Jason Oakley
The first time I tried skiing, it was ugly.
I was a snowboarder, but everyone around me was skiing. My wife and kids included. So I really wanted to learn.
When I put on the skis, I’m sure most people assumed I knew what I was doing, which made it even worse. Never mind low confidence. I had none. If confidence could go into the negatives, that would have been me.
I like to think of myself as a gritty person. So I'd be damned if I was going to give up and run back to my board. But I also didn't want to spend every day on my butt, hoping I'd somehow “get it.”.
So I got a lesson. I worked with an instructor who showed me some technique. What to do, and what not to do.
And then I practiced. I got my reps in, using the technique and tips I was shown. Some things would work and so I kept doing them, and kept getting better.
Every now and then I’d go back to my instructor, or pick something up from a better skiier. Then I’d get the reps in. Rinse and repeat.
Eventually I started making my own adjustments. I started figuring out what worked best for me.
It’s similar to my journey as a PMM.
When I took on building my first product marketing function, I had zero confidence. But I built it in much the same way.
I got a coach, learned his technique (aka frameworks), and started observing what other companies were doing. And most importantly, I just got the reps in.
Over time I did enough, watched enough, read enough to start forming my own opinions. I created my own templates and frameworks.
And that point where I started having my own opinion on product marketing and how it should be done, is when I really started to step into my confidence.
And don’t sell yourself short. There are likely already a number of things you’re good at. So own those strengths. Lean on them to gain some momentum and early confidence and give yourself some grace to work on the other things.
…
I speak with a lot of Founding PMMs who struggle with confidence. And I get it. You’re stepping into a role with high expectations and demands. And in most cases, expected to have an immediate impact.
But I’m surprised by how many of them skip one of these two parts:
- Learning from others who have done it
- Getting intentional reps in
Having a coach, or a framework, or a template isn't the lazy way. It's borrowing from someone else's experience to accelerate your own and avoid many mistakes that you really don't need to make.
And once you have the technique, you need to apply it. Just getting the runs in every day wouldn’t make me a better skier. I needed focused runs where I actually applied the things I learned.
The same goes in product marketing. You need to apply these techniques in your own company, or practice using them on others. Apply your positioning framework to products you use, or companies you admire. Break down a product launch you see on LinkedIn. What did they do well?
My confidence is always growing. In skiing, product marketing, and a bunch of other stuff. But my approach to building it stays the same.
Borrow experience from people that have done it, put yourself through intentional reps, then start forming your own opinions.
That's how you build confidence.