The product delivery delays I’m referring to are not the delays from development. These are delays in getting the product to your customer after the deal closes. If the delay between contract signing and delivery becomes too long, customers get irritated and contact their sales rep to express their dissatisfaction. If sales reps experience this uncomfortable situation too often they will find ways to avoid selling the product and focus their attention on other products in the portfolio that can help them hit quota.
The initial excitement of the hitting your launch goal can turn into despair. Plus the product can get a bad reputation within the sales force (or channel) that may be difficult to overcome no matter how many new features you add to it.
The answer to this dilemma is planning. Evaluate the selling/delivery process for your product end to end. Don’t assume that delivery will automatically correct itself if sales take off. Reset your launch goal accordingly if delivery is a potential bottleneck to success or at least note it as a risk in your launch plan. It may take time to ramp up your delivery resources. Time you may not have.
