What job titles have you held in Product Marketing roles?
A: I’ve held many different titles in Product Marketing.  Most recently as Chief Product Officer at Hownd, product marketing also rolled up to me.  Before that, I was Director of Product Marketing at Accruent, VP of Product & Alliances at InEight, and VP of Product Marketing at SunGard.  At Primavera, my Alliance Management role meant I was responsible for explaining the complementary benefit of integrated software solutions from our partners.

How does Product Marketing support the sales team?
A: Product marketing supports the sales team by providing them with sales enablement materials, conducting customer research, creating competitive analysis, and developing sales training programs. The role of product marketing is to enable sales reps to be more effective in their sales conversations and close more deals by providing them with the necessary tools and resources.

What software tools do you use for your Product Marketing roles?
A: A good portion of the product marketer’s role is written communication.  This means that I often use presentation software such as PowerPoint and Google Slides to share important details about products.  Beyond that, Microsoft Word and Google Docs are important for drafting business ideas and communicating product strategy.  I have also used Atlassian Confluence to create an intranet to store key documents and messaging materials that can be accessed by stakeholders across the company (a win-win for everyone).  Finally, I am an active user of Slack and Microsoft Teams for team collaboration.

What experience do you have in product marketing?
A: As you can see in my work history, I have 20+ years of experience in product marketing, including managing product launches, conducting market research, developing positioning and messaging, creating sales enablement materials, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

How do you calculate Total Available Market (TAM)?
A:  Understanding the TAM can help drive product strategy by helping the product marketing team build opportunity assessments and prioritize go-to-market efforts.  Sometimes, TAM metrics can be found via public sources (e.g. a Google search!) and other times they may be accessible via an industry association that tracks the size of their industry.  Next, basic industry sizing can also be done via NAICS and SIC code lookups – these industry sources provide approximate business counts that can be used for estimates.  Beyond that, for special cases (such as building target lists of European companies in a specific sub-industry), I have also used 3rd party data companies that can both help with market sizing and provide reasonably good email contact lists.  Once you have a reasonable TAM estimate, you can then start to determine the Serviceable Available Market (SAM) and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) based on your own company’s realistic business reach.

What is the importance of market segmentation to marketing efforts?
A: There’s an old saying that has stuck with me: “If you market to everyone, you market to no one.”  Market segmentation is therefore important in fine-tuning product messaging to the specific pain points and differentiated value our solutions can provide.   A standard way to segment markets is through lists based on NAICS and/or SIC codes.  Next, it’s best to identify the various personas within a company in a given market and target each of them appropriately.  When possible, the more tuned the message can be to specific sub-markets, the better.  It just comes down to a tradeoff between effort and efficiency. 

Tell me more about product launch processes and how you lead them
A:  When I first started focusing on product launches, the Chief Marketing Officer, my manager, came to me and said “Up until now, our products have escaped, they haven’t been launched.  We need you to fix that.”   I’ve lost track of the number of launch teams I have led since then, but I have made it a point to bring organization and leadership to the release process so that we maximize the impact and reach of each launch.  I’ve organized cross-functional launch teams for the 0-1 release of completely new products, high-profile product revisions, and even M&A company acquisitions.  The commonality across all of them include:

• Cross-functional – When it comes down to it, most departments are impacted by the release of new products.  Even for teams like Accounting, it may mean just ensuring that the new product or feature is added as an orderable line item.
• Increasing pace – Initial launch meetings are a few months out from planned release and are meant to start messaging alignment.  As the launch date approaches, meeting frequency increases to the point that, in some cases, they could be daily.   I think of it as the increasing drumbeat on  
• Organized format, processes, and metrics – As the launch leader, my role is to bring organization to the process.  I have created launch team “rules” to encourage participation and reduce impact.  For example, “It’s fine to multi-task and you can leave after your update (but is always good to stay)”.  I organize and own launch multi-department spreadsheets (and Smartsheets) and lead the team-by-team update meetings.  We also establish performance metric goals for each launch and have some follow-up results meetings AFTER the official launch date.

What project that you led has had the most impact?
A: For me, naming a “highest impact” project is a little like naming a favorite child.  There’s simply no correct answer, so I’ll share some of the key ones in the hope of answering the question.

My key projects include:

1. Primavera + Oracle integration – I managed alliance partnerships at Primavera, and this one involved connecting our project management / scheduling platform with Oracle Applications to enable the flow of financial data from Oracle to Primavera, and project progress data from Primavera to Oracle.  The initial relationship I built led to the eventual acquisition of Primavera by Oracle for hundreds of millions of dollars.
2. Accruent Acquisition Integration Projects x4  – Accruent was a well-funded private-equity-backed company (Vista + Genstar) that had M&A growth as a key part of its business plan.  During five months on an M&A integration team, I led projects that involved integrating four different acquired companies into ours.  Each M&A launch team involved up to 25 people, across departments, and hundreds of tracked tasks.  This inorganic growth led to the eventual sale of Accruent for multiple billions of dollars, a 3x return in two years.
3. InEight Product Launches – I created and grew the Product Marketing team at InEight, and I led multiple product launches that expanded the capabilities of our growing platform in the Construction Project Management software space.  Through successful growth, our company went from about 85 people when I got there to over 250 people in the three years I was there.
4. Release of Hownd 1.0 – Startup life can be exhilarating, but also exhausting.  In October 2019, I recruited and led a team of developers and product leaders to launch a completely new SaaS + mobile platform within a 9-month timeframe.  This created a completely new product offering for the company which now has over 300,000 active users.

