Face it. Saying “NO” is hard as a founding PMM.
So, ask your boss (or other VPs) to do it for you.
Let me explain.
We’ve all been in meetings where our boss,
or the founder,
or the VP of sales,
or the VP of CS,
or the VP of product says:
“Let me know if I can help?’
Don’t let that opportunity pass 🚨
Instead, say this:
“Right now my top priorities are X and Y for the next quarter because of Z. That’s going to take 90% of my time. If you could communicate that to your team and ask them to hold off on new requests until X date, that would be a huge help.”
What often happens next?
That person goes back to their team and tells them to lay off on the requests.
Not only that, but those teams also now have more context,
A better understanding of your priorities.
Unfortunately, What normally happens is that we say:
“thanks for the offer, I’ll let you know”
Then the requests start coming in.
And it’s easier to react than to say NO.
Moral of the story.
Saying NO is indeed hard.
But YOU don’t always have to say it.
And to all of the VPs out there working with a founding PMM.
Ask if you can help them say NO.
#productmarketing #foundingpmm