Product Manager Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Interview for my first product manager position - Any tips? Passed the phone screen - now I am having an in-person interview for my first position as a product manager in a mobile/software company. I come from a long QA background in the same industry. Do you have any tips for the interviewing process? THANKS!

Answer: Make sure you look your best. Be prepared, bring a pen, copies of your resume, and something to write on. Research the company and think of a couple of questions to ask. Make eye contact. Send a "thank you" follow up email.

Question: How to go about managing the revenue and yield for a product as a product manager? I'm going to a job interview for a Product manager role in online travel. I have no prior experience in marketing. The company knows that but i want to be able to answer the typical behavioural questions "how do you go about" type: how do you go about managing budget? how do you go about defining the product strategy for products ? how do you go about organising promotional activities to achieve performance outcomes and deliver revenue targets ?

Answer: I'll attempt to answer your first question. I work in the hotel industry as a revenue manager and know a little about yielding a hotel. In order to yield a hotel/product you must have a good idea of what your demand is and know what your competition is charging. Price is based on demand. When demand is high, it is important to find the highest rate the guest is willing to pay without scaring them off. When demand is low, you try to lower your price in an effort to capture more business without compromising rate integrity. The perception is you get what you pay for. While I could sell a lot of rooms for $30 a night, the perception is my hotel might be a dump and I wouldn't make much profit. That perception would scare off customers that are willing to pay a little more for quality. At a former hotel, I was once fortunate to get to play around with the marquee showing the hotel’s rates. The owner wanted us to sell rooms at a $59 rate while everyone around us was priced around $89-$109. Tracking the number of walk-ins during that time and comparing it to past data, I determined I was only averaging 2-3 rooms more a night. But, my average daily rate (ADR) was down. I was actually losing money. The lower rate also attracted unwanted guests and scared off the more desirable guests. It was the perception that something was wrong with the hotel - this was a common question at booking. I use this strategy in my market: I identify what my potential sell out dates are. I then look at what is on the books. I may keep the rate lower far enough out just to build a base of business. As the number of reservations booked increases, so does the rate. As demand gets high, I may decide to not accept any AAA discounts/senior discounts. I will also close off my hotel to alternative distribution system (ADS) channels such as Orbitz, Priceline & Expedia. If demand is high, the guest will pay a much higher rate. My goal is to maximize the revenue for the hotel. If one person won’t accept the rate as is, someone else will if the city is sold out. Package deals can be a great way to increase revenue. You essentially combine other services that the guest may otherwise not buy. A good example is the romantic packages. Let’s say you the room rate is typically $140 plus tax. The operating cost per room per day for the hotel is $25. A steak dinner for two and a bottle of wine runs $70 on your menu. You have a food cost of 30%. So, that dinner only costs the hotel $21. Everything over that is profit. Assuming the guest eats in the restaurant and orders the high dollar items, it would usually cost the guest $210 at a hotel operating cost of $46. You could easily offer the package for $180 and still make a good profit during a slower period. You also drive revenue to the hotel restaurant that typically needs the business. Another way to increase revenues is to price your products with added features higher. For example, ocean view rooms are typically in higher demand than exterior rooms. Because of this demand you can price the rates higher and earn as much as $200 more for almost the same product. Revenue management requires you have past data to go off of, an understanding of the market, a demand forecast and some intuition. You must also record data as you go. A successful revenue manager loves working with numbers and knows to how to use them. If you’re working with on an online agent, the strategy can be different. Your goal is to sell what is most profitable first. Essentially ADS channels sell rooms in bulk and get a break in price from the hotel. They then mark up the price and the rest is revenue. Let’s say you have two 3-star hotels. Hotel A has agreed to give you a rate of $70. They sell their rooms on their site for $100. You can mark the price up to $95 and you’re still cheaper than the hotel and you make $25 in revenue. Hotel B has agreed to give you a rate of $65 and their rooms also sell for $100. You can also price this hotel at $95 but you’ll make $5 more. Which hotel would you want to place higher in position, Hotel A or Hotel B? That’s a smaller picture an doesn’t even go into contracts that ADS channels may have with a chain in certain markets. Some ADS channels may ask the hotel to give them last room guarantees and in return they give the hotel a position on the first page. Anyway, there really is a lot more to cover. This be more than enough information and may not pertain to you. But, the examples given should give you some idea on how it works. Good luck to you and I hope I have been of some assistance.

Question: Can anyone recommend useful websites to find Product Manager jobs? I am looking for websites to help me look for Product Manager jobs. If there is one you think is the best can you please say so? Thanks in advance!

