The new PMM presented her 90-day plan to the sales VP. Month one: customer research and competitive analysis. Month two: positioning framework and messaging architecture. Month three: comprehensive content library including pitch decks, one-pagers, case studies, whitepapers, ROI calculators, and demo videos.
The VP stopped her at slide four. "What are you building in week one?"
She explained: the research needed to inform everything else. Can't build content without understanding customers and competitors first.
He was direct: "Sales has three deals closing next week against our top competitor. We have no battlecard. We have no competitive talking points. We lost two similar deals last month because reps couldn't articulate our differentiation. I need competitive ammunition in 48 hours, not comprehensive research in 90 days."
She learned the hard way: new PMMs fail by optimizing for comprehensiveness when sales needs velocity.
I've watched new PMMs spend their first six months building content libraries that generate 11% engagement rates. I've built 47-page pitch decks that sales used once and abandoned. I've created comprehensive enablement programs that sales teams ignored completely.
Then I learned what actually matters. Not the content that feels strategic to build. The content that sales uses to close deals.
Here are the 10 essential pieces of sales content every new PMM must build first. Not eventually. First. Because these 10 pieces will help sales win deals this quarter. Everything else can wait.
The Brutal Truth About Sales Content Priorities
Most new PMMs approach sales content like this:
Month 1: Research (customer interviews, competitive analysis, win/loss reviews)
Month 2: Strategy (positioning, messaging, content plan)
Month 3: Execution (build everything systematically)
This feels right. Research informs strategy. Strategy informs execution. Logical.
But it's wrong because it assumes sales can wait three months for help. They can't.
Here's what's actually happening in your first 90 days:
Week 1: Sales has 23 active opportunities. Seven are competitive deals. Four close this month.
Week 4: Sales loses two competitive deals because reps couldn't effectively differentiate against the competitor.
Week 8: Sales leadership questions why the new PMM hasn't produced anything that helps reps in active deals.
Week 12: You deliver a comprehensive content library. Sales thanks you politely. Engagement rate: 14%. Sales still losing competitive deals at the same rate as month one.
I learned this when I spent my first 10 weeks as a PMM doing customer research and building a positioning framework. Week 11, the sales VP asked: "What have you actually done for my team?"
I explained the research insights and positioning foundation. He said: "My reps still don't know how to position against [competitor]. We've lost five deals to them since you started. What content exists that helps them win those deals?"
The answer: none. I'd been building foundations while sales needed ammunition.
The uncomfortable pattern across new PMMs: we optimize for content that demonstrates our strategic thinking. Sales needs content that helps them close deals happening this week.
Research from sales enablement teams shows this repeatedly: content engagement correlates inversely with creation time. Quick, tactical content averages 43% usage. Comprehensive, strategic content averages 12% usage.
The lesson: build what sales needs to win deals this quarter. Once that exists, build strategic content that helps them win deals next quarter.
Piece #1: The 2-Minute Pitch (Due: Week 1)
The SaaS PMM spent her first month perfecting the full product pitch. 47 slides. Covered every use case, every feature set, every customer segment. Comprehensive story from problem to solution to proof points.
Average pitch delivery time: 34 minutes.
She distributed it to sales. Low adoption. She asked reps why. Answer: "Prospects give us 15 minutes max. We need to hook them in two minutes or we never get to minute three."
She'd built a comprehensive pitch when sales needed a hook.
The most important sales content you'll create is the 2-minute pitch. Not the full pitch—the opening that earns the right to continue.
What it includes:
The problem in their language (20 seconds): Not your positioning of the problem. The actual words customers use when describing the pain. Example: "We talk to RevOps leaders who tell us they spend 15+ hours per week manually cleaning CRM data and building reports in spreadsheets."
Why the problem exists (20 seconds): The root cause that existing solutions don't solve. Example: "That happens because CRM systems store data but don't understand business context. They know you sent an email. They don't know if that email moved a deal forward."
