Rob, you touched a nerve here--a good one.

One thing I always harp on with my students is the "reverse engineering" of products. You talked about working backwards. Many people develop a product and then say, "Now, how can I sell this thing?" It puts a chill through my spine.

Just one example: I always tell people to write their sales page BEFORE they create their product. Doing this well means that your sales page will then tell you what your product must cantain to deliver on the claims you make on your sales page. Make your sales page unbeliveable, and then make your product deliver.

Working backwards may sound counter-intuitive; It is not--it's just being smart.