How can I get into product marketing from my current technical sales/enablement role?

I'm a product specialist at Meltwater and I'm looking to move into product marketing but would prefer to look externally. I currently support the sales team by setting up and demoing customized environments to prospects, sparring use cases, and doing some enablement work. I've been doing some small projects with both the product marketing team and the broader marketing team - most recently a competitive VS style landing page and vertical-specific landing page copy. For a side project, I'm in the midst of starting a podcast for aspiring marketers where I interview people from different disciplines so students and others looking to get into the field can see what best aligns with their interests. Is there anything else I should be doing? Am I looking two steps ahead and I need to get more experience first? Feel like I wouldn't even get an interview if I applied to a PMM job in the tech space.

5 answers

All related (65)

Shabih Syed

Product Lead, Ecosystem Discovery at Square | Formerly Mparticle • July 7

Thank you for your question. It's true that sometimes hiring managers look for the steretoypical background markers such as years of experience when evaluating candidates for product marketing. But in

28 Saves

Jason Oakley

Senior Director of Product Marketing at Klue • January 5

I'll start by saying that I love the initiative you're taking to break into product marketing. It sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things. A lot more than most who are in your shoes. I th

8 Saves

Priyanka Srinivasan

Head of Product & Growth Marketing at Qualia • August 12

You might considering pitching yourself for a technical PMM role - or a technical associate PMM. My guess is you have a lot of experience with the more technical aspects of the product (and you’re cer

24 Saves

Tamara Grominsky

VP Product Marketing & Lifecycle at Kajabi • May 11

It's a great time to get into Product Marketing - demand is high, and supply is low. In my experience, great PMMs and PMs come from a wide variety of backgrounds, so there is no "one perfect path".

7 Saves

Angus Maclaurin

Director of Product Marketing at BILL • February 2

First off, I would say that Product Marketing is in demand in the market and the most critical skill set is a passion for understanding the customer and crafting messaging. If you can show a deep empa

8 Saves

How would you approach this product marketing interview assignment?