Financials for Product Managers
Learn the language of the leadership team, let's talk profit and loss statements, creating a financial business model and getting the support your product needs to thrive!
Product managers own the financial P&L for their products. It’s the bottom line in product health and the ultimate metric to know, speak to and discuss in conversations with the C-suite.
I thought all Product Managers had visibility into the P&L.
It wasn’t until I started helping companies and boosting their product capability in 2020 that I realised, that this isn’t how the whole world lives. In fact, outside of the corporate world, it was hard to find a product manager that saw the financials let alone their products health through a financial spreadsheet. The month on month profit and loss statement.
In my time in major telcos and banking, I’d recieve this financial spreadsheet - in Microsoft Excel - on working day 8 (sometimes 10) from the Commercial team.
This would tell me what my product closed the last month with. Whether it was going up in Revenue, whether we were gaining more customers than losing them, whether our costs were under control, whether the profit was within target, whether there were any seasonal changes and above all, what the impact of my last product change had on these metrics.
With the P&L, I could extrapolate the current financial trends out into the future to uncover what would happen to the metrics if we did nothing. That’s your baseline.
Because, let’s be serious for a moment….when you’re talking to the C-suite, these are the numbers they’re worried about.
The financial bottom line dominates conversations and if we’re not on track, it’s a problem.
Product activities don’t happen in isolation of these financial metrics.
You can see NVIDIA products contributing to their overall Revenue in their Income Statement.
As Product people, we want to solve customer problems in a way that is valuable for them. But we need to make sure that someone is willing to pay and our products are viable for the business.
Over the last 4 years, I’ve had many conversations with product people asking if they would be interested to learn how to read the P&L and understand the financial health of their products.
Overwhelmingly, everyone I spoke with said YES!
So, you asked and I delivered!
On Saturday 29 June, spend 3 hours at the Product Commercials Masterclass - P&L for Product Managers
Designed for Product Managers interested in Mastering the Financials, this event is virtual and available via Zoom.
It’s not just me. I’ve teamed up with a Commercial Finance leader who I worked with during my time at Virgin Mobile.
The focus is on what YOU, as a Product leader, needs to know about the Financials, the P&L (otherwise known at the Income Statement). This will not be a dry discussion about numbers.
These numbers tell as story.
A story about the health of your product.
The only story your leadership team is interested in.
During this masterclass, you'll gain valuable insights from commercial experts on how to read a P&L, what the acronyms mean, which ones are important for product people, how to forecast out and how to read the impact of your product activities on the monthly profit and loss statement.
Learn from product and finance experts with 40+ years experience gained from large banks, telecommunication and other organisations.
Bring Friends
If you want to attend and bring a friend, I have discount for you! Send me an email at irene@phronesisadvisory.com
Are you new to Product Management and want to learn from me?
If you’re new to Product Management and need the basics, I’ve got you! I created a 2 Day Product Management Course.
The course is aligned it with the Learning Outcomes created by Product greats like Jeff Patton and others. And it’s certified by the globally recognised ICAgile.
Choose to spend 2 days learning from me - either face to face or via Zoom - with ICAgile Certified Professional in Product Management (ICP-PDM).
And if you’re looking for a discount, send me an email at irene@phronesisadvisory.com
What better way to spend your training budget before the end of financial year (and claim it at tax time).
PS: Got questions? I’ve got answers. Drop me an email at irene@phronesisadvisory.com
