What are best ways to develop a great working relationship with product management counterparts?

Establish trust with your PM counterparts. You can do this by bringing something of value to the table, sharing your data-driven insights with them, working WITH them and not against them, and being a thought partner they can rely on. I’ve been lucky to experience really great relationships with my PM counterparts but have heard horror stories from my colleagues. I would recommend thinking through the following:

1.       What level of subject matter expertise do you have in this area? For most of my PMM roles, I started with 0 level of knowledge on the topic/space. I spent my first 30 days ramping up, listening and researching. Then, I felt comfortable to weigh in.

2.       What can you as a PMM share with the PM that would make the PM’s life easier? What does the PM need but doesn’t have access to? Is this something you can help with?

3.       How well connected are you with your PM’s actions? Does your PM consult you for advice? Does your PM respect Marketing in general? How was your PM’s relationship with the last PMM?

4.       What skills, knowledge, or data do you have access to that your PM would benefit from? For instance, I present in front of customers more often than my PM counterparts do. I bring proof points and the field’s feedback directly to my PM. My PM appreciates the transparency and asks me “what should I do with this info” and I offer perspectives/next steps or we brainstorm on what other data is missing before we make a decision. That’s a partnership.

Remember that trust is earned. It may take time. But in my experience, if you’re working at a company with great people and collaborative culture, your PM will welcome your help!

A good PM will look to PMM for their deep knowledge and expertise about the customer and the market. In my experience, the best way to improve relationships with PM is to show them that you possess unique insights that they don’t, which can help them build more successful products.

• Can you use industry or market research to show PM what they should be building 1, 2, 3 years from now? Where is the market headed? What are the mega-trends that will reshape the business and how should PM respond?

• Can you deliver compelling insights from, say, customer advisory boards, to shed new light on your customers’ pain points, needs, and “jobs to be done” when using your products? Can you develop recommendations for what PM should build or even de-prioritize (in the spirit of helping PM better focus their scarce time and resources) based on these customer insights?

• Can you craft a detailed competitive analysis, showing where PM should invest to leap-frog the competition?