Having a Product on the Shelf Is Not the Same as Having a Sales Strategy In Topic #1 of this series, I discussed product development and why I believe great aftermarket companies should focus on solving real customer problems instead of simply improving someone else's gadget. In Topic #2, I moved into Pricing & Channel Pricing, and understanding your brand value, building enough margin into the product, and making sure everyone involved in selling it has a reason to participa

One of the hardest things to learn as you move up in leadership is knowing when to push back and when to stop pushing and execute. Good executives should challenge decisions. If you see a problem, say something. If the numbers don’t make sense, bring the numbers. If the customer is going to hate it, explain why. If operations can't support it, speak up. If sales are seeing something in the market that the rest of the company is missing, bring it to the table. That is part of