Playbook #5: Your First 30, 60, 90 Days as a Founding PMM
Playbook #5: Your First 30, 60, 90 Days as a Founding PMM
Playbook #5: Your First 30, 60, 90 Days as a Founding PMM
Introduction
Welcome to the 30, 60, 90 day playbook for founding PMMs. It’s a deep dive resource — hope it helps!
Watch this first 👇🏻
Introduction
Welcome to the 30, 60, 90 day playbook for founding PMMs. It’s a deep dive resource — hope it helps!
Watch this first 👇🏻
Introduction
Welcome to the 30, 60, 90 day playbook for founding PMMs. It’s a deep dive resource — hope it helps!
Watch this first 👇🏻
When starting a new PMM role, there's often pressure to have a perfectly structured checklist of deliverables to hit within a set timeframe.
This is even more crucial for founding PMMs — who usually don’t have any set onboarding structure.
And while getting stuff done early is good (you definitely need some quick wins), the reality is your first 90 days aren't just about ticking off tasks. It’s about delivering value, understanding the product, getting familiar with the company culture, and listening—really listening—to those around you.
But we get it. While that all sounds nice, it can feel at odds with the pressure to deliver. Especially in a startup environment, there's little room for waiting around—and it's important to build credibility quickly. So how do you juggle both? Let’s dive into it.
But first, what exactly is a 30, 60, 90 day plan?
A 30, 60, 90 day plan is exactly what it sounds like: a structured framework for the first three months in your new role, broken down month by month.
That’s where this playbook comes in. It’s packed full of proven strategies, practical steps, and real-life tools to help you navigate your new start with confidence.
To provide you with the best insights, I (Jason) am excited to partner with Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers - a seasoned PMM leader and career coach who has guided hundreds of PMMs to success.
By using this playbook you’ll have everything you need to tackle the first 90 days under your belt at your new org with confidence and have plenty to be proud of.
When starting a new PMM role, there's often pressure to have a perfectly structured checklist of deliverables to hit within a set timeframe.
This is even more crucial for founding PMMs — who usually don’t have any set onboarding structure.
And while getting stuff done early is good (you definitely need some quick wins), the reality is your first 90 days aren't just about ticking off tasks. It’s about delivering value, understanding the product, getting familiar with the company culture, and listening—really listening—to those around you.
But we get it. While that all sounds nice, it can feel at odds with the pressure to deliver. Especially in a startup environment, there's little room for waiting around—and it's important to build credibility quickly. So how do you juggle both? Let’s dive into it.
But first, what exactly is a 30, 60, 90 day plan?
A 30, 60, 90 day plan is exactly what it sounds like: a structured framework for the first three months in your new role, broken down month by month.
That’s where this playbook comes in. It’s packed full of proven strategies, practical steps, and real-life tools to help you navigate your new start with confidence.
To provide you with the best insights, I (Jason) am excited to partner with Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers - a seasoned PMM leader and career coach who has guided hundreds of PMMs to success.
By using this playbook you’ll have everything you need to tackle the first 90 days under your belt at your new org with confidence and have plenty to be proud of.
When starting a new PMM role, there's often pressure to have a perfectly structured checklist of deliverables to hit within a set timeframe.
This is even more crucial for founding PMMs — who usually don’t have any set onboarding structure.
And while getting stuff done early is good (you definitely need some quick wins), the reality is your first 90 days aren't just about ticking off tasks. It’s about delivering value, understanding the product, getting familiar with the company culture, and listening—really listening—to those around you.
But we get it. While that all sounds nice, it can feel at odds with the pressure to deliver. Especially in a startup environment, there's little room for waiting around—and it's important to build credibility quickly. So how do you juggle both? Let’s dive into it.
But first, what exactly is a 30, 60, 90 day plan?
A 30, 60, 90 day plan is exactly what it sounds like: a structured framework for the first three months in your new role, broken down month by month.
That’s where this playbook comes in. It’s packed full of proven strategies, practical steps, and real-life tools to help you navigate your new start with confidence.
To provide you with the best insights, I (Jason) am excited to partner with Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers - a seasoned PMM leader and career coach who has guided hundreds of PMMs to success.
By using this playbook you’ll have everything you need to tackle the first 90 days under your belt at your new org with confidence and have plenty to be proud of.
Side note: We think it’s important to emphasize that this playbook isn’t a rigid framework to follow step-by-step, but rather a guide that should align with the goals of your organization. So for example we recommend you "should do a competitive analysis" in 60 days there could be other things that are more pressing, and that's based on the prioritization and alignment with your team and manager.
TL;DR: Use this playbook as your guiding light, don’t just follow it blindly 😃
Side note: We think it’s important to emphasize that this playbook isn’t a rigid framework to follow step-by-step, but rather a guide that should align with the goals of your organization. So for example we recommend you "should do a competitive analysis" in 60 days there could be other things that are more pressing, and that's based on the prioritization and alignment with your team and manager.
TL;DR: Use this playbook as your guiding light, don’t just follow it blindly 😃
Side note: We think it’s important to emphasize that this playbook isn’t a rigid framework to follow step-by-step, but rather a guide that should align with the goals of your organization. So for example we recommend you "should do a competitive analysis" in 60 days there could be other things that are more pressing, and that's based on the prioritization and alignment with your team and manager.
TL;DR: Use this playbook as your guiding light, don’t just follow it blindly 😃
Meet Yi Lin Pei
This playbook is a collaboration between Productive PMM and Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers.
Meet Yi Lin Pei
This playbook is a collaboration between Productive PMM and Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers.
Meet Yi Lin Pei
This playbook is a collaboration between Productive PMM and Yi Lin Pei of Courageous Careers.
Yi Lin Pei is a PMM Career Coach and 3x Product Marketing Leader who has helped over 200 PMMs land dream roles, ace onboarding, earn promotions, and thrive in their careers. With 15 years of experience building and leading product marketing teams - from startups to Fortune 500 companies like Autodesk - she brings a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed as a PMM.
Yi Lin combines real-world product marketing expertise with strategic coaching to empower PMMs from diverse and underrepresented background to think, speak, and solve problems like leaders. Her clients have gone on to excel at companies like Uber, LinkedIn, HubSpot, and Webflow, using her proven frameworks to achieve lasting career success.
For actionable tips to land your next PMM role, download Yi Lin’s free guide: The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your Dream PMM Job in 2025
Congrats, you landed the job… Now what?
Whether you got recruited from your old position or have been on the hunt for months, landing a new job is exciting! (good job, you 🍻)
But here’s the thing… Just because you’ve got your foot in the door doesn’t necessarily mean you're set up for success. A lot of product marketers dive in headfirst, trying to do as much as possible right away, hoping to impress, get ahead, and prove themselves. It’s natural, but it can also lead to a couple of huge pitfalls like over-promising, saying “yes” to too many things, and ultimately burning out.
Without a plan, even if you do succeed, you might find yourself so stressed out to the point that it is not sustainable and then what? You’re looking for another job in 6 months? No one wants that.
So, what's the key to making sure your transition into a new role goes smoothly and sets you up for long-term success? It’s simple: you need a plan.
The Danger of Jumping In Without a Plan
When you’re fresh into a new company or role, the temptation is to hit the ground running (again, this is a good thing!) You might feel like you need to work as hard as possible to prove yourself, especially if you're coming off a previous job where you didn’t succeed or were laid off. It's a common mentality: "If I work harder, I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again."
But here's the problem with that approach: It’s simply not actually a plan… sorry. And I (Yi Lin) say this not to discourage hard work, but because working harder without direction leads to inefficiency, stress, and—ultimately—burnout. You might work yourself to the bone, but it won't guarantee success or job satisfaction. Without a roadmap, you risk spinning your wheels.
Being a good planner is part of being a good PMM
Like it or not, being successful in almost every part of product marketing requires creating and following a plan. Think about it—whether you’re starting a new project or even just organizing your day, a clear plan of action is the foundation for everything. It’s no different when you step into a new role.
I’ve heard plenty of stories that highlight this point. PMMs will say things like,
“I got laid off from my last position, and I’m so scared of that happening again. I need to prove myself to my new boss, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
We totally get where they’re coming from, but this is not the way to go about it.
You’ll find yourself overwhelmed, stressed, and likely not even doing your best work. Having a plan helps you prioritize your tasks, understand the bigger picture, and pace yourself so that you can sustain your efforts over time.
Don’t rely on your company for onboarding
Like mentioned above, when you’re starting a new gig, especially in a smaller company or a startup, there’s a good chance that there will be little to no formal onboarding process.
If you’re the founding PMM then you are building the function. No one has done this before. This should excite you – but it also means you’ve got to take responsibility for your own onboarding.
Before we jump in, let’s talk about why being the “newbie” is an asset – and how to use it to your advantage.
Yi Lin Pei is a PMM Career Coach and 3x Product Marketing Leader who has helped over 200 PMMs land dream roles, ace onboarding, earn promotions, and thrive in their careers. With 15 years of experience building and leading product marketing teams - from startups to Fortune 500 companies like Autodesk - she brings a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed as a PMM.
Yi Lin combines real-world product marketing expertise with strategic coaching to empower PMMs from diverse and underrepresented background to think, speak, and solve problems like leaders. Her clients have gone on to excel at companies like Uber, LinkedIn, HubSpot, and Webflow, using her proven frameworks to achieve lasting career success.
For actionable tips to land your next PMM role, download Yi Lin’s free guide: The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your Dream PMM Job in 2025
Congrats, you landed the job… Now what?
Whether you got recruited from your old position or have been on the hunt for months, landing a new job is exciting! (good job, you 🍻)
But here’s the thing… Just because you’ve got your foot in the door doesn’t necessarily mean you're set up for success. A lot of product marketers dive in headfirst, trying to do as much as possible right away, hoping to impress, get ahead, and prove themselves. It’s natural, but it can also lead to a couple of huge pitfalls like over-promising, saying “yes” to too many things, and ultimately burning out.
Without a plan, even if you do succeed, you might find yourself so stressed out to the point that it is not sustainable and then what? You’re looking for another job in 6 months? No one wants that.
So, what's the key to making sure your transition into a new role goes smoothly and sets you up for long-term success? It’s simple: you need a plan.
The Danger of Jumping In Without a Plan
When you’re fresh into a new company or role, the temptation is to hit the ground running (again, this is a good thing!) You might feel like you need to work as hard as possible to prove yourself, especially if you're coming off a previous job where you didn’t succeed or were laid off. It's a common mentality: "If I work harder, I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again."
