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Axel Kirstetter

AMA: Datasite VP - Product Marketing, Content Marketing, Pricing, Axel Kirstetter on Sales Enablement

March 31 @ 10:00AM PST
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Datasite VP - Product Marketing, Content Marketing, Pricing, Axel Kirstetter on Sales Enablement
Top Questions
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
This question sits better with Sales than product marketing. Also, sales strategy sounds like an oximoron to me. WHo cares how you sell as long as you make revenues (and its legal/ethical). That said, to better plan and align a company needs to decide a few things. Choices to be made: - what is ......Read More
1109 Views
1 request
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Love this question. Here is my 5-stepper 1. Identify your corporate dates. sales offsite, management offsite, product launches etc. are time based anchorpoints. Key decisions get made or updates occur. Execs get together etc. (pro tip: avoid end of quarter) 2. Identify your key business priorit......Read More
737 Views
3 requests
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Given that you are resource constrained I would highly recommend you explore using CI software. There are a few out there. Do a little research. For $20k you can be up and running. Team up with Sales to fund it. In PMM you dont always need to own everything. You can have can also impact by facili......Read More
748 Views
1 request
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Should Sales not create the Sales Playbook?! This seems to be a case where PMM is doing Sales Ops' job. I understand with smaller companies responsibilities stretch across departments. In this case I would have thought the right answer is to work with Sales on the playbook. If they co-authored it......Read More
771 Views
3 requests
When should a company start thinking about creating a separate sales enablement function?
Sales Enablement is now seen as a new functional area in many organizations separate from Product Marketing.
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Budget wise, PMM is a straight up expense. Sales enablement on the other hand more of a Sales opportunity cost. THe function sits in Sales and that department needs to decide if it wants more 'feet on the ground' or 'hands in the air'. If ability to make revenue is slowed by complex non-docume......Read More
606 Views
2 requests
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Great question! Firstly I question the assertion here. there is NOTHING wrong with a tactical list of activties. Sales enablement owns time-to-productivity. If that means doing a preset task list, that is not necessarily a bad thing. In terms of swimming more upstream I would suggest getting more......Read More
707 Views
1 request
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Its OK for the line to be muddy. Make sure you have a good working relation with your sales ops counterpart.  Usually sales ops and enablement are slightly different functions. sales ops has also revenue ops elements in it around contracting and quoting for example. One common metric outright ......Read More
1963 Views
3 requests
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Great question. Context matters. Larger companies have a dedicated sales enablement department. They are subject experts at the process of passing on knowledge to Sales. PMM are experts in the subject at hand. For example in the context of a launch, PMM would define message, positiong, pricing et......Read More
1425 Views
3 requests
How do you navigate sales enablement at a startup that serves multiple sectors of the market and has limited resources?
We are moving upstream from working with executive search firms and recruitment agencies to working with in-house enterprise and MM companies. Each type of firm needs the software for recruitment purposes, but each has different pain points and feature interests within the platform
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
Are you perhaps stretched too thin with multiple/various buyers. Do you need to do a buying persona exercise vs accelerated sales enablement? Sometime Sales Enablement is over thought. Ultimately it is about facilitating/suppporting the selling process. If you are pursuing many varied buyers, wh......Read More
664 Views
1 request
What are the most powerful, non-executive, relationships in sales departments a PMM can create?
When it comes to PMM core duties, typically who are the best partners in the sales org, who has the knowledge and the customer touch points to really help PMMs win?
Axel Kirstetter
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product MarketingMarch 31
1. Many companies have a form of President's Club. Congratulate every single awardee. Ask to join them on the next drive-by with prospects/clients. these are the best reps you company has. there is probably a reason they are good  2. Listen in to tele conversation (be it inside our outisde sales......Read More
718 Views
1 request