Chris Hines

The most effective management model I have seen was born out of some of the original Blade Logic GTM teams. I started working with a few who learned this model called Power Plays (aka Landing Zones aka fancy sales plays). The idea is based on the ability to boost sales productivity by focusing on one key metric. New business meetings (NBMs). Simply speaking, if you can drive an increase of NBMs per week per account rep, and have you conversion funnel in place, you can model out what your expecte ...Read More

This is a solid question. I also says that being a Product Marketer is a bit like being a quarterback. Or if you prefer the Arts, a band Director (fun fact, I played Tenor Sax within my high-school's concert band back in the day). What's key is the ability to understand the other critical roles, how they ARE working together, and how they SHOULD be - then orchestrating the strategy. As a new comer the first three people that you should reach out to your Growth Marketing Leader, Product Marketing ...Read More

Treat AR like a bullseye program. Success in AR is the ability to get in front of the most influential analysts. Goal your team on getting this face time, and track how often that’s happening. You want to have multiple touch points each quarter with those folks. Some KPIs I track key analyst engagements Mentions in research AR-sourced opps (customers who are referred to you by an analyst) Track all of these well, but the real Valhalla is when you see your architecture, words you used, or your na ...Read More

This is a GREAT question. Messaging is one of those things that everyone wants to influence too so that can be a challenge. We try not to update our messaging too often, or it can impact the Sales team's ability to accurately tell the story to customers. We tend to develop a foundational message for the platform about once a year, and throughout the year make enhancements based on feedback from key stakeholders like: Customers, Sales leads, PM, and analysts. I can't stress enough the importance ...Read More

One of the best ways to actually test your message is to speak with analysts. They speak with other vendors in your space, and take inquiries from customers all the time! Another great external resource is your customer base. Select 2-3 customers that you think would offer some strong advice and ask them how they feel about your messaging. Is it unique? Would it capture the attention of their peers? Is it even relevant to the challenges their peers are dealing with each day? Is it any different ...Read More

Love this question. You want to make sure that you are always telling a story. Storybrand is a great template that I often use. It has 7 elements A hero Has a challenge They meet a guide Who gives them a plan Calls them to action Helps the avoid failure They succeed in the end Your overall product or platform should be telling this story above. Any new product launches should map back to this story, but add additional value to customers. You can use the "Three Whys" to help guide you too. Why an ...Read More

I love this question! I always find it best to avoid the price war if you can. And YES positioning/message can be invaluable here 🙏🏾 My general guidance to you is this. As yourself these questions: “Can I change the problem set to align closer to my core competency?” - if you’re trying to win a deal where the competitor has defined the problem set, you’ve already lost. Take back control! Define the problem set the customer SHOULD be thinking about, and win the deal that way. “Can I shift the con ...Read More

First off, I am a big believe in leading from below when you are more junior. View yourself as a leader from the outset. I'm not saying be cocky, or overconfident, but realize that you DO have a seat at the table. Second off, spend a fair amount of time determining what the strengths are for the more senior stakeholders you are working with. Is one more of the "idea" person, but less of the "doer"? Is one a great writer, but maybe not the most creative? Are they all pretty bad at developing an a ...Read More

Alrighty, good question. I will assume this is around how PMM in technical companies can leverage AI. First off, let me start by saying that EVERY marketer should look to boost their AI familiarity given how incredible helpful these tools can be At Cyera we use AI to help with what we call "Marketing Moments" - these are moments in time where we look to make a lightning strike. As a PMM one of those moments are obviously product launches. We are using AI today to help with technical and non-tech ...Read More