But here's the problem with that approach: It’s simply not actually a plan… sorry. And I (Yi Lin) say this not to discourage hard work, but because working harder without direction leads to inefficiency, stress, and—ultimately—burnout. You might work yourself to the bone, but it won't guarantee success or job satisfaction. Without a roadmap, you risk spinning your wheels.
Being a good planner is part of being a good PMM
Like it or not, being successful in almost every part of product marketing requires creating and following a plan. Think about it—whether you’re starting a new project or even just organizing your day, a clear plan of action is the foundation for everything. It’s no different when you step into a new role.
I’ve heard plenty of stories that highlight this point. PMMs will say things like,
“I got laid off from my last position, and I’m so scared of that happening again. I need to prove myself to my new boss, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
We totally get where they’re coming from, but this is not the way to go about it.
You’ll find yourself overwhelmed, stressed, and likely not even doing your best work. Having a plan helps you prioritize your tasks, understand the bigger picture, and pace yourself so that you can sustain your efforts over time.
Don’t rely on your company for onboarding
Like mentioned above, when you’re starting a new gig, especially in a smaller company or a startup, there’s a good chance that there will be little to no formal onboarding process.
If you’re the founding PMM then you are building the function. No one has done this before. This should excite you – but it also means you’ve got to take responsibility for your own onboarding.
Before we jump in, let’s talk about why being the “newbie” is an asset – and how to use it to your advantage.
Yi Lin Pei is a PMM Career Coach and 3x Product Marketing Leader who has helped over 200 PMMs land dream roles, ace onboarding, earn promotions, and thrive in their careers. With 15 years of experience building and leading product marketing teams - from startups to Fortune 500 companies like Autodesk - she brings a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed as a PMM.
Yi Lin combines real-world product marketing expertise with strategic coaching to empower PMMs from diverse and underrepresented background to think, speak, and solve problems like leaders. Her clients have gone on to excel at companies like Uber, LinkedIn, HubSpot, and Webflow, using her proven frameworks to achieve lasting career success.
For actionable tips to land your next PMM role, download Yi Lin’s free guide: The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your Dream PMM Job in 2025
Congrats, you landed the job… Now what?
Whether you got recruited from your old position or have been on the hunt for months, landing a new job is exciting! (good job, you 🍻)
But here’s the thing… Just because you’ve got your foot in the door doesn’t necessarily mean you're set up for success. A lot of product marketers dive in headfirst, trying to do as much as possible right away, hoping to impress, get ahead, and prove themselves. It’s natural, but it can also lead to a couple of huge pitfalls like over-promising, saying “yes” to too many things, and ultimately burning out.
Without a plan, even if you do succeed, you might find yourself so stressed out to the point that it is not sustainable and then what? You’re looking for another job in 6 months? No one wants that.
So, what's the key to making sure your transition into a new role goes smoothly and sets you up for long-term success? It’s simple: you need a plan.
The Danger of Jumping In Without a Plan
When you’re fresh into a new company or role, the temptation is to hit the ground running (again, this is a good thing!) You might feel like you need to work as hard as possible to prove yourself, especially if you're coming off a previous job where you didn’t succeed or were laid off. It's a common mentality: "If I work harder, I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again."
But here's the problem with that approach: It’s simply not actually a plan… sorry. And I (Yi Lin) say this not to discourage hard work, but because working harder without direction leads to inefficiency, stress, and—ultimately—burnout. You might work yourself to the bone, but it won't guarantee success or job satisfaction. Without a roadmap, you risk spinning your wheels.
Being a good planner is part of being a good PMM
Like it or not, being successful in almost every part of product marketing requires creating and following a plan. Think about it—whether you’re starting a new project or even just organizing your day, a clear plan of action is the foundation for everything. It’s no different when you step into a new role.
I’ve heard plenty of stories that highlight this point. PMMs will say things like,
“I got laid off from my last position, and I’m so scared of that happening again. I need to prove myself to my new boss, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
We totally get where they’re coming from, but this is not the way to go about it.
You’ll find yourself overwhelmed, stressed, and likely not even doing your best work. Having a plan helps you prioritize your tasks, understand the bigger picture, and pace yourself so that you can sustain your efforts over time.
Don’t rely on your company for onboarding
Like mentioned above, when you’re starting a new gig, especially in a smaller company or a startup, there’s a good chance that there will be little to no formal onboarding process.
If you’re the founding PMM then you are building the function. No one has done this before. This should excite you – but it also means you’ve got to take responsibility for your own onboarding.
Before we jump in, let’s talk about why being the “newbie” is an asset – and how to use it to your advantage.
The superpowers that come with starting a new PMM job
There are a handful of things that only brand new product marketers can do for a company. If you can understand these and deliver on them then you’ll bring value to your company right away (and look good doing it 💃🏻 ).
You can clarify priorities and focus They hired you for a reason. If you can come in and ask the right questions about where the business is headed strategically they will instantly be patting themselves on the back for the hire they made. You don’t need to come in with all the right answers but don’t be afraid to push back, to ask “why”, and to challenge assumptions. And don’t forget sometimes subtraction is more valuable than addition. For example, getting a Q1 priority list down to 3 key things to focus on from 5 is a huge win.
You have “fresh eyes” at a new company When you have the clarity that being an outsider has you’ve got to make the most of it. Once you get too deep into the product, culture, and working rhythms of a business the clock starts ticking to when you no longer can see the forest for the trees. So while you’re still in that window we recommend talking to as many customers as you can, onboard your product like a customer would, read your website with fresh eyes, take a cold call, etc. The window is short so take advantage of it and document everything.
You can set the bar for what PMM can be It’s likely that you are defining what PMM means at your company. This is a huge opportunity! We’ll get into this in more detail later but I recommend establishing and sharing your PMM Charter as early as possible. Clearly define what you do and what you don’t do and how your cross-functional teammates can help.
You can establish and understand the scoreboard and show that you are winning PMM success can be hard to measure – it largely depends on company size, strategy, and the need of the day. But as a new hire PMM you have a unique opportunity to bring some structure to your role by establishing the scoreboard early. Take the time to figure out what you need to measure right away so that you can show progress early!
Now before we get into the details of your first 30, 60, 90 days as a founding PMM, here are a few things you want to avoid doing.
The superpowers that come with starting a new PMM job
There are a handful of things that only brand new product marketers can do for a company. If you can understand these and deliver on them then you’ll bring value to your company right away (and look good doing it 💃🏻 ).
You can clarify priorities and focus They hired you for a reason. If you can come in and ask the right questions about where the business is headed strategically they will instantly be patting themselves on the back for the hire they made. You don’t need to come in with all the right answers but don’t be afraid to push back, to ask “why”, and to challenge assumptions. And don’t forget sometimes subtraction is more valuable than addition. For example, getting a Q1 priority list down to 3 key things to focus on from 5 is a huge win.
You have “fresh eyes” at a new company When you have the clarity that being an outsider has you’ve got to make the most of it. Once you get too deep into the product, culture, and working rhythms of a business the clock starts ticking to when you no longer can see the forest for the trees. So while you’re still in that window we recommend talking to as many customers as you can, onboard your product like a customer would, read your website with fresh eyes, take a cold call, etc. The window is short so take advantage of it and document everything.
You can set the bar for what PMM can be It’s likely that you are defining what PMM means at your company. This is a huge opportunity! We’ll get into this in more detail later but I recommend establishing and sharing your PMM Charter as early as possible. Clearly define what you do and what you don’t do and how your cross-functional teammates can help.
You can establish and understand the scoreboard and show that you are winning PMM success can be hard to measure – it largely depends on company size, strategy, and the need of the day. But as a new hire PMM you have a unique opportunity to bring some structure to your role by establishing the scoreboard early. Take the time to figure out what you need to measure right away so that you can show progress early!
Now before we get into the details of your first 30, 60, 90 days as a founding PMM, here are a few things you want to avoid doing.
The superpowers that come with starting a new PMM job
There are a handful of things that only brand new product marketers can do for a company. If you can understand these and deliver on them then you’ll bring value to your company right away (and look good doing it 💃🏻 ).
You can clarify priorities and focus They hired you for a reason. If you can come in and ask the right questions about where the business is headed strategically they will instantly be patting themselves on the back for the hire they made. You don’t need to come in with all the right answers but don’t be afraid to push back, to ask “why”, and to challenge assumptions. And don’t forget sometimes subtraction is more valuable than addition. For example, getting a Q1 priority list down to 3 key things to focus on from 5 is a huge win.
You have “fresh eyes” at a new company When you have the clarity that being an outsider has you’ve got to make the most of it. Once you get too deep into the product, culture, and working rhythms of a business the clock starts ticking to when you no longer can see the forest for the trees. So while you’re still in that window we recommend talking to as many customers as you can, onboard your product like a customer would, read your website with fresh eyes, take a cold call, etc. The window is short so take advantage of it and document everything.
You can set the bar for what PMM can be It’s likely that you are defining what PMM means at your company. This is a huge opportunity! We’ll get into this in more detail later but I recommend establishing and sharing your PMM Charter as early as possible. Clearly define what you do and what you don’t do and how your cross-functional teammates can help.
You can establish and understand the scoreboard and show that you are winning PMM success can be hard to measure – it largely depends on company size, strategy, and the need of the day. But as a new hire PMM you have a unique opportunity to bring some structure to your role by establishing the scoreboard early. Take the time to figure out what you need to measure right away so that you can show progress early!
Now before we get into the details of your first 30, 60, 90 days as a founding PMM, here are a few things you want to avoid doing.
The 5 Most Common Onboarding Mistakes PMMs Make
Doing too much
In the early days, you want to impress your new team by trying to build every pillar from the start. Not only is this confusing to colleagues about your priorities, but burnout can happen, and you run the risk of each pillar being just “okay” but not great.
In reality, you do not have to build every part of PMM all at once - start with what is most aligned with the company’s goals/OKRs.
Falling into the action trap
Similarly, you believe that to show value quickly, you must produce outputs as quickly as possible. Doing so without understanding the context or having enough research will make your work seem sloppy and unnecessary. You risk suggesting the wrong type of work, working on irrelevant projects, or doing things that have already been done.
Setting unrealistic expectations
You agree to do too much or propose doing too much without pushback, but this will almost always cause you to fail to deliver on everything, which will harm your reputation. It’s always better to plan a tight set of tactics aligned with your manager than to create a lot of output that isn’t aligned with their goals.