Answer: All the job sites like monster.com are swamped. They are getting 200 applications for every job. You are going to do better by applying in person to all the industries in your city. Try the major employers like Motorola and Intel and Pepsi ( i don't work for them). Then move down to smaller local companies..

Question: Is MBA in HR a good option for a Product Manager with 3 years experience? If HR is of no use to a Product Manager, which stream of MBA would be a better option?

Answer: I belive product manager is one who conceptualise, design, develop, test, launch and market a product, HR really has no significance for a PM, Marketing is the only option, also one can opt for industry specefic marketing diplomas as well... ..good luck

Question: Is it possible to transfer from Sales Manager to Product Manager? I have been working as a Sales Manager for over 4 years in an audio product factory mainly dealing with overseas customers. I would like to know if it is possible to get a job as Product Manager in a sourcing office? I have a degree in Liberal arts and had nothing to do with marketing or engineering. Can anyone give me some advices or let me know if you have similar experience?

Answer: Hello...no, sorry I cannot help you but heyyyy, why not look at working for yourself? With your experience as a Sales Manager, I would love to discuss with you what I do if your options are open to working for yourself. My email is rpelley5@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Question: HI i need to have some defenitions of the product manager tasks? hi i'm going to have an interview to work as a product manager for some small statinery company , so i need to have some information about "what is exactly the job of the product manager " what r his tasks to improve the work ...etc

Answer: Product Manager The manager of a product must have an excellent understanding of the entire spectrum of marketing tools and must apply them by developing successful new marketing concepts. Job Functions: The Product Manager is involved in the following key areas: Product Pricing Positioning Advertising and Promotion Service Qualifications: Business degree from a university or technical school preferably with a major in marketing or related field 2 to 5 years of professional proven experience as Marketing Assistant, Junior Product Manager or in Sales Relevant comprehensive experience in related industry and/or product knowledge Foreign language capabilities: Excellent English, additional languages are advantageous Computer literate Strong analytical and conceptual skills Team player, persuasive, ambitious, driven Dedication, commitment, flexibility

Question: Salary for a Product Manager at Yahoo at IC4 and IC3 levels in the US? Can some one give me a ball park on how much a Product Manager at Yahoo at IC4 and IC3 levels makes in the US.

Answer: According to PayScale.com, the median salary for a Product Manager at Yahoo is $99,213. However, salaries for Product Managers at Yahoo will obviously vary greatly depending on numerous factors. To find more accurate salary data for your specific Product Manager position, you can take PayScale's free salary survey. http://www.payscale.com/?src=yahooA Hope that helps, Assistant to Dr. Salary

Question: What are the jobs/posistions under a product manager? Im trying to find something along the lines of a product manager but Im not sure Im ready to tackle something that big yet... HELP PLEASE, I need to write me resume YESTERDAY

Answer: Typically the product manager will have started in either in sales and worked his way up into management or marketing as in a marketing manager. Companies structure their operations differently, but a product manager basically is responsible for one or more products. He will most likely have an MBA in Marketing and several years experience. He will likely work with the sales manager, production manager, public relations and the advertising agency responsible for promoting the brand or product. He may also over see the development of point of sale materials such as displays. He may also work with an in-house advertising agency or graphics department to develop these items plus other promotional materials. He works to develop brochures and other product related materials. He may also work with market research to better develop the product. The product manager is part of the marketing department. I have known some companies where the product manager is under a marketing manager and others where there is a marketing manager under the product manager. A product manager could also be the marketing manager. In most cases the product manager is a more narrowly defined job than the marketing manager. In short the product manager will get involved in every aspect of a particular product.

Question: how can i become a good product manager? I just transfered to a new department , as a product manager, could you give some advice on how to work efficiently on my new position? thanks

Answer: Do a lot of listening for at least a month before you make any major decisions.

Question: What are the main duties for a product marketing manager? I am just wondering about some following questions about the position of product marketing manager: what are the differences between a general marketing plan and the marketing plan made by the product marketing manager? I am talking about the ERP software product . For example,do the marketing objectives contain only the finacial figures (which is in tune with traditional marketing theory)when a product marketing manager making marketing plan.

Answer: in the business I work in, the marketing managers are those that are responsible for analyzing the market needs. they take that information to the product marketing manager. the product marketing manager determines if there is a product that already exists that can serve the new need or if a new product must be developed. if a new one needs to be developed, the product marketing manager works with technical to develope the new product. after development, the product marketing manager and the marketing manager work together to develop the general marketing plan. it is usually led by and the decision making is given to the product marketing manager. but it's the marketing manager's duty to implement the marketing plan.

