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Sarah Din

AMA: Quickbase VP of Product Marketing, Sarah Din on Influencing the C-Suite

July 31, 2024 @ 10:00AM PT

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  1. How do you drive alignment across the exec team on messaging

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    • Involve them in the process - get their thoughts and feedback to even begin working on new messaging

    • Keep them involved through the process and show them progress

    • Test it, gather feedback and share it regularly

    • Exec team will care how the messaging impacts the business so be clear in the metrics you are tracking and show impact - whether its win-rates or revenue or brand awareness, etc.

    1,043 Views
    2 requests

  2. What is the best approach to influencing C-suite executives in a business strategy decision?

    As Product Marketers, our primary role is to act as ambassadors and influence other departments with customer and market insights. I wonder how this dynamic changes when the PMM is a VP and the ‘other departments’ are the C-suite. I’m curious about how deep and challenging these conversations might be.

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    To influence C-suite executives in a business strategy decision, focus on aligning your goals with theirs. Understand their priorities and show how your ideas support company objectives. Use clear, data-driven insights to back up your points and keep your communication concise and focused on high-level outcomes. Build relationships by being proactive and transparent. When you're a VP, conversations with the C-suite can be deep and challenging because you're discussing strategic, big-picture idea ...Read More

    956 Views
    3 requests

  3. How do you get your c-suite to care about product marketing? What are their high priority problems that we uniquely solve?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    The way to get any leadership team to care about what we do is to bring something of value to the table. Know what your biggest company priorities are (because that will vary from company to company), and then find a way to contribute to solving that problem. For example, many start-ups struggle with product-market-fit or positioning or defining a niche/category or segmentation - all of those are very strategic parts of PMM and of your company's GTM strategy - critical things any executive team ...Read More

    955 Views
    2 requests

  4. Product Marketers often get pulled in several directions and everything feels urgent. How do we work with our CMO and Exec team to help narrow down what we focus on?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    Make sure you set clear goals or OKRS during planning and share them with your XF stakeholders to get buy in Make sure you present data on what initiatives you think will have the biggest ROI or drive the biggest impact - and try to quantify that in some way Ask for feedback regularly and discuss priorities at the executive level Continue to also update the CMO/Exec team as things shift, because they always do - and constantly realign - its an ongoing process Be transparent with whats working an ...Read More

    538 Views
    2 requests

  5. Who do you align yourself with to gain momentum in the leadership organization?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    To get things moving in the leadership team, align with key players and teams focused on revenue growth. Start by identifying top decision-makers like the CEO, CFO, and heads of sales and customer success. These folks drive critical initiatives. Partner with sales to understand customer needs and collaborate with the customer success team to boost satisfaction and retention. Work closely with product management to ensure marketing aligns with product features. Show how your efforts directly impa ...Read More

    958 Views
    2 requests

  6. What do product marketers get wrong when trying to influence the C-Suite?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    Here are a few things I see PMMs get wrong:

    • Focusing on initiatives that don't align with the company’s strategic objectives.

    • Failing to show how initiatives will provide a clear return on investment.

    • Using complex language that confuses rather than clarifies.

    • Operating in silos without involving other departments.

    • Not involving key stakeholders early in the process.

    • Being rigid and not adapting executive feedback.

    • Hesitating to propose new ideas.

    548 Views
    2 requests

  7. What are some ways that junior and newer pmms can get greater exposure to the c-suite?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    Highlight Your Work: Work with your manager and find opportunities to highlight your work - whether its at Town Halls/company meetings or moments that give you visibility in front of leadership. Take Initiative: Volunteer for high-visibility tasks that might not be 100% in your scope, but where you have something to offer - and involves collaboration with senior leaders. Network and Build Relationships: Build relationships with key stakeholders and mentors who can introduce you to C-suite execut ...Read More

    536 Views
    2 requests

  8. How do you get the Csuite team to buy into a new pitch deck?

    I just joined a new company, and their pitch decks are AWFUL and the sales teams are losing deals because of poor pitches. I'm working with a few key stakeholders to create better pitch decks, but several CSuite team members are apprehensive about trying something new because we'll be filing for IPO soon. They'd rather be consistently bad, then differently good.

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    The best way is to test it in the market - either do some message testing with existing customers to validate, or run surveys on visuals or messaging -- or best of all, run this with a small pilot sales team and then compare win-rates or sales cycles or whatever metrics you are trying to impact. Net-net - bring data to show how this lands vs your existing/older pitch deck. But for all of this to be true - you need the buy-in of your sales leadership.

    604 Views
    2 requests

  9. How do you influence the c-suite to get more resources?

    Sarah Din
    Sarah Din

    Former SVP of Product Marketing at Quickbase • 1y

    Here are a few ways to do that:

    • Present a clear, data-driven case aligned with the company's strategic goals

    • Highlight potential ROI and specific benefits like increased revenue or improved customer satisfaction

    • Communicate succinctly, focusing on high-level outcomes and strategic impact of that additional resource

    • Address potential objections proactively, showing you’ve considered risks and mitigation plans

    • Gain support from other senior leaders to add weight to your request

    539 Views
    1 request