Work only to impress
When you only work to impress, you stop asking hard questions and only focus on doing things to make yourself look smart. We’ve all worked with that type of person, and you’ve likely seen that it doesn’t get them far.
Learning things the wrong way
You spend too much time learning anything thrown your way instead of trying to learn smart by harvesting the existing institutional knowledge. Often, much of the information you need to succeed exists already within a handful of teams at your new company.
The Good news? You’re not alone!
Every founding and solo PMM I’ve ever talked to has told me they wished they had a playbook for this. It’s different from other roles, even other PMM roles, and unless you’ve been in the role before it’s unlikely that you really get it.
So let’s (finally) get into it!
The 5 Most Common Onboarding Mistakes PMMs Make
Doing too much
In the early days, you want to impress your new team by trying to build every pillar from the start. Not only is this confusing to colleagues about your priorities, but burnout can happen, and you run the risk of each pillar being just “okay” but not great.
In reality, you do not have to build every part of PMM all at once - start with what is most aligned with the company’s goals/OKRs.
Falling into the action trap
Similarly, you believe that to show value quickly, you must produce outputs as quickly as possible. Doing so without understanding the context or having enough research will make your work seem sloppy and unnecessary. You risk suggesting the wrong type of work, working on irrelevant projects, or doing things that have already been done.
Setting unrealistic expectations
You agree to do too much or propose doing too much without pushback, but this will almost always cause you to fail to deliver on everything, which will harm your reputation. It’s always better to plan a tight set of tactics aligned with your manager than to create a lot of output that isn’t aligned with their goals.
Work only to impress
When you only work to impress, you stop asking hard questions and only focus on doing things to make yourself look smart. We’ve all worked with that type of person, and you’ve likely seen that it doesn’t get them far.
Learning things the wrong way
You spend too much time learning anything thrown your way instead of trying to learn smart by harvesting the existing institutional knowledge. Often, much of the information you need to succeed exists already within a handful of teams at your new company.
The Good news? You’re not alone!
Every founding and solo PMM I’ve ever talked to has told me they wished they had a playbook for this. It’s different from other roles, even other PMM roles, and unless you’ve been in the role before it’s unlikely that you really get it.
So let’s (finally) get into it!
The 5 Most Common Onboarding Mistakes PMMs Make
Doing too much
In the early days, you want to impress your new team by trying to build every pillar from the start. Not only is this confusing to colleagues about your priorities, but burnout can happen, and you run the risk of each pillar being just “okay” but not great.
In reality, you do not have to build every part of PMM all at once - start with what is most aligned with the company’s goals/OKRs.
Falling into the action trap
Similarly, you believe that to show value quickly, you must produce outputs as quickly as possible. Doing so without understanding the context or having enough research will make your work seem sloppy and unnecessary. You risk suggesting the wrong type of work, working on irrelevant projects, or doing things that have already been done.
Setting unrealistic expectations
You agree to do too much or propose doing too much without pushback, but this will almost always cause you to fail to deliver on everything, which will harm your reputation. It’s always better to plan a tight set of tactics aligned with your manager than to create a lot of output that isn’t aligned with their goals.
Work only to impress
When you only work to impress, you stop asking hard questions and only focus on doing things to make yourself look smart. We’ve all worked with that type of person, and you’ve likely seen that it doesn’t get them far.
Learning things the wrong way
You spend too much time learning anything thrown your way instead of trying to learn smart by harvesting the existing institutional knowledge. Often, much of the information you need to succeed exists already within a handful of teams at your new company.
The Good news? You’re not alone!
Every founding and solo PMM I’ve ever talked to has told me they wished they had a playbook for this. It’s different from other roles, even other PMM roles, and unless you’ve been in the role before it’s unlikely that you really get it.
So let’s (finally) get into it!
How To Prepare: What To Do Before You Start Day One
Reset your mind It’s extremely easy to let an old job or a prior bad experience affect how we perceive and approach a new role. But remember to reset your mind, let go of any baggage when you start a role, and give yourself the mental space to prepare yourself for the new role strategically. Tactics essential in a previous company may not apply here. For instance, marketing may not have a strong relationship with product (yet!), or maybe goals are more/less aggressive. These all will change the things you do when you’re starting out.
Establish a work routine Whether you’re jumping in straight away with no break between your last role or you’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, don’t underestimate the importance of establishing a good work schedule. So instead of staying up at 3 AM watching TV, you might try creating more of a predictable schedule to your day a couple of weeks before you start working so that you get into the routine.
Get your physical workspace set up If you really want to hit the ground running we recommend getting your office space (assuming you’re working remotely) set up before day one. Your physical environment plays a big role in your productivity and mindset. If you're working from home, make sure your desk is organized, your computer, and you have a good chair — trust me, you don’t want to be pulling in the dining room chair on Monday morning.
Schedule a coffee chat with your manager I (Yi Lin) love reaching out to a manager before my start date so I can have another conversation before I actually start. This is great because it isn’t an interview and it also isn’t “official onboarding”. You’ll get a good sense of them as a person as well as a preview of what to expect when onboarding kicks off. Plus being proactive and showing you care (you’re not getting paid for this meeting) goes a long way in building rapport.
Do your homework You don’t need to go crazy here but we think it’s a good idea to at least give yourself the lay of the land when it comes to:
Customers: Who are they? What are their general pain points? How does a product like yours solve their problems? You won’t have customer data yet, so start reading case studies, testimonials, and even social media mentions to get a sense of what your target audience cares about.
Competitors: Understand who your main competitors are. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Even just a quick scroll through G2 will go a long way before you get in seat.
Industry: Brush up on the major trends in your industry. If you don’t have a solid grasp of the landscape, you’ll be playing catch up when you get started.
Key Voices: Start following thought leaders, influential blogs, or podcasts related to your industry. Familiarize yourself with the people who are shaping discussions in your new space. If you’re in a brand new market this is even more important, but my thinking around this is that I (Jason) want to be able to walk in day 1 and have a handle on the basics. One thing I focus on is language – is there jargon I don’t know? Are there industry stalwarts that are common knowledge? Honestly, you might know a lot of this based on your interview process but if not, I’d spend a couple hours gathering some info and listening to a few podcasts.
Nail your personal positioning From day one, you’ll be asked the same types of questions, whether in formal meetings or casual conversations. These are a prime opportunity to share your perspective and demonstrate how you think about product marketing, especially as a founding PMM. It’s important to get clear on how you’ll position yourself, your philosophy, and your approach. Here are a few questions that are likely to come up:
“What exactly is PMM? How do you define it?” Make sure you’re ready to explain what product marketing means to you and how it fits into the broader organization.
“What’s your product marketing philosophy?” Think about your core beliefs and approaches to product marketing. Are you data-driven, customer-centric, focused on collaboration? How will you balance learning with delivering value?
“How do you see [department] and product marketing working together?” Be prepared to discuss how you plan to collaborate with cross-functional teams, whether it's sales, product, or marketing. Having a clear vision, with prior examples if possible, for these relationships will help you build alignment quickly.
“What are you hoping to bring to the org? What do you feel is missing?” Take some time to reflect on what you bring to the table and where you can add the most value early on. Are there areas of product marketing that need immediate improvement or opportunities that have been overlooked?
Being ready to articulate your positioning clearly will not only help you answer these questions with confidence but will also set the tone for how your colleagues and leaders view your role.
How To Prepare: What To Do Before You Start Day One
Reset your mind It’s extremely easy to let an old job or a prior bad experience affect how we perceive and approach a new role. But remember to reset your mind, let go of any baggage when you start a role, and give yourself the mental space to prepare yourself for the new role strategically. Tactics essential in a previous company may not apply here. For instance, marketing may not have a strong relationship with product (yet!), or maybe goals are more/less aggressive. These all will change the things you do when you’re starting out.
Establish a work routine Whether you’re jumping in straight away with no break between your last role or you’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, don’t underestimate the importance of establishing a good work schedule. So instead of staying up at 3 AM watching TV, you might try creating more of a predictable schedule to your day a couple of weeks before you start working so that you get into the routine.
Get your physical workspace set up If you really want to hit the ground running we recommend getting your office space (assuming you’re working remotely) set up before day one. Your physical environment plays a big role in your productivity and mindset. If you're working from home, make sure your desk is organized, your computer, and you have a good chair — trust me, you don’t want to be pulling in the dining room chair on Monday morning.
Schedule a coffee chat with your manager I (Yi Lin) love reaching out to a manager before my start date so I can have another conversation before I actually start. This is great because it isn’t an interview and it also isn’t “official onboarding”. You’ll get a good sense of them as a person as well as a preview of what to expect when onboarding kicks off. Plus being proactive and showing you care (you’re not getting paid for this meeting) goes a long way in building rapport.
Do your homework You don’t need to go crazy here but we think it’s a good idea to at least give yourself the lay of the land when it comes to:
Customers: Who are they? What are their general pain points? How does a product like yours solve their problems? You won’t have customer data yet, so start reading case studies, testimonials, and even social media mentions to get a sense of what your target audience cares about.
Competitors: Understand who your main competitors are. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Even just a quick scroll through G2 will go a long way before you get in seat.
Industry: Brush up on the major trends in your industry. If you don’t have a solid grasp of the landscape, you’ll be playing catch up when you get started.
Key Voices: Start following thought leaders, influential blogs, or podcasts related to your industry. Familiarize yourself with the people who are shaping discussions in your new space. If you’re in a brand new market this is even more important, but my thinking around this is that I (Jason) want to be able to walk in day 1 and have a handle on the basics. One thing I focus on is language – is there jargon I don’t know? Are there industry stalwarts that are common knowledge? Honestly, you might know a lot of this based on your interview process but if not, I’d spend a couple hours gathering some info and listening to a few podcasts.
Nail your personal positioning From day one, you’ll be asked the same types of questions, whether in formal meetings or casual conversations. These are a prime opportunity to share your perspective and demonstrate how you think about product marketing, especially as a founding PMM. It’s important to get clear on how you’ll position yourself, your philosophy, and your approach. Here are a few questions that are likely to come up:
“What exactly is PMM? How do you define it?” Make sure you’re ready to explain what product marketing means to you and how it fits into the broader organization.
“What’s your product marketing philosophy?” Think about your core beliefs and approaches to product marketing. Are you data-driven, customer-centric, focused on collaboration? How will you balance learning with delivering value?
“How do you see [department] and product marketing working together?” Be prepared to discuss how you plan to collaborate with cross-functional teams, whether it's sales, product, or marketing. Having a clear vision, with prior examples if possible, for these relationships will help you build alignment quickly.