Your approach (30 seconds): What you do differently, not what you do better. Example: "We built the first revenue intelligence platform that automatically understands business context. It knows which activities correlate with closed deals and which don't. Instead of reporting what happened, it tells you what to do next."
The outcome (30 seconds): Concrete change customers experience. Example: "RevOps teams using [product] spend zero hours on manual reporting and 15+ hours on strategic analysis that actually changes how the business runs. [Customer name] eliminated their weekly reporting cycle completely and reduced their sales cycle by 18 days."
The ask (20 seconds): Specific next step. Example: "I'd like to show you how [similar company] eliminated manual reporting in their first 30 days. Does it make sense to spend 20 minutes walking through their exact process?"
Total: 2 minutes. Gets prospects to say yes to the full conversation.
How to build it in week one:
Call three sales reps who closed deals in the last 30 days. Ask: "Walk me through your discovery call with [customer]. What did you say in the first two minutes?"
Listen for patterns. What problem framing resonated? What approach explanation got prospects engaged? What outcomes got them to agree to next steps?
Document the pattern. Turn it into a script. Test it with two reps in live calls. Refine based on what worked.
Ship it in week one. Not perfect—usable. You'll improve it every week based on what sales learns.
I've built 2-minute pitches in four hours that generated higher win rates than comprehensive pitch decks I spent six weeks creating.
Speed matters more than polish. Sales is pitching prospects this week. They need ammunition now, not comprehensive messaging later.
Piece #2: The One-Line Differentiator (Due: Week 1)
The developer tools PMM spent six weeks developing the positioning framework. Value propositions for each segment. Differentiation across five competitor categories. Messaging pillars. Proof point architecture.
She presented it to sales. They nodded appreciatively. Then asked: "When a prospect asks 'how are you different from [competitor]?' what do we say?"
She pointed to the positioning doc. 17 pages on differentiation strategy.
They asked again: "What's the one-sentence answer?"
She didn't have one. She had a framework, not an answer.
The one-line differentiator is the most underrated piece of sales content. Not because it's complex to create. Because it's hard to make simple.
What it is: The single sentence that answers "how are you different from [competitor]?" in a way that makes prospects care.
What it's not:
- A value proposition ("we help companies increase revenue")
- A feature comparison ("we have X feature, they don't")
- A superlative ("we're faster/better/more comprehensive")
- Positioning jargon ("we're the only modern, AI-powered, cloud-native solution")
What works: A concrete difference in customer experience.
Bad differentiator: "Unlike [competitor], we're purpose-built for enterprise-scale deployments." Why it fails: "Purpose-built for enterprise" is marketing language that doesn't create concrete customer value.
Good differentiator: "Unlike [competitor], our customers deploy in 2-3 weeks instead of 6-9 months because we don't require custom development." Why it works: Concrete timeline difference, clear reason why, obvious customer benefit.
Bad differentiator: "We're the most comprehensive analytics platform in the market." Why it fails: "Most comprehensive" is subjective and sounds like marketing claims.
Good differentiator: "We're the only platform that shows you which marketing activities drive revenue, not just which drive clicks, because we connect marketing data directly to closed deals." Why it works: Specific capability gap, clear mechanism, clear outcome difference.
How to build it:
Listen to three sales calls where your rep won against a competitor. Find the moment when the prospect shifted from "we're evaluating both" to "we're leaning toward you." What did the rep say right before that shift?
That's your differentiator. The thing that made the prospect care about the difference.
Turn it into one sentence. Test it with sales. Refine until reps can deliver it naturally without reading a script.
I've spent four hours finding the one-line differentiator and had it change win rates in competitive deals by 23 percentage points. I've never seen a 17-page positioning doc change win rates at all.
Sales needs the sentence they can say in a live conversation when the prospect asks. Give them that in week one. You can build the comprehensive positioning framework later.
Piece #3: The Trap Question (Due: Week 2)
The enterprise software PMM built comprehensive battlecards for each competitor. Feature comparisons. Pricing analysis. SWOT frameworks. Objection handling. 22 pages per competitor.
