April Palmer joins this episode of Convergence.fm to break down a practical, repeatable approach to product innovation that starts with customer conversations and ends with shipped improvements. We talk about why most innovation is actually "amelioration," how to run a closed loop ladder from stories to product decisions, and how to earn buy-in from sales and frontline teams so innovation becomes a team sport.
April is in charge of client relationships at Duckbill and teaches product innovation at VCU. She is a former top sales performer for Fortune 100 companies across various industries, where she consistently drove double-digit growth in six- and seven-figure portfolios. Today, she helps aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses by developing strategies that integrate finance, marketing, sales, and customer experience. April shares how a sales driven internal request at Duckbill became Skyway, a cloud contract and spend visibility product, and why the best use of AI is helping humans do human work better.
In this episode:
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Defining product innovation as improvement of existing workflows, not just net new invention
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The closed loop ladder: capture, translate, synthesize, decide, ship, close the loop
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The "wet monkeys" lesson, how tradition blocks obvious change
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How to use ride alongs and story capture to surface patterns fast
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How to earn trust from sales and frontline techs without slowing them down
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Why call centers are opportunity centers, not just cost centers
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AI in support: where it helps, where it creates risk
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Sales led innovation stories from ADP and Duckbill, from insights to new offerings
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Building a challenge network and creating room for whimsy in problem solving
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Delightful product experience, why Wayfair's self explanatory assembly labeling mattered
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Follow April Palmer on LinkedIn
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Duckbill and Skyway
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Share More Stories and SEEQ
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They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
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Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters
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TED app
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Blinkist
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Headway
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