“What are you hoping to bring to the org? What do you feel is missing?” Take some time to reflect on what you bring to the table and where you can add the most value early on. Are there areas of product marketing that need immediate improvement or opportunities that have been overlooked?
Being ready to articulate your positioning clearly will not only help you answer these questions with confidence but will also set the tone for how your colleagues and leaders view your role.
How To Prepare: What To Do Before You Start Day One
Reset your mind It’s extremely easy to let an old job or a prior bad experience affect how we perceive and approach a new role. But remember to reset your mind, let go of any baggage when you start a role, and give yourself the mental space to prepare yourself for the new role strategically. Tactics essential in a previous company may not apply here. For instance, marketing may not have a strong relationship with product (yet!), or maybe goals are more/less aggressive. These all will change the things you do when you’re starting out.
Establish a work routine Whether you’re jumping in straight away with no break between your last role or you’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, don’t underestimate the importance of establishing a good work schedule. So instead of staying up at 3 AM watching TV, you might try creating more of a predictable schedule to your day a couple of weeks before you start working so that you get into the routine.
Get your physical workspace set up If you really want to hit the ground running we recommend getting your office space (assuming you’re working remotely) set up before day one. Your physical environment plays a big role in your productivity and mindset. If you're working from home, make sure your desk is organized, your computer, and you have a good chair — trust me, you don’t want to be pulling in the dining room chair on Monday morning.
Schedule a coffee chat with your manager I (Yi Lin) love reaching out to a manager before my start date so I can have another conversation before I actually start. This is great because it isn’t an interview and it also isn’t “official onboarding”. You’ll get a good sense of them as a person as well as a preview of what to expect when onboarding kicks off. Plus being proactive and showing you care (you’re not getting paid for this meeting) goes a long way in building rapport.
Do your homework You don’t need to go crazy here but we think it’s a good idea to at least give yourself the lay of the land when it comes to:
Customers: Who are they? What are their general pain points? How does a product like yours solve their problems? You won’t have customer data yet, so start reading case studies, testimonials, and even social media mentions to get a sense of what your target audience cares about.
Competitors: Understand who your main competitors are. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Even just a quick scroll through G2 will go a long way before you get in seat.
Industry: Brush up on the major trends in your industry. If you don’t have a solid grasp of the landscape, you’ll be playing catch up when you get started.
Key Voices: Start following thought leaders, influential blogs, or podcasts related to your industry. Familiarize yourself with the people who are shaping discussions in your new space. If you’re in a brand new market this is even more important, but my thinking around this is that I (Jason) want to be able to walk in day 1 and have a handle on the basics. One thing I focus on is language – is there jargon I don’t know? Are there industry stalwarts that are common knowledge? Honestly, you might know a lot of this based on your interview process but if not, I’d spend a couple hours gathering some info and listening to a few podcasts.
Nail your personal positioning From day one, you’ll be asked the same types of questions, whether in formal meetings or casual conversations. These are a prime opportunity to share your perspective and demonstrate how you think about product marketing, especially as a founding PMM. It’s important to get clear on how you’ll position yourself, your philosophy, and your approach. Here are a few questions that are likely to come up:
“What exactly is PMM? How do you define it?” Make sure you’re ready to explain what product marketing means to you and how it fits into the broader organization.
“What’s your product marketing philosophy?” Think about your core beliefs and approaches to product marketing. Are you data-driven, customer-centric, focused on collaboration? How will you balance learning with delivering value?
“How do you see [department] and product marketing working together?” Be prepared to discuss how you plan to collaborate with cross-functional teams, whether it's sales, product, or marketing. Having a clear vision, with prior examples if possible, for these relationships will help you build alignment quickly.
“What are you hoping to bring to the org? What do you feel is missing?” Take some time to reflect on what you bring to the table and where you can add the most value early on. Are there areas of product marketing that need immediate improvement or opportunities that have been overlooked?
Being ready to articulate your positioning clearly will not only help you answer these questions with confidence but will also set the tone for how your colleagues and leaders view your role.
As you can probably guess, it’s impossible to give you an exact task list for you to follow to a T. Every role and company is different and something too specific wouldn’t actually be helpful to you. What we’ve put together below is an outline of what you should be thinking about and prioritizing in that 30-day window. You’ll see the goal for each section, something you should focus on learning, and something you should deliver.
As you can probably guess, it’s impossible to give you an exact task list for you to follow to a T. Every role and company is different and something too specific wouldn’t actually be helpful to you. What we’ve put together below is an outline of what you should be thinking about and prioritizing in that 30-day window. You’ll see the goal for each section, something you should focus on learning, and something you should deliver.
As you can probably guess, it’s impossible to give you an exact task list for you to follow to a T. Every role and company is different and something too specific wouldn’t actually be helpful to you. What we’ve put together below is an outline of what you should be thinking about and prioritizing in that 30-day window. You’ll see the goal for each section, something you should focus on learning, and something you should deliver.
Your first 30 days
Establish Trust, Learn, and Lay the Groundwork
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are crucial. This time isn’t about diving straight into execution or producing deliverables. It’s about laying a solid foundation for long-term success. In this initial period, you’re essentially in "discovery mode"—learning as much as possible about the product, the company, and the people you'll be working with. Your first month should focus on establishing trust and credibility with the team. After all, you want to be seen as a thoughtful leader, not just a task machine.
Goal: Establish Trust and Credibility
Your first 30 days should be all about building relationships, understanding the lay of the land, and starting to form the connections that will help you move forward with confidence. Trust is the foundation for everything you'll do at this company. Without it, your ideas and suggestions may be overlooked. But once you’ve built rapport with key stakeholders, you'll find doors opening up much more easily.
Learn: Decode the Org Chart with a Listening Tour
One of the most critical things to focus on during your first 30 days is getting to know the people you’ll be working with. This isn’t just about names and titles, but understanding each person’s role, their goals, and how they fit into the larger picture. It’s about who has clout, who has been around the block, who has the ear of leadership, and more. PMMs work cross-functionally, so knowing who to collaborate with and who has influence in different areas will make your life a lot easier as you move forward.
Take a listening tour by setting up 1:1s with 5 key colleagues (more on this below), ask open-ended questions about their work, and listen to their insights. These conversations will give you a clearer sense of where the company is headed, what challenges they’re facing, and where PMM can step in to add value.
As part of your listening tour, you’ll want to assess the current state of some key product marketing areas and identify where you can have the most immediate impact. One of the best ways to do this is by using this simple but effective PMM Assessment Scorecard. Here’s how it works:
Your first 30 days
Establish Trust, Learn, and Lay the Groundwork
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are crucial. This time isn’t about diving straight into execution or producing deliverables. It’s about laying a solid foundation for long-term success. In this initial period, you’re essentially in "discovery mode"—learning as much as possible about the product, the company, and the people you'll be working with. Your first month should focus on establishing trust and credibility with the team. After all, you want to be seen as a thoughtful leader, not just a task machine.
Goal: Establish Trust and Credibility
Your first 30 days should be all about building relationships, understanding the lay of the land, and starting to form the connections that will help you move forward with confidence. Trust is the foundation for everything you'll do at this company. Without it, your ideas and suggestions may be overlooked. But once you’ve built rapport with key stakeholders, you'll find doors opening up much more easily.
Learn: Decode the Org Chart with a Listening Tour
One of the most critical things to focus on during your first 30 days is getting to know the people you’ll be working with. This isn’t just about names and titles, but understanding each person’s role, their goals, and how they fit into the larger picture. It’s about who has clout, who has been around the block, who has the ear of leadership, and more. PMMs work cross-functionally, so knowing who to collaborate with and who has influence in different areas will make your life a lot easier as you move forward.
Take a listening tour by setting up 1:1s with 5 key colleagues (more on this below), ask open-ended questions about their work, and listen to their insights. These conversations will give you a clearer sense of where the company is headed, what challenges they’re facing, and where PMM can step in to add value.
As part of your listening tour, you’ll want to assess the current state of some key product marketing areas and identify where you can have the most immediate impact. One of the best ways to do this is by using this simple but effective PMM Assessment Scorecard. Here’s how it works:
Your first 30 days
Establish Trust, Learn, and Lay the Groundwork
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are crucial. This time isn’t about diving straight into execution or producing deliverables. It’s about laying a solid foundation for long-term success. In this initial period, you’re essentially in "discovery mode"—learning as much as possible about the product, the company, and the people you'll be working with. Your first month should focus on establishing trust and credibility with the team. After all, you want to be seen as a thoughtful leader, not just a task machine.
Goal: Establish Trust and Credibility
Your first 30 days should be all about building relationships, understanding the lay of the land, and starting to form the connections that will help you move forward with confidence. Trust is the foundation for everything you'll do at this company. Without it, your ideas and suggestions may be overlooked. But once you’ve built rapport with key stakeholders, you'll find doors opening up much more easily.
Learn: Decode the Org Chart with a Listening Tour
One of the most critical things to focus on during your first 30 days is getting to know the people you’ll be working with. This isn’t just about names and titles, but understanding each person’s role, their goals, and how they fit into the larger picture. It’s about who has clout, who has been around the block, who has the ear of leadership, and more. PMMs work cross-functionally, so knowing who to collaborate with and who has influence in different areas will make your life a lot easier as you move forward.
Take a listening tour by setting up 1:1s with 5 key colleagues (more on this below), ask open-ended questions about their work, and listen to their insights. These conversations will give you a clearer sense of where the company is headed, what challenges they’re facing, and where PMM can step in to add value.
As part of your listening tour, you’ll want to assess the current state of some key product marketing areas and identify where you can have the most immediate impact. One of the best ways to do this is by using this simple but effective PMM Assessment Scorecard. Here’s how it works:
The PMM Assessment Scorecard overview
The goal of this tool is to help you prioritize where to focus your energy first by evaluating different aspects of product marketing and the company’s needs based on three key factors:
Current Level of Confidence
How confident (or how mature is) the organization in this area? The idea is to gauge how well this area is currently functioning or how well it is being perceived internally.
Potential Impact
What kind of impact could be achieved if this area were improved? Think about how much value a change to this area could bring to the company.
Effort Required
How much effort (time, resources, learning, collaboration) would it take to improve this area? Some things might need a quick fix, while others will take more sustained effort.
