Kevin Zentmeyer

To showcase your work without actually showing your work, you can instead show your process. Any messaging work will have a before and after, even if the prior state was an unlaunched product. Describe what you were given. What was the new product/feature or existing messaging? What was your process for determining the new messaging? Were there any disagreements or misalignments about your new messaging? How did you get alignment to launch your new messaging through sales and marketing assets? W ...Read More

One tactical way to get better at interviews is practice using the following method: 1) Search Glassdoor for product marketing interview questions. 2) Google "product marketing interview questions.” 3) Copy paste all of them into one document. 4) Scan the document for any questions that you could answer in your sleep and delete them. 5) De-duplicated the remaining questions. 6) Write answers for each of those questions. 7) For repetitions, you can either re-read your answers to these questions o ...Read More

Mock GTM plans are typically done two ways in PMM interviews. One is a live question in the interview and the other is a project typically in the form of a PowerPoint. If it is a project, you should recognize this as an opportunity. If you want this role, and you should if you are applying, then this is a high leverage moment to achieve or obtain what you want at the next stage your career. You should go get it. Consider whatever the recruiter or hiring manager indicates is the amount of time th ...Read More

The best product marketers have the following traits in common: 1) They are type A. All of them. 2) They have a growth mindset. There is no finished product, product marketer. This role requires constant learning to succeed day-to-day and only people who enjoy the treadmill of non-stop skill building will last. 3) They are sharp. If the candidate isn't incredibly sharp, I won't trust them, and this cannot be micromanaged. 4) They are "tactfully pushy" which is my term for people who can convince ...Read More

Specificity! AI is vague and general. At this point, AI is great for producing generic, mild product marketing content that won't look off-base and also won't resonate well with anyone. As part of your process, generative AI can be great for polishing or helping copy-edit work created by PMMs, but it can't replace good PMMs who are doing the job well. A key watchout is that AI will make your work sound more generic and toned down in the editing process if A) you aren't using a custom GPT that wo ...Read More

I think landing your first interview and subsequently your first job as a PMM is made easier if you target some level of specialization either within the role or the company. Many PMM roles, especially more junior ones, are specialized or weighted towards particular areas like sales enablement or pricing for example. For someone with a sales or finance background in those cases, that can be a way in. Practically everyone in product marketing started their career in something else because there a ...Read More

Storytelling isn’t just a persuasion tool; it’s how we can keep product marketing grounded in the reality of what customers actually experience. My process blends anecdotes and data to make problems feel real, meaningful, and solvable. Start with a single, specific pain point. Apply the Pragmatic test to validate it. Is it a sharp pain that is widely felt? Find a human example. A customer, a rep’s story, or a support ticket that perfectly captures the struggle. Add the proof. Quantify the scope ...Read More

When features are nearly identical, I focus on the company instead of the product. Brand, customer experience, and employees who interact with customers become the real differentiators. Lead with brand trust. In my opinion, a strong brand is either large and corporate - displaying safety and trust, or takes on a challenger voice that is honest and aligns closely with its customers. Shopify is a good example here, despite being the largest player in its space at this point. Tell stories, not spec ...Read More

Executives switch contexts constantly, and it’s easy to forget how much mental gear-shifting that takes. Storytelling helps in two important ways: it earns their attention and helps them quickly reorient to the problem space you’re asking them to weigh in on. Doing it already gets you halfway to "yes." Start with a story, not a slide. Open with a short, vivid example of the customer, team, or outcome that’s at stake. It immediately grounds the discussion. I mean this literally. If you're present ...Read More