A:

1. Primavera + Oracle – I was the relationship leader between the companies for approximately 7 years – this involved guiding our internal developers to build integration and then marketing the combination of our products to enterprise companies around the world.   I built the goodwill and positive momentum between our companies that led to its eventual acquisition in 2008.
2. Accruent Acquisitions – I led the cross-functional M&A Launch Teams for four different acquisitions, which meant tracking (literally) hundreds of tasks for each acquisition across the entire company.  For example, it meant creating internal and external FAQ documents about the acquisition for both existing customers and customers of the acquired company, presentation decks, etc.  It also involved understanding the systems and people in the acquired company to recommend the path forward to getting them fully integrated into our company.
3. InEight Product Launches – My time at InEight was active – we had just been acquired by Kiewit (one of the largest construction engineering firms in the country), and we were releasing new products at a rapid pace.  I was the launch-team leader, which involved bringing together cross-departmental teams over multiple weeks and months to ensure internal alignment with each new product release, along with coordinated external communications.
4. Hownd 1.0 Launch – As the Chief Product Officer, my role involved coordinating all the different teams in the company to ensure alignment with the features, benefits, and differentiated value of our new platform.  I managed the roadmap and led the launch team as we launched this brand-new platform.

A: Results of these projects include:

1. Oracle + Primavera – As a result of my efforts, the positive relationship and connections between our companies led to the eventual acquisition of Primavera by Oracle for hundreds of millions of dollars, resulting in positive outcomes for the two company co-founders and all of the employees with stock options.
2. Accruent Acquisitions – The rapid growth of Accruent due to our inorganic M&A growth was quite attractive to a suitor, and the company was acquired in 2018 for $2 billion, a 3x valuation from 2016 levels when I first arrived.
3. InEight – As mentioned, my time at InEight was one of rapid growth, with headcount and revenues doubling during my time there.  This created a foundation that has since led to the company more than doubling its revenue and headcount since I left in 2016.
4. Hownd – The new Hownd platform now has over 1,000 merchants and over 300,000 active consumer users (from zero), helping the company achieve its strategic goals of getting more and more involved with direct-to-consumer engagement. 

A: I typically start by conducting market research and analyzing customer needs and pain points. From there, I work with the product team to identify key features and benefits of the product and develop a unique value proposition that differentiates it from competitors.  A key concept is that product marketing is not about repeating the basic functionality common across the market.  Instead, successful product positioning is all about understanding and sharing how you are different, and effectively communicating that unique business value to your target personas. 

How do you measure the success of a product marketing campaign?
A: I use a variety of metrics to measure campaign success, including lead generation, pipeline growth, revenue, customer engagement, and brand awareness. I also regularly track customer feedback and adjust campaigns accordingly.

How do you work with sales teams to ensure they have the necessary tools and resources to sell a product effectively?
A: I work closely with sales teams to develop sales enablement materials, including product messaging, sales decks, competitive battle cards, and case studies. I also provide training and support to ensure sales teams are equipped to articulate the value of the product to customers.

How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and changes in the market?
A: I regularly attend industry conferences and events, read industry publications and blogs, and network with other professionals in the field. I am also a regular and avid reader of general business publications such as The Wall Street Journal.  I conduct market research and gather customer feedback via surveys and customer advisory groups to stay informed about emerging trends and changing customer needs.

How do you collaborate with Product Management and Engineering teams to ensure that product development aligns with market needs?
A: I work closely with Product Management and Engineering teams throughout the product development process, providing market research and customer feedback to inform product decisions. I also collaborate with these teams to ensure that product features and functionality align with market needs and can be effectively marketed to customers.  We help each other when it’s time for product launch:  By effectively launching a new product, the Product Management and Engineering teams get the satisfaction of knowing that there’s immediate excitement around and positive business impact due to the new functionality created by their hard work.

How do you handle difficult stakeholders or conflicting priorities?
A: I try to approach these situations with empathy and seek to understand the concerns and priorities of all stakeholders involved. I then work to find common ground and develop solutions that meet the needs of all parties while staying aligned with the overall product marketing strategy.

How do you prioritize product marketing initiatives?
A: I prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact on business goals and customer needs, as well as their alignment with the overall product marketing strategy. I also take into account resource constraints and adjust priorities as needed to ensure the most important initiatives are tackled first.

How do you approach building a brand for a product or company?
A: I typically start by developing a brand positioning strategy that reflects the unique value proposition of the product or company. From there, I work to create a visual identity and messaging that resonates with customers and differentiates the brand from competitors.

How do you stay organized and manage multiple projects simultaneously?
A: I use a variety of project management tools and techniques, including prioritization frameworks, agile methodologies, and communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. I also regularly communicate with team members to ensure everyone is aligned on project goals and timelines.

How do you resolve conflicts on your team?
A: One of the key concepts I’ve learned to appreciate is “disagree and commit.”  That is, it’s fine and normal for a group of people looking at a problem that can be solved in multiple ways to have different ideas about how to address it.  However, once the team comes together and decides on a consensus path forward, it’s time to commit.  In this way, everyone’s voice is heard and included in the decision-making process, though a decision is made and the team can move forward.