The Overview #38 - Building Momentum

Hey there. This is The Overview, a weekly roundup of noteworthy B2B SaaS stuff. You’ll find interesting thoughts, articles, and more from around the internet.

In this post:

Poll: Will product marketers prioritise remote jobs?

I’m running a poll on LinkedIn to understand if product marketers will prioritize remote roles, hybrid work situations, or will prefer companies that are strictly office-based.

What’s your take? Head over to LinkedIn to take the poll – and tag a product marketer in the comments to help get a broader sample!

Personally having started working remotely pre-pandemic, I couldn’t imagine going back to an office more than a few times a month on a casual, non-mandated basis. I strongly believe that any business who choses to mandate in-office days will be at a disadvantage, no matter how they try to frame it.

Every sales deck has a different purpose

SaaS sales deck paradox:

Marketing teams create beautiful, 20-slide sales decks

Yet salespeople know buyers have a short attention span before they say "let's get to the demo" and only want 3-5 slides max

So much time is wasted making slides that are never presented
— Nick Mehta (@nrmehta) February 9, 2022

If you don’t admit that every sales deck has a unique purpose, and therefore there should be different versions of the deck, then I’m sad to say that your CEO and sales team probably have a similar opinion to the above.

You need:

A discovery deck for the first demo
A send-over deck for after the first demo, to help with internal selling
A ‘I don’t have time to talk, send me your deck’ deck
… and whatever else your buyer journey indicates

Create a sexy sales deck that’s too long, or doesn’t have the right flow… and it’ll sit on your shared folder in obscurity forever more

Speaking to multiple personas

How can one strategic narrative speak to multiple personas/audiences?

Use the old game/new game shift to show each persona how the game changes for *them*

More:https://t.co/uxgc9Vu8Nw pic.twitter.com/dwa2ueoanA
— Andy Raskin (@araskin) February 9, 2022

This tweet from Andy Raskin showcases how narrative design tackles including multiple personas in your positioning. Rather than addressing their individual problems and solutions, address how the new game creates new roles for them.

In my ‘customer value positioning’ framework, we talk to the combined value that our products deliver to key stakeholders involved in the buying journey. In B2B we don’t sell to individuals; we have to deliver appropriate value to the buying team.

Swipe File: Eleven Laws of Showrunning

???? When you become a free Building Momentum subscriber, you get access to my exclusive product marketing swipe file! Click here to find out more.

This PDF from screenwriter Javier Grillo-Marxuach talks about eleven rules of successful TV show creation. There’s actually a ton of similarities between the work we do as product marketers – quarterbacking product, sales, marketing, and more – is akin to showcreators: quarterbacking writers, designers, directors, and more.

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU STOP MAKING IT ALL ABOUT YOU
KNOW YOUR SHOW AND TELL EVERYONE WHAT IT IS
ALWAYS DESCRIBE A PATH TO SUCCESS
MAKE DECISIONS EARLY AND OFTEN
DO NOT DEMAND A FINAL PRODUCT AT THE IDEA STAGE
WRITE AND REWRITE QUICKLY
TRACK MULTIPLE TARGETS EFFICIENTLY BY DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY
RESIST THE SIREN CALL OF THE “SEXY GLAMOROUS JOBS”
EXPECT YOUR STAFF TO PERFORM AT VARYING LEVELS OF COMPETENCE
DELIVER GOOD AND BAD NEWS EARLY AND OFTEN
SHARE CREDIT FOR SUCCESS TO A FAULT

I highly recommend reading, making notes, and sharing widely.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought – find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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