Stacey Wang

(Hot take?) I, too, am wary when product marketers' stated/primary motive is to "influence the roadmap" b/c influencing the roadmap is just a means to an end; it's not the end itself. (This is perhaps a slim bone to pick, but in my experience, genuine collaborative intent makes all the difference b/w a trusting/productive partnership vs. a guarded/challenging one.) Once there is right intent, you can influence the roadmap by becoming the absolute authority in the world (yes, I said world) in you ...Read More

- Anchor on the highest priority for the company, versus any one team. One of the hardest but also most liberating things about product marketing is that we are an inherently flexible function. Our skillsets are diverse, so we can quickly get into formation behind whatever is most important and strategic to the company at any given point in time. This is our greatest strength (and, if handled poorly, our greatest weakness; see below response), so don't let it go to waste! If the most important i ...Read More

It's hard to answer this in the abstract (w/o knowing more about your current culture), but these two cultural components have been critical to the influence creds PMM has earned at Ironclad: (1) empathy and (2) (a derivative thereof) "win as one" mindset.  Empathy means the ability to see things from your counterparty's point of view. "Win as one" culture is something we really care about at Ironclad, and it basically means committing to driving the best results for the company. It means always ...Read More

This question is completely contingent on your company's business priorities and problems. No one should meet for the sake of meeting! So if the most pressing XFN problem at your company is pricing, you should implement or get PMM into the room for that meeting. If the most pressing XFN problem is opening up a new market, you should get a cadence on the calendar for that. At Ironclad, we have a regular cadence with Product, Sales, and Marketing on topics like Market/Compete, Win/Loss, and all GT ...Read More

A superpower. PMMs come in all shapes and varieties. I like building PMMs into superheroes, known for the thing they do better than anything at the org. I'm always looking for the one thing that a candidate has that sets them head/shoulders above everyone else in the game. Is it storytelling? Analytical rigor? Product aptitude? High ownership and drive; hunger to make an impact. Ironclad is a mission-driven company and everyone on the team is here to create transformative change in an industry t ...Read More