1) The document discusses career paths into product management and product marketing, focusing on domain expertise and soft skills required. It provides examples of roles that can lead into product management like sales engineering, business analysis, and user experience. 2) It also summarizes routes product managers typically take, including a survey finding most come from engineering, testing, or marketing roles. Soft skills in communication, leadership, and stakeholder management are also important. 3) The document concludes by providing recommendations for how to plan to transition into product management, such as gaining domain expertise, studying methodologies, and taking product management courses. It also advertises sponsor courses and prizes.

1. Cambridge Product Management Network
Career paths into Product
Management and Product Marketing
Arthur Meadows & Céline Sharpe
30th Sept 2019
Thanks to our sponsors

2. About Arthur
Engineering Degree
(programming
internship)
Change management
consultant
Software Testing Sales Engineering
Start-up Co-founder
MBA
Commercial Officer /
Investor Relations
@Fetch.AI
1989
NOW
Programmer / Technical
Translation /
Implementation
Engineer
Product Management
/ Product Marketing

3. Definition of Product Management
Marketing
(specifically Market
Satisfaction)
Technology
Delivery
in 4D

4. Definition of Product Management
Titles
• Product Manager
• Product Marketing Manager
• Technical Product Manager
• CEO of the Product
• Janitor of the Product
• …..
• The only person that d*mn well cares about the Product!

5. Definition of Product Management
Product strategy
Concentrates on the product strategy
and the business of the product line
Technical Product
Management
Works with Development
to build the best product
Product Marketing
Takes the product
message to the channel
working with sales and
communications teams
The Product
Management
Triad
The literature
defines three roles
In smaller teams,
this is one role

6. Definition of Product Management
What is their horizons ?
Who are their stakeholders?
• Engineering
• Design / UX / Testing
• Sales / Sales Engineering / Marketing / Events
• Corporate Marketing / Communications / Brand
• Legal: Intellectual Property, Contracts
• Finance: Pricing, Budgeting, Portfolio
• …..

7. Product Management & Product
Marketing
Internally Focussed Externally Focussed
Product Manager
Product Marketing

8. Routes into Product Management
Where do PMs come from?
• No specific academic degrees
Practical
Experience Domain Expertise

9. Domain Expertise
Where do PMs come from?
Proposition
Development
Technical
Construction
Value Realisation
/ Utility
Sales Engineering
Marketing
Testing
Implementation
Customer
Support
Sales Engineering, Business Analysis
User Experience

10. Domain Expertise
Where do PMs come from?
Proposition
Development
Technical
Construction
Value Realisation
/ Utility
Sales Engineering
Marketing
Testing
Implementation
Customer
Support
Sales Engineering, Business Analysis
User ExperienceB2B vs B2C

11. Routes into Product Management
Where do PMs come from?
Survey
Proposition
Development
Technical
Construction
Value Realisation
/ Utility

12. Routes into Product Management
Where do PMs come from?
“What did you do prior to becoming a product manager?”
Tarigo.co.uk
6,000 respondents
2010 - 2019
Proposition
Development
Valuation
Realisation

13. Domain Expertise + Soft Skills
Other skills needed!!
Proposition
Development
Technical
Construction
Value Realisation
/ Utility
Human ‘Savvy’ Corporate ‘Savvy’
Communication
Trust
Leadership
Project / Process
Management
Translation

14. Céline Sharpe
from Technical Writer
to Product Marketing

15. About Céline – Technical Writer to Product Marketing
English degree at
Université de Savoie
Various Customer
Service roles
Corporate Support
Manager
Communications
Writer
Featurespace
Information Developer
Technical Writer
Now what?
2002
NOW
Came over to UK
Lead Product Writer
Product Content
team
2006
2018
2014

16. A Product Marketer’s top qualities…
• A high degree of empathy
• A good copywriter
• Efficient project and stakeholder manager

17. What can you do TOMORROW to get into
Product Management / Marketing
1. Be the Domain Expert
2. Consider what is being asked of your own
business function AND consider what’s going in
other business functions
3. Visit another business function
 so that what they do
 and understand how they see you
4. Be seconded to another business function
 stay awhile - and go native!

18. Domain Expertise
Where do PMs come from?
Proposition
Development
Technical
Construction
Value Realisation
/ Utility
Sales Engineering
Marketing
Testing
Implementation
Customer
Support
Sales Engineering, Business Analysis
User Experience

19. How can you plan to get into Product
Management / Marketing?
1. Study some of the methodologies / frameworks /
resources
2. Books / Websites?
3. Take some Product Management courses (£££)

20. Sponsor Courses
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Resource
s
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21. Sponsor Courses
Our
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22. Sponsor Courses
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Product Management
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28-31 October Foundations, Market,
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24. Sponsor Courses
• Golden Ticket to “Business of Data Science”
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Process
1. Expression of Interest
2. Lottery (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
3. Winner has to return and provide 5 min summary

25. Q&A

26. Sponsor Courses
• Golden Ticket to “Business of Data Science”
• 25-26 November, London
Process
1. Expression of Interest
2. Lottery (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
3. Winner has to return and provide 5 min summary

27. Sponsor Prizes
An easy-to-follow six-step process
developed over the past 15 years can
help you address unsolved problems,
recognize buyer personas, quantify
impact and create breakthrough
experiences. Stop wasting time by
guessing what your market needs and
start understanding consumer desire.

28. Come back to CPMN!
Monday 25th November
Monday 13th January
Thursday 5th March
Boathouse Pub, Cambridge
Social + Presentation + Social

29. Cambridge Product Management Network