AMA: Eightfold Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Ryan Smith on Product Marketing Career Path

The best product marketers put themselves at the center of the 5 Ps: Product, Packaging, Positioning, Promotion, and Place (aka Enablement). On any given day, your work should be related to the above. PMMs should be the most athletic (multi-dimensional) marketer at the company. The more you expose yourself and work on the 5 Ps the better off you will be. 

Get involved in a Product Launch ASAP. Product launches are a great way to get experience with the 5Ps (covered in the first question). The other beautiful thing about product launches is that they typically touch every function of the company (or nearly every function) so you'll get the opportunity to collaborate with enablement, sales, SEs, finance, ops, product and more while building relationships with key stakeholders that will be critical to long term success. Be a sponge, observe key decision-makers and how they operate, and don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work.

This is a tricky one and often depends on the philosophy of the company, org and individual leaders. From my experience there are 3 major indicators: - Led a big, cross-functional product launch. I find this particularly important for Sr. Managers looking for a Director promotion. Launches are typically super visible and again, you're exercising many of the core and valued PMMs skills (Going back to the 5Ps). - Be an active listener and contributor in meetings (especially when execs are involved). Come prepared with a strong POV and be prepared to defend it. - See around the corner. It's much easier to promote someone who doesn't need to be told what to do. They think strategically and can predict what the business needs 2-4 quarters out. 

* This is hard to quantify, but for me, it's all about being easy to work with and a great collaborator. Cross-functional collaboration is inherent to product marketing leadership and people have to enjoy working with you. * Think about thinking. One of the biggest adjustments for ICs is taking the time to form clear POVs. You have to anticipate meeting topics and questions that might come up and make sure you have well-formed opinions. * Finally, it's not about you anymore, it's about your team. Empathy, accessibility, trust and self-regulation are paramount for modern people managers. 

Two dimensions to think about: product and operational. PMMs need to be aligned to persona solutions. If the product set only has one key buyer there may be opportunities to break down by user personas or level two buyers. If that's still challenging I would suggest thinking about operational or functional alignment. For example: - Messaging PMM (FCD, website, PR) - Technical PMM (demos builds, videos, release marketing) - Events PMM - Enablement/GTM PMM (leads sales enablement strategy or supports GTM for a specific segment or industry) PMM team structure nirvana is having a mixture of all of the above. At the end of the day, it's largely driven by the needs of the business. 

Read. Watch. Listen. Consume as much information as possible. Knowledge is power. People listen and follow leaders who have opinions. Opinions are shaped by experiences. When you're uncomfortable, there's a good chance you're probably learning. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Remember, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. 

A few things: - Highlight business impact as much as possible (ex helped grow ACV by 100% in 1 year) - Highlight product launches - Highlight technical proficiencies (I've always thought Solution Engineers make some of the best PMMs because they know the product so well) - Personally, I want someone who works well with others. As I grow in my career I put more and more stock in this trait. Don't be afraid to say "People like working with me and here are a few examples...."