AMA: Box Director of Product Management, Rena Mashintchian on Enterprise Product Management

PMs are responsible for defining a winning product and rallying a team to deliver it.  It’s one of the roles that requires a large breadth of skills, as PMs sit at the center of technology, business and design.  Below are key traits that I look for when hiring a PM.  Beyond these skills, cultural fit and passion/excitement for the role are also important considerations.  Note that while it’s a bonus to have enterprise PM experience, it’s certainly not a requirement. Intellectual ability - Abilit ...Read More

Generally, the sales team should focus on selling what’s already on the truck.  However, if there are gaps that are deemed deal blockers for customers, one of the most important considerations is whether the feature being requested fits with the product strategy and is broadly applicable beyond the customer requesting it.  If it is, then it’s more of a matter of timing.  If it doesn’t, then no matter how large the deal is, PMs should be empowered to push back and say no to the request.  However ...Read More

In general, I am not a proponent of building custom solutions for a single customer.  However, if there’s a large customer who wants something that will serve the broader customer base, then we’ll consider it and prioritize it accordingly.  Once you ship something, it’s out there in the wild forever (until you sunset it).  And it’s tough to sunset things since someone will end up using it and relying on it.  So, product managers need to be extremely prudent with their decisions about what makes ...Read More

In my mind, we are always selling to a customer.  It starts with the initial sale, when we move an organization from a prospect to a customer.  Once they become a customer, our goal is to ensure they continue to renew their contract with us.  And not only do we want them to renew, but we also want to upsell them to additional products and services.  Throughout the various stages, PMs should be there to support account teams as needed, especially around handling customer objections.  It’s very be ...Read More

Enterprise vs. mid-market vs. SMB customers are typically defined based on the number of employees in the organization and its revenue.  Regardless of the organization size, many of the core PM activities are similar.  However, there are some key differences I’ve experienced that are worth noting.  PMs should keep these in mind and factor them in as they build out their product and release plans. Build for all segments Typically, you’ll have a small number of very large enterprise customers and ...Read More