AMA: Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing, Mary (Shirley) Sheehan on Stakeholder Management

February 21 @ 10:00AM PT

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Have you ever considered using a stakeholder empathy map? How much time and resources went into it? And how often do you think a product marketing team needs to refresh it? Thanks

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

Absolutely! While I haven't used a formal empathy map, I rely heavily on DACI charts (Driver, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for every project. It's like an empathy ma...

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What has been the greatest accomplishment made when you’ve had to influence others without authority and did it make things easier for you when you needed buy in on other projects?

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

As a startup PMM, I often had to forge my own authority. This is a constant struggle : People don't know what PMM does, you rarely have a budget, and have a small team or...

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What marketing tools (e.g. personas, buyer journeys, sales playbooks, etc) have you found most effective in getting stakeholders aligned on marketing strategy?

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

Personas are gold for alignment. Start with the persona, then walk stakeholders through the strategy with real-life examples (think mock ads). Share predicted ROI to soli...

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How do you format and share your messaging with stakeholders?

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

Stakeholder buy-in is crucial for successful messaging - I dedicate a whole chapter to this in my book, The Pocket Guide to Product Launches. Here's my approach: 1. Shar...

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How do you influence people who are not aligned on the same objective (a different team with different goals) to move the needle on an interdisciplinary project?

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

Shared goals are key. Show how your collaboration benefits their specific objectives. First, understand their perspective. Here's my 7-step influence framework:Build Rela...

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As a product marketer, I run multiple projects simultaneously. In such a scenario, stakeholder management becomes an operational task. Is there a checklist that you follow to ensure efficiency?

Mary Sheehan•

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 2y

You're right, it's an operational beast! I use a multi-project checklist with:Projects & communication plansDACI charts for each projectPreferred communication styles...

2922 Views

4 requests