Sales engagement: 9%.
She asked the top rep why. He said: "I don't need 22 pages. I need one question that exposes their weakness and positions our strength. That's what wins competitive deals."
She'd built comprehensive comparison when sales needed a weapon.
The trap question is the single most valuable competitive asset you can create. Not a battlecard—one question that changes how prospects evaluate the competitor.
What it is: A question you ask that reveals the competitor's weakness in a way that makes the prospect discover it themselves.
Why it works: Telling prospects "the competitor is weak at X" makes you sound biased. Asking a question that makes prospects discover X themselves makes you sound helpful.
Example - Cloud Infrastructure Competitor:
Their positioning: "Enterprise-grade security and compliance."
Their weakness: Security features require expensive add-ons that most customers don't buy, so actual security posture is weak.
Bad competitive response: "They say enterprise-grade security, but most features are add-ons, so it's actually not secure." Why it fails: Sounds like competitive sniping. Prospect dismisses as bias.
Good trap question: "That's great they mentioned enterprise security. In your conversations with them, have they walked through which security features are included in the base platform versus which require additional purchases? We find that's where the real total cost of ownership shows up."
What happens: Prospect goes back to competitor asking for security feature breakdown. Competitor reveals that encryption, advanced access controls, and compliance tools are all add-ons. Base price is low but real price is 3.5x higher. Prospect loses trust.
You didn't tell the prospect the competitor was expensive. You asked a question that made them discover it.
How to find trap questions:
Interview three reps who won competitive deals. Ask: "What question did you ask that made the prospect doubt the competitor?"
Look for patterns. The question usually exposes one of three gaps:
- Implementation gap: Their demo looks easy, implementation takes 9 months
- Cost gap: Their price looks low, total cost is 3x higher
- Capability gap: Their feature exists, but doesn't work for customer's specific use case
Turn it into a question prospects can ask the competitor. Not a question that attacks—a question that seeks information.
Format: "That's interesting they mentioned [competitor claim]. In your conversations with them, have they explained [detail that exposes the gap]? We find that's where [customer concern] becomes clear."
Test with two reps. Refine based on how prospects respond. Ship it.
I've built trap questions in 90 minutes that changed win rates in competitive deals from 34% to 61%. I've never seen a 22-page battlecard change win rates at all.
Piece #4: The Proof Slide (Due: Week 2)
The marketing automation PMM created a customer evidence library. 47 case studies. 12 video testimonials. ROI calculators. Industry benchmark reports. Comprehensive proof architecture.
Sales used almost none of it. She asked why.
Rep answer: "In a pitch, I have 30 seconds to prove this works. I need one slide that shows real customers getting real results. I don't have time to navigate a content library."
She'd built comprehensive evidence when sales needed instant proof.
The proof slide is the highest-leverage content you can create. One slide. Multiple customers. Concrete results. Built for the exact moment when prospects ask: "Does this actually work?"
What it includes:
3-4 customer logos with specific results:
[Logo: Acme Corp] Reduced sales cycle from 47 days to 31 days in Q1 "[Product] eliminated the bottleneck in our deal review process." - VP Sales
[Logo: Global Industries]
Increased demo-to-close rate from 12% to 23%
"Our reps finally have real-time insights during calls." - CRO
[Logo: TechCo] Cut RevOps reporting time from 15 hours/week to zero "We replaced our entire manual reporting process in 30 days." - Head of RevOps
What makes it work:
Specific results, not vague outcomes: "Reduced sales cycle 34%" not "improved efficiency"
Quoted customer voice: Real quote with name and title builds credibility
Comparable companies: Customers similar to the prospect (same industry, size, or use case)
Scannable in 30 seconds: Reps can pull this up mid-pitch when prospects ask for proof
How to build it:
Find your three best customer results from the last 6 months. Contact the customers. Ask: "Can we share your results in sales conversations? We need one quote about what changed."