Think of this scorecard as a place to leave all your notes after each 1:1 conversation during your listening tour. After getting the opinions of key stakeholders and assessing each of these categories for yourself, you’ll score them on a scale from -5 to +5. Here’s an example:
The PMM Assessment Scorecard overview
The goal of this tool is to help you prioritize where to focus your energy first by evaluating different aspects of product marketing and the company’s needs based on three key factors:
Current Level of Confidence
How confident (or how mature is) the organization in this area? The idea is to gauge how well this area is currently functioning or how well it is being perceived internally.
Potential Impact
What kind of impact could be achieved if this area were improved? Think about how much value a change to this area could bring to the company.
Effort Required
How much effort (time, resources, learning, collaboration) would it take to improve this area? Some things might need a quick fix, while others will take more sustained effort.
Think of this scorecard as a place to leave all your notes after each 1:1 conversation during your listening tour. After getting the opinions of key stakeholders and assessing each of these categories for yourself, you’ll score them on a scale from -5 to +5. Here’s an example:
The PMM Assessment Scorecard overview
The goal of this tool is to help you prioritize where to focus your energy first by evaluating different aspects of product marketing and the company’s needs based on three key factors:
Current Level of Confidence
How confident (or how mature is) the organization in this area? The idea is to gauge how well this area is currently functioning or how well it is being perceived internally.
Potential Impact
What kind of impact could be achieved if this area were improved? Think about how much value a change to this area could bring to the company.
Effort Required
How much effort (time, resources, learning, collaboration) would it take to improve this area? Some things might need a quick fix, while others will take more sustained effort.
Think of this scorecard as a place to leave all your notes after each 1:1 conversation during your listening tour. After getting the opinions of key stakeholders and assessing each of these categories for yourself, you’ll score them on a scale from -5 to +5. Here’s an example:
Category | Confidence | Impact | Effort | Work needed |
Sales enablement training | -5 | 4 | 2 | Start regular enablement meetings |
Creating internal enablement collateral | -3 | -5 | 5 | Assess current state of collateral |
Positioning and messaging | -2 | -2 | 7 | Gather all artifacts and align on most updated version |
Internal meetings | 1 | -3 | 2 | Audit team meeting calendar |
Product launches | 4 | -4 | 3 | Watch retros for last 3 launches |
Analyst relations | 5 | 5 | 5 | Intro calls with AR team |
Category | Confidence | Impact | Effort | Work needed |
Sales enablement training | -5 | 4 | 2 | Start regular enablement meetings |
Creating internal enablement collateral | -3 | -5 | 5 | Assess current state of collateral |
Positioning and messaging | -2 | -2 | 7 | Gather all artifacts and align on most updated version |
Internal meetings | 1 | -3 | 2 | Audit team meeting calendar |
Product launches | 4 | -4 | 3 | Watch retros for last 3 launches |
Analyst relations | 5 | 5 | 5 | Intro calls with AR team |
Category | Confidence | Impact | Effort | Work needed |
Sales enablement training | -5 | 4 | 2 | Start regular enablement meetings |
Creating internal enablement collateral | -3 | -5 | 5 | Assess current state of collateral |
Positioning and messaging | -2 | -2 | 7 | Gather all artifacts and align on most updated version |
Internal meetings | 1 | -3 | 2 | Audit team meeting calendar |
Product launches | 4 | -4 | 3 | Watch retros for last 3 launches |
Analyst relations | 5 | 5 | 5 | Intro calls with AR team |
Once you’ve filled this out, you’ll end up with a helpful visual grid that quickly highlights where the biggest needs are, and more importantly, where you can achieve quick wins with minimal effort. These are the areas you’ll want to prioritize in your first 30 days.
Once you’ve filled this out, you’ll end up with a helpful visual grid that quickly highlights where the biggest needs are, and more importantly, where you can achieve quick wins with minimal effort. These are the areas you’ll want to prioritize in your first 30 days.
Once you’ve filled this out, you’ll end up with a helpful visual grid that quickly highlights where the biggest needs are, and more importantly, where you can achieve quick wins with minimal effort. These are the areas you’ll want to prioritize in your first 30 days.
By evaluating the potential impact, current confidence, and effort required, you’ll be able to make informed decisions on where to focus your energy. My favorite part of this tool is that it helps you strike a balance between learning and delivering—ensuring you’re adding value right from the start.
By evaluating the potential impact, current confidence, and effort required, you’ll be able to make informed decisions on where to focus your energy. My favorite part of this tool is that it helps you strike a balance between learning and delivering—ensuring you’re adding value right from the start.
By evaluating the potential impact, current confidence, and effort required, you’ll be able to make informed decisions on where to focus your energy. My favorite part of this tool is that it helps you strike a balance between learning and delivering—ensuring you’re adding value right from the start.
Deliver: Product Marketing Charter
In parallel with your learning, it’s time to start thinking about how you define your role as a PMM at this company. This is where the Product Marketing Charter comes in.
Based on the output of your Assessment Scorecard, your charter will be a strategic document that outlines the vision for PMM, key goals, and specific responsibilities. It’s a living document that will not only help you clarify your role internally but also guide your interactions with other teams.
The charter serves as a critical touchpoint for ensuring that you and your cross-functional partners are aligned. It also sets boundaries around what PMM does—and doesn’t do—within your company. Think of it as your north star, helping you stay focused on high-priority tasks as you build your PMM function from the ground up.
Things to actually do in your first 30 days:
Meet the Right People:
You’re not just meeting people for the sake of saying hi (though you can and should do that too!), you’re building relationships that will last. So you should start by focusing on the key stakeholders who are vital to your success as a PMM. If you were picking 5 to prioritize in your first 30 days it would be: My managerProduct leader and/or product managersMarketing leaders (if not your manager)The top seller(s)Ask your boss who the best sales person is and reach out to them.Support/Sales Engineer/Implementation – AKA whoever knows the product and the UI/UX inside and out.
After your first five 1:1 conversations you'll feel more confident about who to add to your listening tour next to fill out the remainder of your 90 day plan. We recommend spacing these “coffee/intro chats” out as much as you can over the first 90 days, doing no more than three or four per week if possible.
Ask the Right Questions:This is your chance to learn, so take advantage of it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the company’s goals, challenges, and how different teams interact. Get a sense of what’s working well and where there are opportunities for PMM to make an impact. These questions from Yi Lin Pei are a great place to start!Tip: focus on your internal stakeholders before external. t's NOT easy getting access to customers early on and this is something you’ll tackle in your first 60 days.
Observe the Culture:
Your company’s culture will shape your approach to product marketing. Are teams collaborative? Do people work remotely or in person? How do they communicate? This cultural understanding will help you navigate tricky situations later on.
Understand the Product:
This becomes even more important in your next 30 days, but if you’re the product marketing expert, I (Jason) deeply believe you should be a product expert. Spend time with the product itself, use it, talk to users, and gather feedback. The more familiar you are with the product’s intricacies, the better you’ll be at crafting the right messaging and positioning.
Identify Quick Wins:
Even in your first 30 days, look for small but impactful wins. Maybe it’s getting clarity on product positioning, updating a long-asked-for sales asset, or aligning with sales on an upcoming launch. These early successes will build momentum and help you gain credibility with your team.
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are all about setting yourself up for success — while it might feel like you’re not doing much at first, remember: you’re laying the groundwork for everything that comes after.
Deliver: Product Marketing Charter
In parallel with your learning, it’s time to start thinking about how you define your role as a PMM at this company. This is where the Product Marketing Charter comes in.
Based on the output of your Assessment Scorecard, your charter will be a strategic document that outlines the vision for PMM, key goals, and specific responsibilities. It’s a living document that will not only help you clarify your role internally but also guide your interactions with other teams.
The charter serves as a critical touchpoint for ensuring that you and your cross-functional partners are aligned. It also sets boundaries around what PMM does—and doesn’t do—within your company. Think of it as your north star, helping you stay focused on high-priority tasks as you build your PMM function from the ground up.
Things to actually do in your first 30 days:
Meet the Right People:
You’re not just meeting people for the sake of saying hi (though you can and should do that too!), you’re building relationships that will last. So you should start by focusing on the key stakeholders who are vital to your success as a PMM. If you were picking 5 to prioritize in your first 30 days it would be: My managerProduct leader and/or product managersMarketing leaders (if not your manager)The top seller(s)Ask your boss who the best sales person is and reach out to them.Support/Sales Engineer/Implementation – AKA whoever knows the product and the UI/UX inside and out.
After your first five 1:1 conversations you'll feel more confident about who to add to your listening tour next to fill out the remainder of your 90 day plan. We recommend spacing these “coffee/intro chats” out as much as you can over the first 90 days, doing no more than three or four per week if possible.
Ask the Right Questions:This is your chance to learn, so take advantage of it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the company’s goals, challenges, and how different teams interact. Get a sense of what’s working well and where there are opportunities for PMM to make an impact. These questions from Yi Lin Pei are a great place to start!Tip: focus on your internal stakeholders before external. t's NOT easy getting access to customers early on and this is something you’ll tackle in your first 60 days.
Observe the Culture:
Your company’s culture will shape your approach to product marketing. Are teams collaborative? Do people work remotely or in person? How do they communicate? This cultural understanding will help you navigate tricky situations later on.
Understand the Product:
This becomes even more important in your next 30 days, but if you’re the product marketing expert, I (Jason) deeply believe you should be a product expert. Spend time with the product itself, use it, talk to users, and gather feedback. The more familiar you are with the product’s intricacies, the better you’ll be at crafting the right messaging and positioning.
Identify Quick Wins:
Even in your first 30 days, look for small but impactful wins. Maybe it’s getting clarity on product positioning, updating a long-asked-for sales asset, or aligning with sales on an upcoming launch. These early successes will build momentum and help you gain credibility with your team.
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are all about setting yourself up for success — while it might feel like you’re not doing much at first, remember: you’re laying the groundwork for everything that comes after.
Deliver: Product Marketing Charter
In parallel with your learning, it’s time to start thinking about how you define your role as a PMM at this company. This is where the Product Marketing Charter comes in.
Based on the output of your Assessment Scorecard, your charter will be a strategic document that outlines the vision for PMM, key goals, and specific responsibilities. It’s a living document that will not only help you clarify your role internally but also guide your interactions with other teams.
The charter serves as a critical touchpoint for ensuring that you and your cross-functional partners are aligned. It also sets boundaries around what PMM does—and doesn’t do—within your company. Think of it as your north star, helping you stay focused on high-priority tasks as you build your PMM function from the ground up.
