Comments on: The Joy of Sales Kickoff http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/ Product management and the ugly side of software product development. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:34:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: The Cranky Product Manager Responds to the Cranky Sales Engineer - Part 2 | The Cranky Product Manager http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-2916 The Cranky Product Manager Responds to the Cranky Sales Engineer - Part 2 | The Cranky Product Manager Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:12:40 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-2916 [...] Manager’s long-winded response to the Cranky Sales Engineer’s diatribe on training at Sales Kickoff.  See part 1 [...] [...] Manager’s long-winded response to the Cranky Sales Engineer’s diatribe on training at Sales Kickoff.  See part 1 [...]

]]> By: Persona Non Grata | The Cranky Product Manager http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-878 Persona Non Grata | The Cranky Product Manager Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:41:29 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-878 [...] OK, contrary to popular theory, the Cranky Product Manager is not dead.  She blames her lack of blog posts on the holiday madness, especially her miserable attempt to play Santa for her infant. And then, just as the holidays wrapped up and the last thank you note was written, the Cranky Product Manager was held against her will in a smoke-filled hotel for a entire week, forced to give product training to a bunch of hungover sales droids. And then attend their booze-drenched, endless awards ceremony. [...] [...] OK, contrary to popular theory, the Cranky Product Manager is not dead.  She blames her lack of blog posts on the holiday madness, especially her miserable attempt to play Santa for her infant. And then, just as the holidays wrapped up and the last thank you note was written, the Cranky Product Manager was held against her will in a smoke-filled hotel for a entire week, forced to give product training to a bunch of hungover sales droids. And then attend their booze-drenched, endless awards ceremony. [...]

]]> By: Shameless Begging | The Cranky Product Manager http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-877 Shameless Begging | The Cranky Product Manager Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:23:23 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-877 [...] She is a Product Management Goddess and no one does it as fantastically as she, ask anyone, and 2) She’s not in Sales where they give you 4 or 5 awards a year if you manage to wipe your own ass without the help of [...] [...] She is a Product Management Goddess and no one does it as fantastically as she, ask anyone, and 2) She’s not in Sales where they give you 4 or 5 awards a year if you manage to wipe your own ass without the help of [...]

]]> By: About Readers of This Here Blog | The Cranky Product Manager http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-868 About Readers of This Here Blog | The Cranky Product Manager Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:27:26 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-868 [...] are unique to being female in this crazy software product world. Such as being forced to dance with 4-5 geeky men at once at any work-related function with a [...] [...] are unique to being female in this crazy software product world. Such as being forced to dance with 4-5 geeky men at once at any work-related function with a [...]

]]> By: Another cranky PM http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-814 Another cranky PM Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:41:35 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-814 <p>ROOM SHARING: Please for the love of God just shoot the person who came up with this horrible policy. Two of the 4 companies I've worked for as a PM have the dreaded room-sharing policy. Over the years I have learned a trick: if you go to HR and spring for the extra $90 (out of pocket, of course) you can get your own room. Of course, it makes you look like an anti-social bitch but hey, you're not the one who later has to trade bathroom time with a sales person. (Aw yee-ah, who's the bitch now, huh?) :-) </p> ROOM SHARING: Please for the love of God just shoot the person who came up with this horrible policy. Two of the 4 companies I’ve worked for as a PM have the dreaded room-sharing policy. Over the years I have learned a trick: if you go to HR and spring for the extra $90 (out of pocket, of course) you can get your own room. Of course, it makes you look like an anti-social bitch but hey, you’re not the one who later has to trade bathroom time with a sales person. (Aw yee-ah, who’s the bitch now, huh?) :-)

]]> By: CrankedToo http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-815 CrankedToo Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:34:03 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-815 <p>Wow - this is so dead-on. I had to share rooms at my DisfunctoInc until we finally got a real VP who simply told Sales and Marketing that we weren't showing up until we got single rooms. They were quick to oblige when they realized that no one else know how to train or demo the latest product.</p> Wow – this is so dead-on. I had to share rooms at my DisfunctoInc until we finally got a real VP who simply told Sales and Marketing that we weren’t showing up until we got single rooms. They were quick to oblige when they realized that no one else know how to train or demo the latest product.

