AMA: AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing, Daniel Waas on Influencing without Authority
April 6 @ 10:00AM PT
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AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
To be an effective product marketer my view is that you need to be a deep expert on your product. You don't need the same technical expertise as your product management c...
1360 Views
4 requests
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
Set boundaries and clear expectations with the various stakeholders you work with. Don't commit to crazy timelines. If a crazy timeline is unavoidable, communicate what ...
622 Views
2 requests
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
See my answer to a similar question on this page. You'll need to build trust and rapport with them and you do this by knowing your stuff, bringing unique insights, and ha...
339 Views
3 requests
How do product marketing key stakeholders from other departments change as your company grows?
Ex) <10 employees you meet with CEO and Head of Product—how does this change when you're 100, 500, 1000 employees?
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
Regardless of the size of the organization, there will always be a marketing and a product leader. They are your critical partners. Even in very large organizations with ...
428 Views
1 request
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
You need to earn your seat at the table by repeatedly bringing fresh insights and a distinct point of view to the table. To influence product strategy and the roadmap you...
417 Views
2 requests
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
I have led product marketing teams that reported into marketing and others that reported into product. I've been reorganized from one to the other twice. I don't find it ...
440 Views
2 requests
How do you manage people who don't necessarily report into you?
This could be while giving feedback on a piece of work? Or getting them to prioritise the project you're running.
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
You will need to win their respect and trust. To do that you need to... know your stuff be humble give ample positive feedback understand their agenda and help them adv...
383 Views
3 requests
How do you drive culture change with market research?
I'm hoping to influence Product and Design to talk to users more and build a clear picture of our user. The team will often refer to themselves as "the consumer" when they're not in our target demographic?
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
I'd say lead the way. Use a traditional PMM responsibility like refreshing your buyer personas as a reason to kick off a joint research project and pull in your partners ...
2621 Views
1 request
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
There are many answers to this question depending on how large your team is, how much budget you have, etc. Some pointers: Get clear on your goals for your product mar...
492 Views
3 requests
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
Influence comes from repeatedly bringing fresh insights and a distinct point of view to the table. To influence product strategy and the roadmap you need to take a broade...
1453 Views
5 requests
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
My biggest accomplishment was in a prior role at a different company for a SaaS product. I was able to persuade the product and executive leadership team to invest in a r...
1118 Views
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What are some ways you navigate the pivot from engaging with colleagues from a place of collaboration and ideation towards a stance of execution and accountability as deadlines approach?
(especially in complex projects with many stakeholders involved)
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
We're actually in the middle of a project like that. For major launches with large cross-functional teams, there is a point of transition when you, as you say "pivot towa...
1177 Views
1 request
AppFolio Vice President Product Marketing • 4y
That's a great question and actually my answer to some of the other questions asked today. The way to influence without authority is to build credibility and trust. My th...
1202 Views
5 requests