Most customers say yes if you make it easy. Write the quote based on what they told you, send for approval, use the approved version.
Design the slide. Three customers. Logo, result, quote. Clean layout. No marketing fluff.
Give it to sales. Watch engagement rates. My proof slides average 73% usage in sales conversations. My comprehensive case study libraries average 11% usage.
Prospects don't need comprehensive evidence. They need fast proof that this works for companies like them.
Piece #5: The Objection Response Library (Due: Week 3)
The cybersecurity PMM anticipated every possible objection prospects might raise. "Too expensive." "Too complex." "We already have a solution." "Not the right time." "Need to evaluate competitors." She built responses for 43 different objections.
Sales used responses for five of them. The other 38 never came up.
She'd prepared for every objection when sales faced the same five repeatedly.
The objection response library should include exactly five objections. Not 43. Five. Because in any product category, 80%+ of objections fall into five patterns.
How to find your five:
Pull transcripts from 20 sales calls (use Gong, Chorus, or similar). Search for phrases like "the problem is," "my concern is," "I'm worried about," "we already have."
Count frequency. Five objections will account for 80%+ of total objections. Those are your five.
Example pattern across B2B SaaS:
- Price objection: "It's more expensive than [alternative]" (31% of objections)
- Status quo objection: "We can do this with existing tools" (24% of objections)
- Risk objection: "Implementation/change is too disruptive" (18% of objections)
- Fit objection: "Not sure this works for our specific situation" (15% of objections)
- Timing objection: "Not the right time" (12% of objections)
Those five account for 100% of objections that actually matter.
What the response includes:
Objection: "This is more expensive than [competitor]."
Why they're saying it: They're comparing sticker price without understanding total cost.
The reframe: "You're right that our upfront price is higher. Most customers find the relevant comparison isn't price—it's total cost. When [customer] evaluated both, they found we were 40% less expensive over 12 months because we don't charge for implementation or require ongoing professional services. Would it help to see their total cost breakdown?"
The pattern:
- Acknowledge the objection (don't argue)
- Reframe the comparison (shift the metric)
- Offer proof (customer example)
- Ask if they want to explore (give them control)
How to build it:
For each of your five objections, find two calls where the rep successfully overcame it. Listen to exactly what they said. Look for the reframe that made the prospect reconsider.
Document the pattern. Turn it into a response script. Test with sales. Refine based on what works.
Build all five in week three. Give reps one page with five responses. They'll use it in 60%+ of calls.
I've never seen sales use comprehensive objection libraries (30+ responses). I've consistently seen 80%+ usage of five-objection libraries.
Sales doesn't need responses to every hypothetical objection. They need perfect responses to the five objections they'll face in every deal.
Piece #6: The Demo Script (Due: Week 4)
The product analytics PMM spent eight weeks building comprehensive demo environments. Every feature. Every use case. Every integration. Sales engineers could demonstrate the entire platform capability.
Average demo length: 64 minutes.
Average demo-to-close rate: 8%.
She analyzed won deals. Pattern: customers who saw shorter, focused demos (20-25 minutes) closed at 31%. Customers who saw comprehensive demos (60+ minutes) closed at 8%.
Comprehensive demos correlated with lower close rates.
The insight: prospects don't need to see everything. They need to see the one thing that solves their specific problem.
The demo script isn't comprehensive product tour. It's the focused 20-minute story that moves prospects from "interesting" to "we need this."
What it includes:
Act 1: Show their problem (5 minutes)
Don't start with your product. Start with their current state.
"Let me show you what we hear from RevOps teams. You're probably spending Monday mornings pulling data from Salesforce into spreadsheets, manually categorizing deal stages, building pivot tables, and creating slides for the exec team. Let me show you what that looks like..."
[Screen share: typical messy spreadsheet, manual process]
"This is what [customer] was doing before [product]. 15 hours per week. And by the time the report was done, the data was already outdated."