Things to actually do in your first 30 days:
Meet the Right People:
You’re not just meeting people for the sake of saying hi (though you can and should do that too!), you’re building relationships that will last. So you should start by focusing on the key stakeholders who are vital to your success as a PMM. If you were picking 5 to prioritize in your first 30 days it would be: My managerProduct leader and/or product managersMarketing leaders (if not your manager)The top seller(s)Ask your boss who the best sales person is and reach out to them.Support/Sales Engineer/Implementation – AKA whoever knows the product and the UI/UX inside and out.
After your first five 1:1 conversations you'll feel more confident about who to add to your listening tour next to fill out the remainder of your 90 day plan. We recommend spacing these “coffee/intro chats” out as much as you can over the first 90 days, doing no more than three or four per week if possible.
Ask the Right Questions:This is your chance to learn, so take advantage of it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the company’s goals, challenges, and how different teams interact. Get a sense of what’s working well and where there are opportunities for PMM to make an impact. These questions from Yi Lin Pei are a great place to start!Tip: focus on your internal stakeholders before external. t's NOT easy getting access to customers early on and this is something you’ll tackle in your first 60 days.
Observe the Culture:
Your company’s culture will shape your approach to product marketing. Are teams collaborative? Do people work remotely or in person? How do they communicate? This cultural understanding will help you navigate tricky situations later on.
Understand the Product:
This becomes even more important in your next 30 days, but if you’re the product marketing expert, I (Jason) deeply believe you should be a product expert. Spend time with the product itself, use it, talk to users, and gather feedback. The more familiar you are with the product’s intricacies, the better you’ll be at crafting the right messaging and positioning.
Identify Quick Wins:
Even in your first 30 days, look for small but impactful wins. Maybe it’s getting clarity on product positioning, updating a long-asked-for sales asset, or aligning with sales on an upcoming launch. These early successes will build momentum and help you gain credibility with your team.
Your first 30 days as a founding PMM are all about setting yourself up for success — while it might feel like you’re not doing much at first, remember: you’re laying the groundwork for everything that comes after.
Your First 60 Days
By the time you reach your second month as a founding PMM, you should be well beyond the "getting to know you" phase.
Now it’s time to start shifting gears toward delivering bigger wins and cementing your role as a strategic partner within the organization.
In your first 60 days, you'll begin to deliver more substantial results and refine your understanding of the company, product, and customer. This period is about moving from a state of discovery and observation to taking action and making measurable progress.
Goal: Deliver Larger Wins, Keep Learning (🚶walk)
By now, you’ll be transitioning from learning to delivering—but don't mistake "delivering" for just churning out assets. Your success now depends on using your early insights to make strategic, high-impact moves that align with the company’s biggest goals.
You obviously won’t have everything figured out, but this is where you can start seeing the results of your efforts. As you continue to build trust and credibility, these bigger wins will reinforce your position as a key player in the company's growth.
Learn: Be a Product Expert
By the time you hit 60 days, you should have a strong understanding of the product—not just at a high level, but in the way your customers use it, the pain points it addresses, and the challenges your teams are working through. You need to be able to speak fluently about the product’s features, benefits, user flows, and potential.
Your First 60 Days
By the time you reach your second month as a founding PMM, you should be well beyond the "getting to know you" phase.
Now it’s time to start shifting gears toward delivering bigger wins and cementing your role as a strategic partner within the organization.
In your first 60 days, you'll begin to deliver more substantial results and refine your understanding of the company, product, and customer. This period is about moving from a state of discovery and observation to taking action and making measurable progress.
Goal: Deliver Larger Wins, Keep Learning (🚶walk)
By now, you’ll be transitioning from learning to delivering—but don't mistake "delivering" for just churning out assets. Your success now depends on using your early insights to make strategic, high-impact moves that align with the company’s biggest goals.
You obviously won’t have everything figured out, but this is where you can start seeing the results of your efforts. As you continue to build trust and credibility, these bigger wins will reinforce your position as a key player in the company's growth.
Learn: Be a Product Expert
By the time you hit 60 days, you should have a strong understanding of the product—not just at a high level, but in the way your customers use it, the pain points it addresses, and the challenges your teams are working through. You need to be able to speak fluently about the product’s features, benefits, user flows, and potential.
Your First 60 Days
By the time you reach your second month as a founding PMM, you should be well beyond the "getting to know you" phase.
Now it’s time to start shifting gears toward delivering bigger wins and cementing your role as a strategic partner within the organization.
In your first 60 days, you'll begin to deliver more substantial results and refine your understanding of the company, product, and customer. This period is about moving from a state of discovery and observation to taking action and making measurable progress.
Goal: Deliver Larger Wins, Keep Learning (🚶walk)
By now, you’ll be transitioning from learning to delivering—but don't mistake "delivering" for just churning out assets. Your success now depends on using your early insights to make strategic, high-impact moves that align with the company’s biggest goals.
You obviously won’t have everything figured out, but this is where you can start seeing the results of your efforts. As you continue to build trust and credibility, these bigger wins will reinforce your position as a key player in the company's growth.
Learn: Be a Product Expert
By the time you hit 60 days, you should have a strong understanding of the product—not just at a high level, but in the way your customers use it, the pain points it addresses, and the challenges your teams are working through. You need to be able to speak fluently about the product’s features, benefits, user flows, and potential.
You should deliver live or record and share a product demo in your first 60 days.
Nothing earns the respect of sellers more than a marketer who actually walks the walk. It will go a long way when you get to the point where you are suggesting tweaks to the sales narrative or demo flow – trust me.
You should deliver live or record and share a product demo in your first 60 days.
Nothing earns the respect of sellers more than a marketer who actually walks the walk. It will go a long way when you get to the point where you are suggesting tweaks to the sales narrative or demo flow – trust me.
You should deliver live or record and share a product demo in your first 60 days.
Nothing earns the respect of sellers more than a marketer who actually walks the walk. It will go a long way when you get to the point where you are suggesting tweaks to the sales narrative or demo flow – trust me.
You’ve spent the first 30 days getting up to speed with the core product functionality. Now, dive into the more nuanced details. Spend time with engineering and product teams to get familiar with the product roadmap. What’s coming down the pipeline, and how will it change your messaging or go-to-market strategy?
Customer immersion: If you haven’t yet, start scheduling customer interviews or shadowing customer calls. Use your “newness” to your advantage. Ask customers fresh, open-ended questions. Leverage the insights you gain to better understand the gaps in your product and messaging.
Use the product: Spend time using the product as a customer would. Look at it from every angle—what’s intuitive, where are the friction points, and what could be improved? Don’t just passively consume it but dig into the details and document what you find.
Cross-functional collaboration: Continue to meet with key product stakeholders—engineers, designers, and PMs. If regular meetings are not already established now is a good time to get some started. Understand not only the current version of the product but the future vision as well.
Deliver: Customer-Centric Data to the business
One of the best ways to make an impact quickly is by delivering customer-centric data that can inform your company’s strategies.
Customer Interviews: By now, you should be conducting your own customer interviews. You can use our Customer Interview Guide to get started! Use your findings to propose changes to messaging, identify new opportunities, or validate the pain points your product addresses. Document your insights, share them across teams, and offer them to your product, sales, and marketing colleagues with an open mind.
Competitive Analysis: You’ve likely already been keeping an eye on the competition. By this stage, if you feel your company needs it, you should create battlecards for your top 2-3 competitors.
If you could help your team know these 8 things about your top competitors, you are off to a great start:
Their opening differentiator
How they fare in the buyer’s segment and industry
Their go-to landmines
Your most recent wins against them
Their biggest strength
Their biggest flaw
Their customers that have churned to you
Their pricing strategy
You’ve spent the first 30 days getting up to speed with the core product functionality. Now, dive into the more nuanced details. Spend time with engineering and product teams to get familiar with the product roadmap. What’s coming down the pipeline, and how will it change your messaging or go-to-market strategy?
Customer immersion: If you haven’t yet, start scheduling customer interviews or shadowing customer calls. Use your “newness” to your advantage. Ask customers fresh, open-ended questions. Leverage the insights you gain to better understand the gaps in your product and messaging.
Use the product: Spend time using the product as a customer would. Look at it from every angle—what’s intuitive, where are the friction points, and what could be improved? Don’t just passively consume it but dig into the details and document what you find.
Cross-functional collaboration: Continue to meet with key product stakeholders—engineers, designers, and PMs. If regular meetings are not already established now is a good time to get some started. Understand not only the current version of the product but the future vision as well.
Deliver: Customer-Centric Data to the business
One of the best ways to make an impact quickly is by delivering customer-centric data that can inform your company’s strategies.
Customer Interviews: By now, you should be conducting your own customer interviews. You can use our Customer Interview Guide to get started! Use your findings to propose changes to messaging, identify new opportunities, or validate the pain points your product addresses. Document your insights, share them across teams, and offer them to your product, sales, and marketing colleagues with an open mind.
Competitive Analysis: You’ve likely already been keeping an eye on the competition. By this stage, if you feel your company needs it, you should create battlecards for your top 2-3 competitors.
If you could help your team know these 8 things about your top competitors, you are off to a great start:
Their opening differentiator
How they fare in the buyer’s segment and industry
Their go-to landmines
Your most recent wins against them
Their biggest strength
Their biggest flaw
Their customers that have churned to you
Their pricing strategy
You’ve spent the first 30 days getting up to speed with the core product functionality. Now, dive into the more nuanced details. Spend time with engineering and product teams to get familiar with the product roadmap. What’s coming down the pipeline, and how will it change your messaging or go-to-market strategy?
Customer immersion: If you haven’t yet, start scheduling customer interviews or shadowing customer calls. Use your “newness” to your advantage. Ask customers fresh, open-ended questions. Leverage the insights you gain to better understand the gaps in your product and messaging.
Use the product: Spend time using the product as a customer would. Look at it from every angle—what’s intuitive, where are the friction points, and what could be improved? Don’t just passively consume it but dig into the details and document what you find.
Cross-functional collaboration: Continue to meet with key product stakeholders—engineers, designers, and PMs. If regular meetings are not already established now is a good time to get some started. Understand not only the current version of the product but the future vision as well.
Deliver: Customer-Centric Data to the business
One of the best ways to make an impact quickly is by delivering customer-centric data that can inform your company’s strategies.
Customer Interviews: By now, you should be conducting your own customer interviews. You can use our Customer Interview Guide to get started! Use your findings to propose changes to messaging, identify new opportunities, or validate the pain points your product addresses. Document your insights, share them across teams, and offer them to your product, sales, and marketing colleagues with an open mind.
Competitive Analysis: You’ve likely already been keeping an eye on the competition. By this stage, if you feel your company needs it, you should create battlecards for your top 2-3 competitors.
