
Bridging the Gap Between Product and Market with Pia Stangerup
Pia Stangerup, Chief Sales Officer at XO Care, joins Oplev Salg to explore how sales bridges the gap between product and market in complex, international B2B organizations. In this episode, Pia and Selma Kadic-Maglajlic (Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, CBS) discuss why sales sits at the intersection of product development, marketing, distributors and end customers — and how the "voice of the customer" makes its way back into the organization. Key topics: — Shared customer ownership between manufacturer and distributor — Managing the natural tension between sales and R&D — Aligning sales, marketing and product development around customer needs — Navigating non-exclusive distributor relationships in competitive markets — Cultural differences in doing business across China, Italy and beyond — Why sales leaders must always watch the narrowest bottleneck in the customer journey Pia also reflects on the biggest lesson from her leadership career, and the advice she'd give her younger self entering sales. This conversation is relevant for sales leaders, CSOs, and anyone working at the intersection of product, marketing and international distribution. (00:00) Introduction: Pia Stangerup and XO Care (01:36) Why Pia built a career in sales (03:10) How XO Care defines and organizes the sales function (03:39) The tension between sales and R&D (08:26) Aligning sales, marketing and product development (10:37) Who owns the customer: manufacturer vs. distributor (14:06) Navigating non-exclusive distributor relationships and blind spots (17:22) Cultural differences across international markets (China, Italy) (20:50) The biggest lesson: watching the narrowest bottleneck (22:09) Advice to her younger self Connect with Pia Stangerup: https://www.linkedin.com/in/piastangerup/ Connect with Selma Kadic-Maglajlic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selmakadic/ Subscribe to the Oplev Salg newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7421478328148070400 Follow Radiant on LinkedIn: https://dk.linkedin.com/company/radiantdk Oplev Salg is a podcast created in collaboration between Radiant and Copenhagen Business School (CBS), exploring modern B2B sales leadership.



