Unpredictable. Unfocused. Just like life.

Among other positions I've held, I've been a Product Manager for more that a few years. I often see people suggest that the Product Manager is a lot like the CEO. Yes, a good Product Manager is concerned with the same kind of things - customer satisfaction, revenue, profitability, and time to market come to mind - as the CEO.

But then in the very same article I see comments about getting features into the product and delivered on time.

Here's the thing. Nobody buys features.

Oh sure, in the sales cycle the customer may say "If only your software sorted by word length, we would buy it." Don't rush out and add the feature, because they still won't be buying.

You've just encountered an objection, and it isn't the real one. In truth, they may not like the salesperson, or they don't like your company, or their CEO plays golf with your competitor.

And don't drop your price. That isn't the problem either, even if they say it is.

In short, the customer either believes that your solution can potentially remove their pain, or they don't. If they believe, then they also know you'll get around to adding all of those little features, and the price won't be such an issue because they see the benefits clearly. If they don't believe, you're pretty much out of the game, regardless of what you promise and for how little.

Take a look at all of the software you use right now, whether it was freeware or you paid for it. As a simple test ask yourself, are there any features that those products don't have that would make you stop using them or switch to something else.

I'll bet that you chose that software because it solved a problem reasonably well, not because it had every feature you wanted. And while there may be some nice-to-have features, you probably will suffer along with the software. All of your customers think pretty much the same way.

Wanna be more like the CEO? Worry less about features and concentrate more on making sure you solve your customer's problem really well. Deliver when you say you will. Encapsulate the value and the benefits of your product so that your sales force can make customers believe, and so that they can sell more faster.

After all, CEOs tend much more to be former salespeople than former product managers.