If you could help your team know these 8 things about your top competitors, you are off to a great start:
Their opening differentiator
How they fare in the buyer’s segment and industry
Their go-to landmines
Your most recent wins against them
Their biggest strength
Their biggest flaw
Their customers that have churned to you
Their pricing strategy
Buyer Personas: You are getting a clearer understanding of who your customers are and what their pain points, goals, and purchasing behaviors look like. Bring these insights together into detailed personas that will guide your messaging, content, and outreach strategies moving forward.
Meet with Key Stakeholders
In your first 60 days, you should be meeting with more key stakeholders across the organization.
A few more topics you can dive into by now:
Sales Team: What tools, content, or data are they missing? What messaging resonates best with prospects? What feedback are they hearing from potential customers?
Product Team: Schedule regular check-ins to understand the roadmap. This will ensure that you’re always in the loop on new features or releases, and will give you an opportunity to refine messaging, positioning, and go-to-market strategy accordingly.
Marketing Team: As you work with marketing more and more, make sure you are getting looped in at the right time for campaigns and events. You should know enough to be dangerous and can help shape content creation (case studies, blogs, webinars) to reflect the most important customer pain points and product features.
Revisit your PMM Assessment Scorecard
Now that you’re in the swing of things, take a look at your Assessment Scorecard again and look for bigger projects that can create significant value for the company. This could be anything from driving a new product launch, improving sales enablement, or refining the company’s messaging.
Your first 60 days as a founding PMM are all about building upon the foundation you laid in your first month. You’re shifting from learning to delivering real value— positioning yourself as a go-to resource. Keep building those relationships, gathering insights, and delivering on what matters most to the company.
Before you know it, you’ll be ready to dive even deeper into larger strategic initiatives in your next 90 days.
Buyer Personas: You are getting a clearer understanding of who your customers are and what their pain points, goals, and purchasing behaviors look like. Bring these insights together into detailed personas that will guide your messaging, content, and outreach strategies moving forward.
Meet with Key Stakeholders
In your first 60 days, you should be meeting with more key stakeholders across the organization.
A few more topics you can dive into by now:
Sales Team: What tools, content, or data are they missing? What messaging resonates best with prospects? What feedback are they hearing from potential customers?
Product Team: Schedule regular check-ins to understand the roadmap. This will ensure that you’re always in the loop on new features or releases, and will give you an opportunity to refine messaging, positioning, and go-to-market strategy accordingly.
Marketing Team: As you work with marketing more and more, make sure you are getting looped in at the right time for campaigns and events. You should know enough to be dangerous and can help shape content creation (case studies, blogs, webinars) to reflect the most important customer pain points and product features.
Revisit your PMM Assessment Scorecard
Now that you’re in the swing of things, take a look at your Assessment Scorecard again and look for bigger projects that can create significant value for the company. This could be anything from driving a new product launch, improving sales enablement, or refining the company’s messaging.
Your first 60 days as a founding PMM are all about building upon the foundation you laid in your first month. You’re shifting from learning to delivering real value— positioning yourself as a go-to resource. Keep building those relationships, gathering insights, and delivering on what matters most to the company.
Before you know it, you’ll be ready to dive even deeper into larger strategic initiatives in your next 90 days.
Buyer Personas: You are getting a clearer understanding of who your customers are and what their pain points, goals, and purchasing behaviors look like. Bring these insights together into detailed personas that will guide your messaging, content, and outreach strategies moving forward.
Meet with Key Stakeholders
In your first 60 days, you should be meeting with more key stakeholders across the organization.
A few more topics you can dive into by now:
Sales Team: What tools, content, or data are they missing? What messaging resonates best with prospects? What feedback are they hearing from potential customers?
Product Team: Schedule regular check-ins to understand the roadmap. This will ensure that you’re always in the loop on new features or releases, and will give you an opportunity to refine messaging, positioning, and go-to-market strategy accordingly.
Marketing Team: As you work with marketing more and more, make sure you are getting looped in at the right time for campaigns and events. You should know enough to be dangerous and can help shape content creation (case studies, blogs, webinars) to reflect the most important customer pain points and product features.
Revisit your PMM Assessment Scorecard
Now that you’re in the swing of things, take a look at your Assessment Scorecard again and look for bigger projects that can create significant value for the company. This could be anything from driving a new product launch, improving sales enablement, or refining the company’s messaging.
Your first 60 days as a founding PMM are all about building upon the foundation you laid in your first month. You’re shifting from learning to delivering real value— positioning yourself as a go-to resource. Keep building those relationships, gathering insights, and delivering on what matters most to the company.
Before you know it, you’ll be ready to dive even deeper into larger strategic initiatives in your next 90 days.
Your First 90 Days:
Goal: Ramp up for Peak Performance (🏃 Run)
It’s time to take everything you’ve learned and turn it into meaningful (and noticeable) actions. This is where you begin to ramp up and when you start becoming more vocal internally.
Think of your first 90 days as the critical period where you move from learning and observing to executing and leading. You’re aiming for the break-even point, where your contributions start outweighing the time and energy spent getting up to speed.
Learn: Be an Industry Expert
Now that you’ve spent the first couple of months learning about your company, product, and internal processes, it’s time to extend that learning outward. Become an expert on the industry and market trends that impact your product and customers.
By now, you should have a clear understanding of the “channels” at your disposal. For many PMM teams this list can look something like:
Internal:
All hands meetings
Internal newsletter
Key cross-functional meetings
External:
Customer newsletter(s)
Release notes
Product webinars/events
I (Jason) personally love starting an internal newsletter – you can read my thoughts about why, here!
No matter the channel(s) at your disposal, you have plenty of value to start delivering now.
Market Intelligence: Dive into the competitive landscape again, but at a deeper level. Understand where your product fits within the market and how it stacks up against competitors—what are their differentiators, how do they position themselves, and what gaps exist?
Customer and Buyer Insights: You should have a good grasp on your customer base. But now, it's time to start looking at the broader picture—what are the emerging trends, pain points, and opportunities in the market that your product can take advantage of? Are there any shifts in buyer behavior that could impact your go-to-market strategy?
Industry Leaders and Thought Leadership: Continue following key voices and thought leaders, but also start contributing yourself. Sharing insights, engaging in conversations, and staying informed on big industry events will not only build your credibility but also establish you as a trusted advisor in the space.
You’ve done the research, now it’s time to apply it and share it.
Deliver: Drive Strategy & Visibility
Next up — compile all your learnings into one place and take it on the road! This goes beyond your Product Marketing Charter – now it’s time to craft a tangible, strategic plan based on what you’ve learned so far.
There are a million formats for this (slides, doc, project in Asana, etc.) but the most important part is to show your work, get everything on paper, and start circulating what you’re going to do.
Build a Strategic Plan: Put together a near-term/mid-term product marketing strategy. Think about how your products fit into the broader business goals. Outline the key objectives for your team, focusing on high-impact areas that you’ve uncovered in your listening tour work. Prioritize what matters most and start creating the roadmap for execution.
Start Executing with a Roadshow: A great way to get visibility for your plan and begin driving alignment across teams is to organize a "roadshow" to present your strategy to key stakeholders. This isn’t just about announcing what you plan to do—it’s about creating buy-in from cross-functional teams, gathering feedback, and ensuring everyone is aligned.
Think of it as a series of presentations (or workshops) where you walk through your strategy, communicate your vision for product marketing, and explain how it ties back to the company’s larger goals. Get input from sales, product, and leadership on what they think is the biggest priority. Make sure to leave plenty of room for dialogue and collaboration.
This roadshow will not only demonstrate your strategic thinking but also set the stage for the next phase of execution. The goal here is to get your entire organization excited about what’s coming next, build momentum, and reinforce your role as a leader and collaborator.
Meet with Cross-functional Stakeholders (again!)
By the end of 90 days your relationships with your most important stakeholders should either be rock solid or they are sick and tired of hearing from you 🙂
Now is a good time to assess how it’s going. Do you need more or less structured conversations with sales, product, customer success? You might also start seeing some of your “update” conversations turning into working sessions… this is a good thing!
Sales Teams: Dive deeper into what’s working and what’s missing with your product messaging and positioning. Are there objections you haven’t addressed yet? What feedback are they getting from prospects?
Product Teams: You’re likely working on Launch Planning by now. Work closely with product to refine your understanding of upcoming releases and the roadmap. Make sure you have well-established Launch Tiers in place and let your conversations narrow to your KPIs of the next release.
Customer Success: What pain points are they experiencing post-sale? Are there any opportunities to improve the customer experience or drive higher retention?
Start Delivering Bigger Wins
This is the fun part – you’re starting to execute larger more strategic initiatives, but you shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of quick wins. While you’ll likely be building toward long-term goals, identifying areas for short-term success can keep morale high and reinforce your credibility. These wins might look like:
Finalizing and rolling out a key sales enablement asset like a case study
Successfully launching a product feature or update with a solid go-to-market plan
Delivering a competitive analysis that leads to actionable insights for the sales or product teams
Refining messaging for an upcoming launch
Updating the product pages on the website (it’s crazy how often these are outdated).
Balancing long-term and short-term work is the blessing and curse of product marketing, but continuously finding a few quick wins will help you prove that you can deliver on the promises you’ve made during your listening tour and in your charter.
90 days and beyond
As you wrap up your first 90 days, make sure you’re documenting your wins, sharing your strategy and progress with leadership, and reflecting on what you’ve learned so far.
Keep thinking ahead: What’s coming next for the business? What challenges are on the horizon? What gaps still exist within the organization that PMM can fill?
You should have crossed the break-even threshold—your learning phase is over, and you’re now a critical part of the team driving growth and success. Your strategic plan is in motion, and you’re becoming more comfortable in your role as the product marketing expert who can connect the dots across teams, deliver value, and help the company move toward its big goals.
You got this!
The foundation you’ve built will support everything you do in the months (and years) ahead—so make sure you’re staying aligned, remaining flexible, and continuously iterating as you move forward into the next phase of growth.
And I’d probably look at scheduling your first vacation soon, too. You deserve it 🏖️
Your First 90 Days:
Goal: Ramp up for Peak Performance (🏃 Run)
It’s time to take everything you’ve learned and turn it into meaningful (and noticeable) actions. This is where you begin to ramp up and when you start becoming more vocal internally.
Think of your first 90 days as the critical period where you move from learning and observing to executing and leading. You’re aiming for the break-even point, where your contributions start outweighing the time and energy spent getting up to speed.
