Dana Barrett

VP of Marketing, Tremendous

Content

How do you manage people who don't necessarily report into you?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

You are 100% correct that the hardest part of a PMMs job is managing without authority. Often, PMMs rely on shared resources or centralized teams to get their job done. I have found three things work really well in managing without authority. They are all hard and take time, but they are effectiv......Read More

22787 Views

What's the product marketing career path towards senior management (VP, CMO..etc)?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

I don’t think there is a typical career path to get to VP or CMO. That said, many CMOs for tech companies have product marketing experience, so it's a good place to start if your ultimate goal is to be a CMO. From my perspective, the VPs and CMOs that I admire most have often worked in a range of......Read More

21676 Views

What are some things you wish you knew in your first few years of Product Marketing, that you have learnt since?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

I spent a lot of time in my early career worrying about getting to the next promotion and how I was progressing versus my peers. Looking back now, this was all wasted energy. I wish I had been more focused on learning and picking up as many skills and experiences as possible. I also wish I had be......Read More

18334 Views

How do you make the jump from senior manager to director level in product marketing?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

I started as an IC and was working on a product that was on the verge of being deprecated. Fast forward three years, and I got a promotion and was managing a team of 9 people. How did I do it? Well, the short answer is that I delivered results. I saw an opportunity to grow the product I was assi......Read More

16402 Views

What advice do you have for a current product marketing manager who's looking to grow his/her career in product marketing?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

Every product marketing org is different, but there are typically three big areas that may or may not be included in a product marketing org including, inbound (working more closely with Product), outbound (or GTM, working more closely with Sales), and compete (often supports competitive needs of......Read More

16222 Views

What's a typical product marketing career path?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

I don’t think there is a typical career path for Product Marketers. I personally started my career in investment banking and consulting and transitioned into a corporate role via Operations. I made the transition to Product Marketing by networking and building relationships while I was working in......Read More

15571 Views

How do you break into a product marketing role?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

It's hard to break into product marketing with no experience as it is a tough job. PMMs have to manage a lot of cross functional stakeholders and are often responsible for executing large, complex launches. My suggestion is to enter a company in a function where you have experience and network yo......Read More

13450 Views

What do you look for when promoting a Product Marketer from individual contributor to people manager?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

I look for a couple of things: 1. Can they proactively identify and solve problems? 2. Are they coachable? Do they have a growth mindset? 3. Are they able to drive cross functional alignment, with peers and senior stakeholders? 4. Are they acting as a mentor and coach to others on the ......Read More

11101 Views

How do you prepare yourself to become a Product Marketing Director and manage a team, without any experience managing anyone previously?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

You do not have to have direct reports to develop some of the skills you will need to be a good manager and demonstrate that you are ready to take on the challenge of managing a team. Many PMMs have to mobilize large cross functional teams to get work done. To do this well, you need to set a cle......Read More

10113 Views

Can you get into product marketing by moving from a digital marketing role?

Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • October 15

Yes, the easiest way to make this transition is to try to move into the Product Marketing org in your current company. I recommend getting to know some of the folks on the Product Marketing team. Ask them about their jobs and figure out if there are things you can do in your current job to prepar......Read More

3224 Views

Credentials & Highlights

VP of Marketing at Tremendous