Insight: SaaS (36) What kind of talents is qualified for the SaaS PM?
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We reviewed the SaaS customer journey in the last article ‘Insight: SaaS (35) Customer journey’. Let’s discuss how to become a competent SaaS Product Manager now. What abilities are required to be an excellent SaaS PM?
There is no summary of skills such as resume drafting or interview experience in this article. This blog is based on my personal working experience and research into the SaaS business. Only my personal opinion is presented. This post will not assist you in learning specific abilities or must-have skills that a Product Manager will utilize on a daily basis, such as how to use data analysis tools.
You can read this post if you want to be a SaaS Product Manager and want to know if you have the potential to be a professional SaaS PM. If you’re already a SaaS PM, I hope you’ll find some of the points in this post helpful.
First and foremost, allow me to introduce myself. I am the founder & CEO of kiwicode, a SaaS company that helps customers generate runnable source code. My primary role in the company is being a Product Manager. All of my work revolves around product design and problem-solving. I created a series of short stories about my experience establishing this SaaS product: Kiwicode startup story. If you’re interested, you can read it. This series of articles also includes some kiwicode introductions (watching the demo on Youtube). If you’re interested in learning Kiwicode, please join our waiting list by clicking here.
The SaaS Product Manager capability level is divided into three levels. The fundamental level is the basic capability. Those who have mastered the fundamental competency are qualified to be Product Managers. The key competencies form the second level, and those who have mastered them are the best Product Managers. The top-level ability is the third level. The PM master is someone who has mastered the top-level ability and can not only do the job of the PM but also the job of the CEO.
Basic ability:
1. Solve the problem
This is the Product Manager’s primary task. When confronted with an issue, PM must provide solutions as well as detailed execution plans.
The customer’s problem is the most typical issue in SaaS PM activity. For example, kiwicode’s potential clients may suggest that when developing an application, they will need to include some external APIs and that the results and data given by the API would be frequently used throughout the application.
So I need to figure out what clients’ actual needs are, and which APIs they require. If the majority of them are given by a few businesses, such as Google or Amazon Web Services, I will embed these APIs into the product ahead of time for convenience. During my inquiry, I discovered that these clients need access to many API providers, preventing me from using the process of compiling a list of regularly used APIs.
Then I try to develop an API connector. Customers can add APIs for any path, specify the parameter that must be filled in, and then utilize them to build apps. The assumption is that most APIs are RESTful and follow the same guidelines.
The next is communication with engineers about the update. When creating the strategy, the PM must often consider whether the engineering team will be able to implement it, which requires time and experience.
That is the solution to the customer’s question. When PM encounters a problem, he or she must have a mechanism for dealing with it, and that process must be operational.
2. Teamwork
Teamwork is the only way to ensure a SaaS PM’s success. All of the tasks that the SaaS PM needs to execute eventually require the assistance of other roles. The SaaS PM functions like an octopus with multiple tentacles, dealing with employees from several departments.
PM and the design team. They decide the expression of the scheme. This is the first impression of a product.
PM and R&D. They are the realization of problem-solving. All functions and solutions need to be finally solved by engineers.
PM and CSM. PM accept customer appeals from CSM feedback. Solve customer feedback from the product level.
PM and Sales. PM receive the first feedback from Sales. PMs need to know what kind of products customers are likely to buy.
PM and Marketing. They decide on the product’s promotion and marketing strategy together. The PM must inform Marketing of the product objectives to be advertised.
PMs must acquire excellent communication skills during working hours. Everyone wants to work together, but how to do so requires the skills of team leadership. PM frequently serves as a leader or a link in the teamwork.
There is a simple trick to excellent teamwork: don’t obsess about personal gains and losses, and learn to compromise properly.
3. Learning ability
There are always new voices from customers, new products from competitors, and new technologies and solutions in the market. In a stable market, products are changed every 5–7 years. New technology can upend an industry at any time. As a result, learning ability is the foundation for SaaS PM’s continuous competitiveness.
First and foremost, the SaaS PM must have a modest learning mentality at all times. Don’t pretend to comprehend until you’ve learned something new. You can’t overlook any competition, especially new competitors and technology. Be modest.
The second is that SaaS PMs should be capable of deep learning to fully comprehend all facets of anything new. Don’t just read a few brief articles or watch those fast-food videos all of the time. Read more in-depth literature or books on fundamental subjects like computer science. Only with knowledge can we quickly distinguish the authenticity of new things from falsehoods.
Finally, the SaaS PM must be able to pick up new information rapidly. Quickly grasp the essential information. Sometimes your job will require you to solve a completely new problem in a short time, which will force you to explore a foreign area rapidly. Everything is too late if you are slow.
Core competencies:
1. Chain reasoning
Chain reasoning is a mental skill. Euclid’s geometry is the only ancient philosopher’s work that is still error-free. Because he follows strict deductive syllogisms. From the major premise and the minor premise propositions to the conclusion, this syllogistic logic method is the basic speculative ability.
Chain reasoning is the process of reasoning from point A to point B to point C. Many difficult problems can be solved easily if a SaaS PM can use this ability effectively at work.
You can reason from case A to case B until you get the hang of it. Among these, you need to strictly comprehend the soundness of the rationale.
2. Analysis and dismantling capabilities
The ability to analyze and dismantle is to formulate a complex problem, put forward hypotheses, and obtain new questions or answers. When a doctor provides a diagnosis, for instance, he will ask the patient several questions in order to assess the patient’s condition. This is an examination. By making assumptions, doctors can swiftly assess a patient’s condition. This capacity can gradually reduce ambiguous difficulties into obvious, local, and tractable issues.
Let’s take an example that includes chain reasoning and the ability to analyze and dismantle
If you convince customers to buy, why are customers reluctant to buy? Is it because the product quality is poor or because the price is too high?
Customers are hesitant to purchase due to your exorbitant prices. The customer is willing to buy it if it is free. Customers are so reluctant to buy because they are unwilling to buy at the current pricing. What if the cost falls? Cutting prices is not permitted in order to maintain gross profit margins. As a result, there will be no price cut. Make the consumer buy while maintaining the price == the customer believes the price is worth it.
Top Capabilities:
Find a problem
Only the top product managers are capable of spotting unasked questions. First-class talents ask problems, second-class talents solve problems. This necessitates market knowledge and commercial intuition. You may believe that what others do is simple, but it has countless followers. No one had noticed that it was a problem until someone finds out. It’s always more difficult to pose a problem than it is to solve it.
Finding new challenges is the same as developing a new market and defining a totally new SaaS, rather than adding features to the existing SaaS. New difficulties found by SaaS PMs are the source of many Second Acts in the SaaS industry.
Every CEO should try to identify problems, not solve everyone’s problems. Every great company solves a huge problem for people that have never been properly solved. What the CEO should do is identify the problem and lead the team to solve it. Every CEO and entrepreneur should start out as a basic Product Manager.
With basic abilities, you can do 99% of PM jobs in the SaaS industry.
With core competencies, you can solve 99% of the problems you encounter at work.
With top capability, you can surpass 99% of people.
Please send me an email (jasperhanlingyi@gmail.com) if you have any questions or suggestions.
The next article ‘Insight: SaaS (37) Moving upmarket’ is published. Simply send me some claps and feedback if you enjoyed my article.