Learn: Be an Industry Expert
Now that you’ve spent the first couple of months learning about your company, product, and internal processes, it’s time to extend that learning outward. Become an expert on the industry and market trends that impact your product and customers.
By now, you should have a clear understanding of the “channels” at your disposal. For many PMM teams this list can look something like:
Internal:
All hands meetings
Internal newsletter
Key cross-functional meetings
External:
Customer newsletter(s)
Release notes
Product webinars/events
I (Jason) personally love starting an internal newsletter – you can read my thoughts about why, here!
No matter the channel(s) at your disposal, you have plenty of value to start delivering now.
Market Intelligence: Dive into the competitive landscape again, but at a deeper level. Understand where your product fits within the market and how it stacks up against competitors—what are their differentiators, how do they position themselves, and what gaps exist?
Customer and Buyer Insights: You should have a good grasp on your customer base. But now, it's time to start looking at the broader picture—what are the emerging trends, pain points, and opportunities in the market that your product can take advantage of? Are there any shifts in buyer behavior that could impact your go-to-market strategy?
Industry Leaders and Thought Leadership: Continue following key voices and thought leaders, but also start contributing yourself. Sharing insights, engaging in conversations, and staying informed on big industry events will not only build your credibility but also establish you as a trusted advisor in the space.
You’ve done the research, now it’s time to apply it and share it.
Deliver: Drive Strategy & Visibility
Next up — compile all your learnings into one place and take it on the road! This goes beyond your Product Marketing Charter – now it’s time to craft a tangible, strategic plan based on what you’ve learned so far.
There are a million formats for this (slides, doc, project in Asana, etc.) but the most important part is to show your work, get everything on paper, and start circulating what you’re going to do.
Build a Strategic Plan: Put together a near-term/mid-term product marketing strategy. Think about how your products fit into the broader business goals. Outline the key objectives for your team, focusing on high-impact areas that you’ve uncovered in your listening tour work. Prioritize what matters most and start creating the roadmap for execution.
Start Executing with a Roadshow: A great way to get visibility for your plan and begin driving alignment across teams is to organize a "roadshow" to present your strategy to key stakeholders. This isn’t just about announcing what you plan to do—it’s about creating buy-in from cross-functional teams, gathering feedback, and ensuring everyone is aligned.
Think of it as a series of presentations (or workshops) where you walk through your strategy, communicate your vision for product marketing, and explain how it ties back to the company’s larger goals. Get input from sales, product, and leadership on what they think is the biggest priority. Make sure to leave plenty of room for dialogue and collaboration.
This roadshow will not only demonstrate your strategic thinking but also set the stage for the next phase of execution. The goal here is to get your entire organization excited about what’s coming next, build momentum, and reinforce your role as a leader and collaborator.
Meet with Cross-functional Stakeholders (again!)
By the end of 90 days your relationships with your most important stakeholders should either be rock solid or they are sick and tired of hearing from you 🙂
Now is a good time to assess how it’s going. Do you need more or less structured conversations with sales, product, customer success? You might also start seeing some of your “update” conversations turning into working sessions… this is a good thing!
Sales Teams: Dive deeper into what’s working and what’s missing with your product messaging and positioning. Are there objections you haven’t addressed yet? What feedback are they getting from prospects?
Product Teams: You’re likely working on Launch Planning by now. Work closely with product to refine your understanding of upcoming releases and the roadmap. Make sure you have well-established Launch Tiers in place and let your conversations narrow to your KPIs of the next release.
Customer Success: What pain points are they experiencing post-sale? Are there any opportunities to improve the customer experience or drive higher retention?
Start Delivering Bigger Wins
This is the fun part – you’re starting to execute larger more strategic initiatives, but you shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of quick wins. While you’ll likely be building toward long-term goals, identifying areas for short-term success can keep morale high and reinforce your credibility. These wins might look like:
Finalizing and rolling out a key sales enablement asset like a case study
Successfully launching a product feature or update with a solid go-to-market plan
Delivering a competitive analysis that leads to actionable insights for the sales or product teams
Refining messaging for an upcoming launch
Updating the product pages on the website (it’s crazy how often these are outdated).
Balancing long-term and short-term work is the blessing and curse of product marketing, but continuously finding a few quick wins will help you prove that you can deliver on the promises you’ve made during your listening tour and in your charter.
90 days and beyond
As you wrap up your first 90 days, make sure you’re documenting your wins, sharing your strategy and progress with leadership, and reflecting on what you’ve learned so far.
Keep thinking ahead: What’s coming next for the business? What challenges are on the horizon? What gaps still exist within the organization that PMM can fill?
You should have crossed the break-even threshold—your learning phase is over, and you’re now a critical part of the team driving growth and success. Your strategic plan is in motion, and you’re becoming more comfortable in your role as the product marketing expert who can connect the dots across teams, deliver value, and help the company move toward its big goals.
You got this!
The foundation you’ve built will support everything you do in the months (and years) ahead—so make sure you’re staying aligned, remaining flexible, and continuously iterating as you move forward into the next phase of growth.
And I’d probably look at scheduling your first vacation soon, too. You deserve it 🏖️
Your First 90 Days:
Goal: Ramp up for Peak Performance (🏃 Run)
It’s time to take everything you’ve learned and turn it into meaningful (and noticeable) actions. This is where you begin to ramp up and when you start becoming more vocal internally.
Think of your first 90 days as the critical period where you move from learning and observing to executing and leading. You’re aiming for the break-even point, where your contributions start outweighing the time and energy spent getting up to speed.
Learn: Be an Industry Expert
Now that you’ve spent the first couple of months learning about your company, product, and internal processes, it’s time to extend that learning outward. Become an expert on the industry and market trends that impact your product and customers.
By now, you should have a clear understanding of the “channels” at your disposal. For many PMM teams this list can look something like:
Internal:
All hands meetings
Internal newsletter
Key cross-functional meetings
External:
Customer newsletter(s)
Release notes
Product webinars/events
I (Jason) personally love starting an internal newsletter – you can read my thoughts about why, here!
No matter the channel(s) at your disposal, you have plenty of value to start delivering now.
Market Intelligence: Dive into the competitive landscape again, but at a deeper level. Understand where your product fits within the market and how it stacks up against competitors—what are their differentiators, how do they position themselves, and what gaps exist?
Customer and Buyer Insights: You should have a good grasp on your customer base. But now, it's time to start looking at the broader picture—what are the emerging trends, pain points, and opportunities in the market that your product can take advantage of? Are there any shifts in buyer behavior that could impact your go-to-market strategy?
Industry Leaders and Thought Leadership: Continue following key voices and thought leaders, but also start contributing yourself. Sharing insights, engaging in conversations, and staying informed on big industry events will not only build your credibility but also establish you as a trusted advisor in the space.
You’ve done the research, now it’s time to apply it and share it.
Deliver: Drive Strategy & Visibility
Next up — compile all your learnings into one place and take it on the road! This goes beyond your Product Marketing Charter – now it’s time to craft a tangible, strategic plan based on what you’ve learned so far.
There are a million formats for this (slides, doc, project in Asana, etc.) but the most important part is to show your work, get everything on paper, and start circulating what you’re going to do.
Build a Strategic Plan: Put together a near-term/mid-term product marketing strategy. Think about how your products fit into the broader business goals. Outline the key objectives for your team, focusing on high-impact areas that you’ve uncovered in your listening tour work. Prioritize what matters most and start creating the roadmap for execution.
Start Executing with a Roadshow: A great way to get visibility for your plan and begin driving alignment across teams is to organize a "roadshow" to present your strategy to key stakeholders. This isn’t just about announcing what you plan to do—it’s about creating buy-in from cross-functional teams, gathering feedback, and ensuring everyone is aligned.
Think of it as a series of presentations (or workshops) where you walk through your strategy, communicate your vision for product marketing, and explain how it ties back to the company’s larger goals. Get input from sales, product, and leadership on what they think is the biggest priority. Make sure to leave plenty of room for dialogue and collaboration.
This roadshow will not only demonstrate your strategic thinking but also set the stage for the next phase of execution. The goal here is to get your entire organization excited about what’s coming next, build momentum, and reinforce your role as a leader and collaborator.
Meet with Cross-functional Stakeholders (again!)
By the end of 90 days your relationships with your most important stakeholders should either be rock solid or they are sick and tired of hearing from you 🙂
Now is a good time to assess how it’s going. Do you need more or less structured conversations with sales, product, customer success? You might also start seeing some of your “update” conversations turning into working sessions… this is a good thing!
Sales Teams: Dive deeper into what’s working and what’s missing with your product messaging and positioning. Are there objections you haven’t addressed yet? What feedback are they getting from prospects?
Product Teams: You’re likely working on Launch Planning by now. Work closely with product to refine your understanding of upcoming releases and the roadmap. Make sure you have well-established Launch Tiers in place and let your conversations narrow to your KPIs of the next release.
Customer Success: What pain points are they experiencing post-sale? Are there any opportunities to improve the customer experience or drive higher retention?
Start Delivering Bigger Wins
This is the fun part – you’re starting to execute larger more strategic initiatives, but you shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of quick wins. While you’ll likely be building toward long-term goals, identifying areas for short-term success can keep morale high and reinforce your credibility. These wins might look like:
Finalizing and rolling out a key sales enablement asset like a case study
Successfully launching a product feature or update with a solid go-to-market plan
Delivering a competitive analysis that leads to actionable insights for the sales or product teams
Refining messaging for an upcoming launch
Updating the product pages on the website (it’s crazy how often these are outdated).
Balancing long-term and short-term work is the blessing and curse of product marketing, but continuously finding a few quick wins will help you prove that you can deliver on the promises you’ve made during your listening tour and in your charter.
90 days and beyond
As you wrap up your first 90 days, make sure you’re documenting your wins, sharing your strategy and progress with leadership, and reflecting on what you’ve learned so far.
Keep thinking ahead: What’s coming next for the business? What challenges are on the horizon? What gaps still exist within the organization that PMM can fill?
You should have crossed the break-even threshold—your learning phase is over, and you’re now a critical part of the team driving growth and success. Your strategic plan is in motion, and you’re becoming more comfortable in your role as the product marketing expert who can connect the dots across teams, deliver value, and help the company move toward its big goals.
You got this!
The foundation you’ve built will support everything you do in the months (and years) ahead—so make sure you’re staying aligned, remaining flexible, and continuously iterating as you move forward into the next phase of growth.
And I’d probably look at scheduling your first vacation soon, too. You deserve it 🏖️
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Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.