Run your Product team like a Sales team
Sales teams don’t “hope” to hit quota. Why do Product teams “hope” to hit deadlines? At Optimizely, Justin Anovick ran Product like Sales to boost delivery. Here’s how you can too.
Great product teams deliver impact, not just features. Justin Anovick, former Product leader at Optimizely, Syndigo, and Ellucian (plus a background in sales), says the secret to building predictable and accountable product teams lies in borrowing a key playbook: run product teams like sales teams.
Justin joined us a while back on LaunchPod to share this bold and controversial framework for managing product teams. Use these tricks to drive the same velocity he does. 👇
Visibility is Everything
Sales forecasts drive business decisions—budgets, headcount, and investments. Why don’t product teams have the same rigor? A roadmap isn’t enough.
Justin emphasizes that missed product deadlines create ripple effects like:
Delayed deals
Missed revenue
Operational chaos
“If you don’t have the visibility, it’s just a guessing game.”
Like in sales, product teams need transparent forecasting and data-driven accountability.
Leverage Data to Predict Success (or Failure)
Sales teams track win rates—why can’t product teams track delivery rates?
Justin recommends using historical data to forecast outcomes more accurately and build trust within the organization.
“It’s about having the data to make a better decision,” he says. “If a team historically delivers late, build that into the forecast instead of guessing.”
Don’t rely on hope. Build intentional timelines based on your team’s actual performance data.
Set Clear Priorities and Stick to Them
Justin believes in ruthless prioritization to avoid spreading teams too thin. Focused teams deliver meaningful outcomes, not just checkboxes.
“Deciding what NOT to build is 10 times more important than deciding what to build.”
The Sales-Product Connection
Sales can’t sell without trust. Product teams are no different.
Justin’s sales-first mindset shapes his product leadership philosophy: deliver what you promise, when you promise it. This alignment between product and go-to-market teams ensures stronger collaboration and better customer outcomes.
Why It Matters
Product teams often lack the operational rigor of sales teams—but they shouldn’t. With clear priorities, data-backed forecasting, and strong communication, you can build a product team that operates as predictably as a sales org.
What do you think about Justin’s idea? Is it time to manage product teams like sales teams?