Question: Why the product manager be concerned with internal and external competitions? question about competitive set in product management.

Answer: In-fighting is bad for a company. Employees are wasting time fighting each other rather than the real competition (which is external). When employees compete with each other, they hide valuable information from each other. And that information is information that could quickly give the company a competitive edge. So they are in essence shooting themselves in the foot. The internal fighting is slowing things down and giving the external competition an opportunity to come out with a better product sooner. They are giving the external competition a time advantage.

Question: What is the difference between Product Manager and Product Line Manager? Can anybody give me some clue on this?

Answer: A product manager is likely the manager of development of a particular product, maybe more than one, but like the Xenon MP-3 player. A Product Line Manager would supervise (theoretically) product managers and be responsible for a more general category, like "Electronics" or "Appliances", or if it's a particularly large enough product line, you could be product line manager of "iPods".

Question: how to work well as the product marketing manager at a ERP software company? how to work well as the product marketing manager at a ERP software company? For example,the revenue forecast is the big headache.please give me some clues,or some weblinks.thank you very much

Answer: Wow. I actually WAS the product marketing manager at an ERP company for a whopping 7 months. Worst job I ever had. Only job I was ever fired from! (This is an indictment of the specific company and management I worked for, not the job itself----I've worked as a product manager for a manufacturing company for 9 years and do so today). Your revenue forecast needs to come, really, from your sales force. They need to tell you what they expect in new license sales, and at what confidence levels; your back end people should be able to help you with support contracts. In your business, there's a tremendous amount of year-to-year variance in new licenses (support is more predictable) because companies only buy new ERP systems once every 7 years or so. This is not something you're going to find on the web somewhere. Good luck.

Question: How to Answer Interview Questions for Product Manager Position? I'm going in for an interview soon. I'm not that great in interviews. Are there some tips? I'm an entry-level - great worker, very ethical. How do I answer hard questions? & what kind of hard questions are there?

Answer: I currently work with Product Managers, so here are some things that I have noticed. If you interview with Engineers they will ask you specific technical questions or questions related to the structure of the last company you worked for. That stuff is relatively easy to answer, just make sure you are up on your current companies org chart. They will also want to see the products you managed or worked with in school, so have some pictures ready to show and tell if possible. The managers are more likely to ask you situational questions, "tell me a time when your resources were limited and you had to share those with three other teams who were behind schedule." "how do you communicate bad news to a customer" etc. If you are truly entry level, they will ask you questions about college involvement most likely. Lastly - being great in interviews is all about body language. Prep yourself the night before. Have everything laid out and ready to go, including 3 extra copies of your resume and references, and product portfolio if applicable. Make sure your clothes are ironed, not starched, and if you are a guy clean shaven, if you are a girl, make up shouldn't reflect even a hint of "Mimi" from the Drew Carey show. Shoes should be polished and something you can walk fast in. Read up on Ashtanga breathing on the internet, and do it on the way to the interview, this will calm your nerves. When you get there, pop a couple breath mints. Be sure to look people in the eye when they speak to you, keep up with them when they walk (not keeping up with a fast walker is a deal breaker!). Make sure the interviewer finishes their question before answering. You can do this by counting to two or three if needed. When you feel tense or nervous, lean back in your chair, and if possible rest your elbows on the handles and put your finger tips together, and bring them up to your chin. It's not obvious, practice it so you know what I mean. This indicates to the interviewer you are gathering your thoughts and it will actually help you gather your thoughts, and calm you down. This is probably just the first in many many lifetime interviews. You'll get better as you go along.

Question: What does a technology product development manager do? What role and/or responsibilities does a product development manager have specific to a technology department

Answer: Develop budgets. Oversee R&D staff. Develop marketing plans. Track actuals to budget. Train and mentor staff. Develop schedules. Ensure schedules are being met. Define specifications. Choose methods. Just a few.

Question: Do you know any Product Manager or Marketing Manager in US, UK insurance company? I am looking for a person from an insurance company in USA or UK, who is responsible for the way how are their products sold. Eventually another person on higher position (manager) and eventually in another country. I have tried to contact all the insurance companies in USA, but they have very strong bureaucratic processes and heavy-weight organizational structure. Therefore it wasn't possible for me to reach any from the mentioned. Thank you very much for cooperation. For any further information, my contact e-mail is: rick172@atlas.sk. Thank you very much for cooperation. Still looking...

Answer: Well, good luck on that. Marketing departments are structured like that for a reason. The strong bureaucratic processes are usually a result of STATE LAWS. The insurance industry is heavily regulated. That's just the way it is.