Influencing the C-Suite

1 Answer
Lisa Dziuba
Lisa Dziuba
Lemon.io Head of Growth Product MarketingDecember 2
When working with C-Suite executives, there are a few key habits that can help you build strong working relationships and effectively communicate your ideas: 1. Be prepared: Make sure you have thoroughly researched and thought through your ideas before presenting them to C-Suite executives.......Read More
800 Views
18 Answers
Ajit Ghuman
Ajit Ghuman
Twilio Director of Product Management - Pricing & Packaging, CXPSeptember 9
It's hard. Real hard.  Many PMMs make the mistake of starting with messaging. This is a no-no. Messaging comes last and just puts words behind what was already decided. You have to nail this in sequential order.  1. First comes strategy 2. Then comes positioning 3. And finally comes me......Read More
879 Views
3 Answers
Eric Petitt
Eric Petitt
Glassdoor Vice President, MarketingMarch 17
It starts with making sure the c-suite knows where you fit in to business outcomes. What are your OKR’s for the quarter, for the year? Is there a straight line between your priorities and the key opportunities for the company? Have you shared them? The second is making sure you are being heard. ......Read More
664 Views
1 Answer
Sherry Wu
Sherry Wu
Gong Director of Product MarketingJanuary 11
Influencing any stakeholder (whether internal or external) comes down to two factors. Think of any stakeholder as a customer you'd like to market to. You need to know 3 things: 1. What does your stakeholder care about from a business perspective? 2. What information do they need, and where do ......Read More
673 Views
7 Answers
Sunny Manivannan
Sunny Manivannan
Braze Vice President & GM, Global SMBJune 16
Startups are unique because (virtually) every employee is also a shareholder. Which means that every internal meeting is also a shareholders' meeting. Now, unlike companies where you are a passive shareholder (Grandma bought you 10 shares of McDonald's, for example) but have no way to influence ......Read More
1141 Views
1 Answer
Sherry Wu
Sherry Wu
Gong Director of Product MarketingJanuary 11
There are 3 main ways I interact with the C-suite: * Regular leadership meetings where we discuss product roadmap and GTM * Project-specific interactions * Regular 1:1s (this will depend on the size of your company) During regular leadership meetings, execs discuss high-priority company init......Read More
574 Views
9 Answers
Diana Smith
Diana Smith
Hashi Senior Director of Product MarketingJuly 16
We match internal promotion based on the level of the product announcement. Small updates are little features that mostly existing customers are excited about. Medium updates are larger changes that potentially open up a small new audience or unlock new revenue potential. Large updates are major ......Read More
3517 Views
11 Answers
Ajit Ghuman
Ajit Ghuman
Twilio Director of Product Management - Pricing & Packaging, CXPMay 28
Oh boy, this is a great question.  In my experience in working with various different startups in the valley, I've seen this dynamic in many places. Sales and marketing tensions are not a 'thing' for no reason.  However, these relationships can improve. Some of the people who I've personall......Read More
462 Views
2 Answers
Eric Petitt
Eric Petitt
Glassdoor Vice President, MarketingMarch 17
Your founders will have a stronger org when they eventually trust product marketing with more control over messaging. If you can, start with research. Talk to prospects and customers and show how they respond to different approaches. And test and learn. If you have an existing audience base, you ......Read More
933 Views
2 Answers
Eric Petitt
Eric Petitt
Glassdoor Vice President, MarketingMarch 17
Product marketing is so often misunderstood, and a lot of CMO’s didn’t grow up with it so they don’t particularly understand it. Still other CMO’s struggle with the PMM orgs that seem to spend more time on things they can’t see or aren’t held accountable for inside their own marketing org. And, l......Read More
959 Views