Skedulo

1. Have a true desire to partner, and explictly tell them that's what you want to do.  2. Tell them what you are working on and why. Show them how they can be involved. Be specific. 3. Ask what the 2-3 most important things they need from you are. Learn why those are the things the...more

While I agree with Mary's answer ("data") and the other great points that have been added here, I would caution against taking the exact same approach you would to influencing product as you would to influencing culture. If data were sufficient to change culture, the world would look dramatically...more

I agree with James that it is best to go third pary, but I have seen data and heard from customers that while they will discount the validity of any materials coming from the vendor as being slanted, they will pay attention to results metrics and use them in their buying decisions. So I believ...more

Hiring! My big challenge right now, to quote our head of sales, is that there's not enough of me to go around. That's not meant to be self-congratulatory--when the need for your function exceeds your resources, it's a challenge and frustration! You have to be relentless in your prioritization and...more

The end game is for customers to choose your solutions and brand over the competition, so the most meaningful KPI is your win rate against against different competitors when you encounter them in deals. To measure that, you need to make sure your sales team is documenting who they encounter in ea...more

I made a major career change a few years ago from public sector to enterprise tech, and some of the most useful things I did were adjust my language, incorporate marketing terms into my vocabulary, and learn how to explain in marketing terms what I did in other places. Many skills and experiences...more

I periodically survey my sales team and ask them what their most challenging conversations are with buyers, what materials they have found the most helpful and WHY, and what their most burning need is. When I push them new materials or highlight something I've already sent them, I specifically re...more

Revenue, revenue, and revenue.  Assuming the product is launched to generate revenue. Not all are. Some products are launched to test ideas, some might exist simply to check a box with influential audiences, others might be there to block or signal to the competition. There are also differe...more

Agree with Steve (Hi, Steve! 👋) and would like to add that there should be a push-pull relationship. Some good conversations to have with your brand marketers are around how brand and category positioning should show up within product marketing, and how product differentiation should show up in b...more