How do you work with channel owners? Oftentimes there is conflict when product marketing doesn't agree with channel owner strategies, however it's a PMM's job to ensure marketing meets higher lever strategic objectives for a launch.

Here are 4 ways this can be mitigated: 

• There’s always a reason why you don’t agree -- when you can get to the data and root cause driving the disagreement -- then you start to build bridges to get back on the same page. Instead of disagreeing, a good response is to keep asking “why”?... “Why don’t you agree?”...”Why will that be an issue?”...”Why do you think this won’t work”...”Why, what does that mean?”. Keep asking “why” and digging until you unlock the root cause. People often have access to different information and facts, or they are using words differently. I find as a PMM I’m constantly level setting with people to make sure we all have the same facts, understand the same meaning of all the words we are using and get down to the “why”.  
• With each strategy or project I always refer to our company and shared OKRs (Objective and Key Results) -- or maybe your company has MBOs, KPIs, etc... I use this to prioritize projects so when I engage with a channel owner and speak to their/our OKRs, it’s hard for anyone to not agree on a shared strategy. The key is making sure your OKRs tie to channel owners and this requires coordination in advance with those stakeholders and managers. PMMs are a strategic hub who are there to connect the dots between cross-functional stakeholders so we need to mold and wrap ourselves around other groups.
• Example: Channel owners are always trying to drive pipeline and I know they have OKRs around this, so I was on board with having a PMM OKR to drive $4M of pipeline for a product launch I was working on. My launch went very smoothly because I put the OKR on my slides when I was presenting ideas or metrics to channel owners. It’s always good to level set on the shared goal at the onset of any launch or meeting so that everyone is on the same page.
• Treat each channel owner like one of your “personas”. Understand their role, what their pain points are and what their goals are. Do a 1:1 with them, interview them and find out how you can help them and work with them. Once you have a clear idea on how to deliver value to them, incorporate that into how you work with them, message them and position your work to them. You already do this as a PMM for customers and prospects, so applying this same tactic to channel owners works just as well. 
• Whenever I roll out a new launch, framework, message or piece of content, label everything “draft” and share it with channel owners in advance of any meeting where you plan to present it the first time. Having these smaller meetings or 1:1’s to get their early feedback and buy-in is key to get everyone on the same page individually vs. introducing new ideas at a larger meeting where people can be influenced by group think -- i.e. someone doesn’t like it and others, who wouldn’t feel that way on their own, start to jump on the bandwagon. Successful people already have buy-in on their ideas before a meeting vs. presenting their ideas for the first time at the meeting. This isn’t feasible for every decision because it takes time, but for the big ones, like your upcoming launch -- this strategy has worked very well for me.

Excellent. Let's respond to this from the channel owners perspective (I promise it's to build empathy, not to be annoying). If I'm the channel owner, there are a few reasons why I might not want to do what you're asking me to do. Let's break them down:

1. I don't think it will work
2. I don't think this is a priority/ I'm really busy
3. I don't think you understand your audience
4. I don't think you understand the channel
5. I don't think you have reasonable expectations (of me or the goal)

What you'll notice as a theme across all these things: I don't have the same amount of conviction in your plans as you do. This could be because I need to learn more about the launch, our strategy, or how this launch impacts the business.

As a PMM, it is your job to be so clear on your WHYs (and to document that clarity) that channel owners can help you understand which of those 5 (or countless other reasons) is the reason they aren't buying into this as much as you are. In my experience, I find a lot of channel owners say it's 1 and 4, and as a result 5. Be honest with yourself: did you loop them in early enough to have them inform what would work, what the channel is best used for, and what a reasonable expectation might look like? If not, take the learning and give them enough context and space to collaborate that you get the outcome you want! 

I've been fortunate to work with extremeley talented teammates who have far more expertise than I do against their specialized channels, but as is inevitable, I have experienced conflict when these channel owners must juggle several launch or content priorities. 

In an ideal world, as a PMM you've provided ample lead time for planning, clear positioning and message strategy, launch goals (including co-created channel goals). In a scenario where channel owners aren't able to invest as much as you are hoping, I'd start with a conversation to create shared understanding of both the launch priorities and the competing demands for the channel owner, brainstorm how to bridge the gap, and document the decisions and trade-offs. This should be a document that both PMM and the channel owners stand behind and are comfortable sharing with broader stakeholders/leaders. 

By doing the above, you have better odds of making the right choice for the company/business at large, even if it means your prioritized launch sees slower or even lower success. 

The PMM is typically responsible for owning the strategic brief for campaigns and launches that informs partner teams and channel owners. Creating an inclusive process where feedback is encouraged during the brief phase should foster an environment where channel owners also feel inclined to follow this behavior. If there is still disagreement, it's important to identify the decision maker as part of the DIN (Decide, Input, Notify) framework to be able to move forward.

• The brief includes things like positioning, target audience, product details and overall objectives/goals. The brief kicks off the campaign/launch process with other relevant cross functional teams, including channel owners (e.g. Growth, Social).

• Usually there is a review and feedback period for partners (including channel owners) to clarify, pushback, and suggest. By allowing partners to review and provide feedback on the overall strategic direction of the campaign or launch, it creates an environment where others are also encouraged to seek feedback.

• When channel owners present their plans back to PMMs and the rest of the team, there should be an opportunity for PMMs to provide feedback and make sure the proposed tactics align with the goals from the brief.

• It's important to challenge ideas, not people. If you have feedback on a particular recommendation, you need to have data and/or clear rationale as to why you're objecting. If both the PMM and the Channel partner can't agree, then the next step is to present a clear comparison table of options (with pros/cons) for respective leaders to make a decision from. From here, the best thing you can do is disagree and commit to the final decision!

Great question !

Here's a framework, from an earlier stint, while working in Google:

We ran cross-team alignment building more as a program management exercise and not as a simple communication formality.

This is how we went about it:

For any cross functional project (not just launch), we built alignment across four information categories -

1. Context Sharing a.k.a a preliminary call / meeting where project owner (in your case, PMM) shares adequate context with channel owners, so that they are on the same page with us.

At this stage, PMM should share visibility on:

• Launch goals

• Campaign plan

• Timelines

• High level overview of deliverables per channel

• Launch FAQ doc - campaign narrative, links to product / feature doc

• Leadership approvals

This puts channel owners in your shoes & you, in theirs.

2. Input Gather a.k.a call out inputs needed from channel owners (such as feedback on messaging, inputs on campaign plan etc).

It has two benefits -

• It gets them invested into your launch project

• You can incorporate their feedback, course correct and avoid push-backs at a later stage.

3. Projects a.k.a launch campaign related deliverables that are to be jointly driven by channel owners & you.

Get feedback on key tasks & due dates.

4. Dependency & Call Outs a.k.a probe channel owners for dependencies & constraints that might be a blocker for project deliverables. This could include items such as:

• Bandwidth shortage

• Other high priority projects running in parallel

• Budget approvals

• Leadership approvals etc.

Once you align across these four information categories (also called Alignment Types) - you could nudge the channel owner to assign bandwidth a priority level to the overall launch project.

This is when channel owners would include it as part of their project backlog & start active work needed to ship launch deliverables on time.

Here’s a quick video tutorial on the framework:

(This tutorial is a part of a Launchboard Demo)

Launchboard is a Notion based virtual assistant for product marketers to project manage cross-functional launches from a single dashboard.