How Do Top Product Marketers Win Over the Sales Team

Photo by Joaquin Romero on Unsplash

Collaboration between you as a product marketer and the sales team is critical for the success of a product at any company. But more than that, if you are at a sales-led organization, your success as a product marketer may hing on how well you get along with the sales team.

Here are some ways a product marketer is expected to collaborate with the sales team:

• Develop sales enablement materials: A product marketer works with the sales team to create sales enablement materials, such as product brochures, sales decks, and demos. These materials help the sales team effectively communicate the product’s value proposition to potential customers.
• Communicate product updates: A product marketer informs the sales team of any product updates or changes. This helps the sales team stay up-to-date with the latest product features and benefits. This is that standard role of a PMM as the go-between for sales and product.
• Conduct product training: A product marketer provides product training to the sales team. This includes educating them on the product’s features and benefits, as well as how to overcome common objections.
• Gather customer feedback: The sales team interacts with customers on a regular basis, so they are a valuable source of customer feedback. A product marketer works with the sales team to gather feedback on the product’s performance and identify areas for improvement. If your company has Customer Marketing or Customer Success, you will most likely be collaborating with these departments on this as well.
• Analyze sales data: A product marketer may in some roles analyze sales data to identify trends and insights. This information helps inform future product development decisions and marketing efforts. But be sure to talk to whoever runs sales about this first. Most likely they are doing some sort of sales data analysis of their own and may want to collaborate.

I often like to start a new product marketing or GTM role at a company by setting up one-on-one calls with as many sales people as I can. That way I can get direct feedback from them about how they think of the product, how they think about the sales process, what issues they run into often, and anything else they want to share. It’s a good way to get a quick download on what you need to know while showing the sales team that their opinions and concerns matter to you.

And last but possibly most important: if the sales team invites you to join them for drinks — you have to go.