments will fill the void. 如果产品经理不做好自己的工作，其他部门就会填补空缺... 2

RULE 2 An outside-in approach increases the likelihood of product success. 由外向内的方法增加了产品成功的可能性... 7

RULE 3 Time spent on the  strategic reduces time  wasted on the tactical.花在战略上的时间减少了浪费在战术上的时间... 10

RULE 4 In the absence of market facts, he who owns the compiler wins 在缺乏市场事实的情况下，谁拥有编译器谁就是赢家... 13

RULE 5：Product Management determines the go-to-market strategy; Marcom executes the strategy 产品管理决定产品进入市场的战略；传播人员执行这个策略... 16

RULE 6：Product Management should help sales channels, not individual salespeople. 产品管理应该帮助销售渠道，而不是单个的销售人员。... 18

RULE 7：Be able to articulate your distinctive competence. 能够清晰地表达你产品的独特能力。    18

RULE 8：Your opinion, although interesting, is irrelevant 你的观点虽然有趣，但无关紧要    18

RULE 9：The building is full of product experts. Your company needs market expert 大楼里到处都是产品专家。贵公司需要市场专家... 18

RULE 10：Find market segments that value your distinctive competence 找到那些重视你独特能力的细分市场    18

RULE 11：Don’t expect your sales channel to conduct win/loss analysis 不要期望你的销售渠道去做盈亏分析    18

RULE 12：The answer to most of your questions is not in the building 你大部分问题的答案都不在大楼里    18

RULE 13：Every “product” needs a product manager and a business case 每个“产品”都需要一个产品经理和一个商业案例... 18

RULE 14：Look for opportunities to deliver the remarkable 寻找机会实现卓越... 18

RULE 15：With positioning, the focus is on what we do for the buyers 对于定位，重点是我们为买家做什么    18

RULE 16：Positioning should be complete before you start developing 在开始开发之前，定位应该完成    18

RULE 17：You need a positioning document for each type of buyer  你需要为每种类型的购买者做一个定位文档... 18

RULE 18：Name the product  after positioning is finished  定位完成后再给产品命名... 18

RULE 19：Provide collateral, tools, and programs to support each step in the sales cycle  提供材料、工具和方案来支持销售周期中的每一步... 18

RULE 20：The market-driven  product manager should be the final authority on what goes into the product  市场驱动的产品经理应该是产品的最终权威