If you want to climb the product marketing career ladder faster, here are five tips that will help you get there. These strategies can be adapted depending on your products and sales model but are generally timeless. They have worked well for me both in individual contributor roles and leadership positions.
1. Develop a Track Record of Year-Over-Year Product Revenue Growth
Revenue growth should always be your top priority. As a product marketer, this includes creating strategies and executing tactics that lead to consistent year-over-year revenue growth. Focus on specific market segments, especially within distinct industries, to identify where your product is most successful and its potential for growth. Develop targeted lead generation campaigns with industry-specific messaging to boost your sales pipeline and reflect that in your revenue figures.
2. Be a Positive Person That Salespeople Love To Work With
It’s important to be likable and maintain a positive attitude. Product marketing isn’t for pessimistic people. You need to align with the optimistic sales force. The key is to make your product easier to sell without requiring deep product knowledge from the sales team. Educate them on the market segments with high demand for your product and provide concise talking points about industry dynamics. This makes salespeople more credible and inspires them to promote your product enthusiastically, leading to better sales numbers.
3. Think Outside The Box and Try Something Different
Don’t hesitate to try new strategies. In my first product marketing role, our company had custom modules that weren’t widely adopted. My colleague and I decided to offer these modules to existing customers through a “try & buy” promotion with coupons, which was unconventional at the time. Despite initial skepticism, the campaign was successful and generated significant revenue. Starting small limits your risk and allows you to measure the success before full-scale implementation.
4. Make The Salesperson’s Job Easier
Simplify the tools and resources you provide to the sales team. Understand the common situations they face daily and create straightforward tools to help them navigate these scenarios. Less is often more when it comes to sales tools.
5. Keep It Simple
Salespeople thrive on simplicity. Keep your product positioning and sales narratives consistent and easy to understand. Focus on highlighting a few key customer outcomes and explain why your product achieves these better than the competition. This approach avoids complicated feature comparisons and gives salespeople clear reasons to promote your product.
Climbing the Product Marketing Career Ladder Summary
Your main customer as a product marketer is the salesforce. Their success in selling your product reflects your success too. Climbing the career ladder in product marketing revolves around achieving sales success and your ability to influence it. Demonstrating leadership by trying new strategies and pushing for results is crucial. If you can define what sales success looks like for your product and guide your sales team toward it, you’ll make significant strides in your career.