HubSpot Careers Blog

“How do I get into product marketing?”

That’s a question I see almost every single week, and it’s no surprise. According to a survey by Robert Half, product marketing is one of the top 3 marketing roles growing in 2018.

And yet, even though there is a lot written about the importance of product marketing, it still remains a mystery to many looking to make the transition into a product marketing role. While the responsibilities of a product marketing role can vary by company and industry, often you will find this role in many B2B companies that are in a competitive market with a sales team. Product marketing is a prevalent role throughout technology companies, but also exists across other industries as well.

 A couple summers ago, I took an improv comedy class with a colleague using HubSpot’s tuition reimbursement. (Yes, HubSpot actually paid for me to laugh in a class.) But, beyond learning to laugh at life, I also learned another important skill -- public speaking.

Before every improv class, I’d get sweaty palms and have to pep talk myself into even showing up because I was so nervous. Most of my jokes that landed a laugh or giggle were stories about my new (cute) terror of a puppy pottying on my kitchen floor.

GALVANIZE 2018, a summit hosted by Fairygodboss on Oct. 15-16 in New York City, convened hundreds of executives and leaders of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) with the goal of making women’s resource groups powerful. 

It can be difficult to turn a general mission like “empowerment” into actionable steps, but two of the GALVANIZE panels — ”What I Wish My ERG Knew” and “How to Deploy Your ERG to Make Lasting Impact” —  tackled on the question of how, exactly, to make ERGs effective and inclusive. 

When I was an individual contributor, I often thought there were easy solutions to seemingly obvious questions my leadership team was facing. “If we added this one step to the sales process, it would make for a better prospect and customer experience.” Digging into this you realize, the solution isn't as easy as it seems. For example, adding more layers to the sales process slows it down and has an exponential effect on a company's bottom line.

How does this relate to hiring gay? Hang on, I’m getting there.

When I ask most people if they’ve considered a career in sales, they’re all too quick to reject the idea.

• “Sales reps are always so pushy, I don’t want to be asking for money all day.”
• “I’m not a people person, I’d hate talking to strangers all day!”
• “I’ve never sold anything before, I can’t break into that career.”
• “Sales culture seems really toxic, I won’t fit in.”

I get this reaction from many people because when they think of sales reps, they think of dishonest and pushy people portrayed in movies populating used car lots and mall kiosks, inflating the stereotypes they’ve seen on TV. For many people, the only interaction they have with sales reps is limited to a time when they’ve been interrupted by the rep to be sold products they may not even need.

Think about the last time you decided to purchase something of significant value. Did you walk into a shop with little to no background information on what you were buying? Or, did you do your research online reading reviews and comparing prices while consulting family and friends?

Today’s customer journey looks more like the latter.

I found out I was pregnant on March 8, 2018. Why do I remember the specific date, you ask? It’s permanently etched into my brain because of the sheer panic that overwhelmed me as I looked at that little pink line. Sure I was happy, but I was also completely terrified.

Actual internal monologue: “I’m going to be responsible for a human in nine months?? But I still barely understand the concept of IRAs! I call my mom to ask whether I can take expired medication! I’ve never seen Star Wars! How can this be allowed?!”

Needless to say, it was a sleepless night.

Dear Sales Reps,

One of my 2018 goals was to keep a journal and I’ll be honest, it has yet to happen. However, I thought this blog would be the perfect place to start holding myself accountable to writing down my thoughts and feelings. (In front of millions of people.) So, please come along for the journey. Today, I’m going to get personal and write about stress.

There are a handful of things that modern society still uses from the 1400’s. The “resume” is one of them. It has morphed and developed over time since Leonardo Da Vinci wrote his professional resume in 1482. While this seems like a no brainer, I’m still asking the question: why? We no longer use feather quill pens and more importantly, people are so much more than a one-sheet piece of paper of their “accomplishments.”