]]> By: Mike Honcho http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-816 Mike Honcho Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:07:22 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-816 <p>1. I worked for SUPER DUPER DYSFUNCTO company. I'll bet mine was more f*'d up. But that is for another debate. However, that said, yes, I had to share a room with a sales person many times. The one I was most often paired up with talked and walked in their sleep. Imagine my surprise when I woke up once with my "roomy" standing over me saying "whajaba moto comma dubahala" Not a single coherent word, but scary as hell just the same. At least I didn't spot a sharp object being brandished about.</p> <p>2. Sales kick-offs are almost as useless as MBOs for product managers. I always felt it would be more productive to take a pile of cash, put it in the center of my desk and say, you can have this if you a) sell the product b) stop asking me the same questions over and over and 3) read the sales training manual when you have a question.</p> 1. I worked for SUPER DUPER DYSFUNCTO company. I’ll bet mine was more f*’d up. But that is for another debate. However, that said, yes, I had to share a room with a sales person many times. The one I was most often paired up with talked and walked in their sleep. Imagine my surprise when I woke up once with my “roomy” standing over me saying “whajaba moto comma dubahala” Not a single coherent word, but scary as hell just the same. At least I didn’t spot a sharp object being brandished about.

2. Sales kick-offs are almost as useless as MBOs for product managers. I always felt it would be more productive to take a pile of cash, put it in the center of my desk and say, you can have this if you a) sell the product b) stop asking me the same questions over and over and 3) read the sales training manual when you have a question.

]]> By: Yo Yo Ma http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-817 Yo Yo Ma Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:12:58 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-817 <p>Hey Cranks....</p> <p>1. You want to go to an all expenses paid company vacay as an award? If you are PM, the only way to do it is to go "as the SPOUSE" of one of the sales-weasels that gets the award for doing what they were hired to do. You'll need to leave your own spuse at home regretfully.... (not acceptable, I know....)</p> <p>2. Sharing rooms during business trips? Yikes! I never had to share a room - nor would I. Let me have a guess, Dysfuncto's clueless travel organizer probably set you up with one of the *male* sales super stars?</p> Hey Cranks….

1. You want to go to an all expenses paid company vacay as an award? If you are PM, the only way to do it is to go “as the SPOUSE” of one of the sales-weasels that gets the award for doing what they were hired to do. You’ll need to leave your own spuse at home regretfully…. (not acceptable, I know….)

2. Sharing rooms during business trips? Yikes! I never had to share a room – nor would I. Let me have a guess, Dysfuncto’s clueless travel organizer probably set you up with one of the *male* sales super stars?

]]> By: Nigel http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-818 Nigel Thu, 11 Jan 2007 07:13:42 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-818 <p>Waddya mean, engineers never get appreciated? A few years ago I was the (deserving!) engineering recipient of the MVP award at our international kick off.</p> <p>Only slightly devalued by the fact that the kick off was in California and I was in London at the time. Oh, and the first I knew about it was when the award (3 kilos of plastic) arrived mysteriously on my desk a couple of weeks later, as the sales crew trickled back to work).</p> <p>Ah well...</p> Waddya mean, engineers never get appreciated? A few years ago I was the (deserving!) engineering recipient of the MVP award at our international kick off.

Only slightly devalued by the fact that the kick off was in California and I was in London at the time. Oh, and the first I knew about it was when the award (3 kilos of plastic) arrived mysteriously on my desk a couple of weeks later, as the sales crew trickled back to work).

Ah well…

]]> By: Hank, Product Manager Extraordinaire http://crankypm.com/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-819 Hank, Product Manager Extraordinaire Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:01:47 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2007/01/the-joy-of-sales-meetings/#comment-819 <p>Hey! That guy is stealing my world famous Kickoff dance moves. How DARE he!</p> <p>About the room-sharing... My company does not make me, nor anyone else, share a hotel room. Cranky PM, do you work for a startup or something?</p> Hey! That guy is stealing my world famous Kickoff dance moves. How DARE he!

About the room-sharing… My company does not make me, nor anyone else, share a hotel room. Cranky PM, do you work for a startup or something?

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