The Overview #4

This week: Overcoming the status quo and emotional barriers to change, and why you should hire PMMs.

👋 Hey there. This is The Overview, a weekly roundup of noteworthy B2B SaaS stuff. You'll find interesting tweets and articles from around the internet, plus highlights from my personal swipe file.

This is the fourth edition - the last month has gone super quick! Let me know what you think: find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Your biggest competitor

Jen Abel @jjen_abel

biggest competitor = status quo

Undeniably, your biggest competitor is either doing nothing or continuing with the same provider. (Tip: they’re not the same).

I’ve written before about the two causes of inertia (the enemy of momentum):

1. Increased resistance

2. Lack of velocity

Your prospects who choose to remain with the status quo are probably not making an educated decision - they’re making a decision (not by choice!) based on their internal change environment.

If you can help your prospects fight through the mud of resistance and build velocity (speed in a specific direction) before you sell to them - through content, thought-leadership, or even in the sales process - you’ll find the obstacles disappear.

Using a new product is a big emotional change

content trent @TrentAnders0n

When you ask me to try your product, you're *really* asking me to: ↠ Change my habits ↠ Re-work my process ↠ Admit I was wrong (even if the return is 10x) It's a pretty damn big ask. Driven by emotion, not logic. The great ones know this, anticipate this, and win on this.

I love this tweet. Every time someone buys software to use in their business, they’ll have to overcome change costs.

The famous adage is that your product needs to be 10x cheaper and 10x better has been broadened. Not only do you need to beat your competitors, you need to overcome the emotional competition against inaction and change in the heart of your buyer.

How well do you understand the gains your customer will make with your product, and their motivations to search/switch/buy something new? How well do you understand the buyer’s personal and professional goals - not just what the business wants to achieve?

How do you make your onboarding experience slick enough to encourage adoption, not just conversion? The product of a SaaS business is not just the technical platform, but the sales, marketing, success, finance, and operational experience: can you use other teams to help predict and avoid resistance?

Hire product marketers

There’s been a ton of tweets this week on why product marketers are so in-demand right now:

Matt Hodges @mattnhodges

Who in tech _isn't_ looking to invest in product marketing (early) now? Feels like the penny has finally dropped.

Anand Patel @anandp29

That or hire yourself a damn good product marketer 😉

Harley Finkelstein @harleyf

You can have the greatest product in the world, but if people don’t understand your why or what your product is being hired to do, you aren’t going to go far. The number one skill every entrepreneur needs to learn is how to be a strong storyteller.

Obviously, I agree - product marketers are a key hire to accelerate product adoption, increase win rates, and differentiate in the mind of your customer.

So what should you look for in your first PMM hire? Check out this post from my friend Alicia:

A Product Marketer will help you start to question, “What do we stand for? And who stands behind us? How do we truly serve their needs better than anyone else?”

How to hire a good product marketer on Finding Customer Focus

And check out this short clip for my take on three core PMM skills to look for:

James Doman-Pipe @JDomanPipe

🎤 "What do you look for when hiring a product marketer?" The PMM role is broad and it's hard to guess whether a candidate's personal + professional skills are right for your biz, product, + context. I talked about 3 core PMM skills in a @PMMalliance session with @JordiMonPMM.

That’s the Overview for this week

Hope you found some interest in this edition.

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Thanks for reading, and happy building.

James