What are tools or processes that we can use to tie our metrics closer to revenue? It's difficult to quantify the impact of sales collateral, for example.

I’ve found it helpful to orient cross-functional teams, including product marketing, around clear metrics linked to revenue. Here's a good way to think about some of the key metrics that PMM can influence:

1. Direct Revenue Impact

• Bookings and pipeline touched by PMM initiatives like sales plays

• Win rates (by segment, product, competitor)

• Average deal size 

2. Sales Effectiveness

• Pipeline conversion rates by stage

• Sales content usage and engagement

• Deal velocity and sales cycle length

• New rep ramp time

3. Customer & Market Validation

• Product adoption rates

• Feature usage trends

• Customer satisfaction scores

• Win/loss analysis insights
  

The secret sauce is to combine quantitative data with qualitative feedback through:

• Regular conversations with Sales and your GTM teams (what's working/not working)

• Customer interviews (what their pain points are and why they bought)

• Deal desk reviews and interviews (patterns in successful vs. unsuccessful deals)

That way, you can understand the story behind the numbers and suss out reasons for any trends or anomalies. And from there, you can put together an action plan to iterate and improve.