What can someone who has an extensive sales background do to prove themselves competent for an entry-level product marketing role?

Some of the best product marketers I know started in sales roles, but it can be hard to make the jump from sales into marketing. As a salesperson, you know first hand how messaging is landing with prospective customers, what the needs of those customers are, and where your product wins and where it falls short compared to the competition -- all of which is invaluable to a product marketing team. The trick is taking that knowledge and building out the other foundational skills you need to make yo ...Read More

I find that a lot of the most successful marketers as well as product marketers come from a sales background and I have a lot to learn from them. You're already super customer-focused, you're a great communicator, you are an expert at thriving in tense situations, and nobody knows the go-to-market motion better. Let's bottle that up and turn you into a PMM!    1. Find an industry you will thrive in and a product you are passionate about. Maybe this is an industry you have sold into or maybe it's ...Read More

I made the switch from Sales to Product Marketing at my company a year ago. I actually wrote about this topic here . Here's my quick take: -Product teams (in my experience) are always looking for ways to get feedback from customers. Document your customer/prospect feedback from your Sales calls. -Sales enablement is a massive part of a product marketing team's GTM strategy (depending on your product)...you've been in the Sales seat, and have insight into what Sales wants/needs in terms of conten ...Read More

I spent over five years in my career as a top producing sales rep before breaking into product marketing. The thing I made sure that I could prove how valuable my background in sales could be to the role. As a sales rep, I know what it was like to have valuable material that was easy to use and understand and then I also knew what it was like to feel ill-informed and not have the support and relevant material. To be able to describe that in the interview process was critical.... and to stress th ...Read More