Sam Roguine is an experienced technical #productmarketing leader, available for the next great opportunity. #positivefriday
This is #6 in a series of posts to introduce you to exceptional people in my #productmarketing and #productmanagement network.
I asked Sam “What are three key things you look for in a Product Marketing Manager?”
#1 Communication skills
A PMM must deeply listen and ask questions. In multiple “languages”. The language of product, yes, but also the languages of Sales (velocity, commission, margin, opportunities, closing), Marketing (narrative, funnel, lead gen), the market (learnings to and from press and analysts), clients (problems and needs), and engineering (features, products, solutions). Communication is so paramount, Sam will to an extent discount #2 and #3 in favor of this skill.
#2 Technical understanding
A vertical technical background is best, but not essential. Essential is the ability to prove you can learn and understand technology deeply. If you don’t completely understand the tech, Sam cuts some slack if you prove the ability to research, learn, and explain. What was your tech ability elsewhere? Even outside of technology solutions, proof of curiosity and research skills are essential.
#3 The ability to parse the world at different altitudes.
Can you see challenges at 50,000 feet, 10,000 feet, and on the ground? Can you understand from the points of view of features, products, customers, and internal teams? Can you dislodge yourself from details and look at the big picture of various market personas. Are you hungry to understand at every level–business, functions, managers and individual contributors?
The best PMMs shift perspectives between market, business, persona, company, and technical contexts quickly. For example, if you know features deeply at ground level, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Sales or Marketing should. In a CFO discussion Sales need value to the organization, not features or products. Why should buyers choose our company instead of others? Mention features to the wrong persona at the wrong time and you get delegated–or worse, dismissed.
Great PMMs enable sellers to sell based the merits of pain alleviated, why it’s best to work with their brand, and why their ROI is most compelling. Done well, discussions shift to buyer personas that do the technical vetting, including specific feature benefits. Content at each of these levels is indeed the mix. It must be content based on strategies, personas, and sales cycles mapped to the heart of a growing business.
PMMs should aspire to transform firms to better understand GTM market needs, why people are buying, and evolve PMM into a full peer at the strategic and execution heart of an organization. This is what Sam has done, and what he loves to do.
Sam is based in the Boston region and seeks a PMM leadership role. He has deep chops in cybersecurity and data protection. He has lived internationally.
#networking #availableforwork