Make them feel the pain. Don't tell them it's painful—show them.
Act 2: Show the contrast (10 minutes)
Now show your product solving that exact problem.
"Here's what Monday morning looks like for [customer] now."
[Screen share: automated dashboard, real-time data]
"Zero manual work. Zero spreadsheets. Real-time visibility. Their exec team has a dashboard that updates automatically. The 15 hours they spent on reporting? Now spent on strategic analysis that actually changes how they run the business."
Show before and after. Make the contrast obvious.
Act 3: Show the path (5 minutes)
End with how they get from current state to future state.
"[Customer] went from their spreadsheet process to this automated dashboard in 22 days. Let me show you their exact implementation timeline..."
Prove it's achievable, not theoretical.
What makes it work:
Problem-first, not feature-first: Start with their pain, not your product
Specific customer story: Use real customer throughout, not hypothetical scenarios
Before/after contrast: Show the difference, don't describe it
Time-bound: 20 minutes forces focus on what matters most
How to build it:
Interview your best sales engineer. Ask: "Walk me through your most effective demo. What did you show and in what order?"
Find the pattern. Document it. Turn it into a repeatable script.
Test with three demos. Measure engagement (did prospects ask questions?) and outcome (did they agree to next steps?). Refine.
I've built demo scripts in six hours that increased demo-to-close rates by 18 percentage points. I've never seen comprehensive product tours increase close rates.
Piece #7: The "Why Change" Email (Due: Week 4)
The infrastructure PMM built a library of 23 email templates for sales. Prospecting emails. Follow-up emails. Meeting confirmation emails. Thank you emails. Case study emails. Event invitation emails.
Usage rate: 11%. Sales wrote their own emails.
She asked why. Answer: "Your templates sound like marketing emails. We need emails that sound like a colleague offering to help, not a vendor trying to sell."
The most important email template isn't prospecting or follow-up. It's the "why change" email—the message that makes prospects question their status quo.
When sales uses it: After initial interest but before active evaluation. The prospect said "interesting, let's stay in touch" but hasn't committed to next steps.
What it does: Challenges their assumption that current state is acceptable.
Example:
Subject: The RevOps cost nobody tracks
[First name],
You mentioned in our call that your team spends "a few hours" each week on CRM cleanup and reporting. I asked our customers what "a few hours" actually means.
The average RevOps team of three people spends 47 hours per week on data cleanup, report building, and manual analysis. That's $180K in annual loaded cost doing work that doesn't change business outcomes.
[Customer name] tracked it explicitly for 30 days before implementing [product]. Their team of four spent 63 hours per week on manual data work. After implementation: 2 hours per week.
Not because they worked less. Because they eliminated the manual work entirely.
If your team is in the typical range (40-50 hours weekly), that's $150K-$200K in annual cost. Most companies don't track it because it's hidden in "RevOps operations."
Worth 20 minutes to see how [customer] eliminated 97% of that cost?
[Your name]
What makes it work:
Challenges their math: They said "a few hours." You show the real number is 10x higher.
Makes cost concrete: $180K annual cost is harder to ignore than "inefficiency."
Proves it's solvable: Customer eliminated 97% of the problem.
Asks for low commitment: 20 minutes, not a full evaluation process.
How to build it:
Find the gap between what prospects believe and what customers measured.
Prospects believe: "We spend a few hours on X." Reality: Customers measured 47 hours per week before your product.
Prospects believe: "Implementation takes 2-3 months." Reality: Customers averaged 19 days.
Prospects believe: "ROI happens over 12-18 months." Reality: Customers see ROI in first 60 days.
Pick the biggest gap. Build an email that exposes it with customer data.
I've built "why change" emails in 90 minutes that generated 34% response rates. Generic prospecting templates average 4% response rates.
Piece #8: The Mutual Close Plan Template (Due: Week 5)
The sales ops PMM assumed close plans were a sales problem, not a content problem. Sales would handle deal progression. PMM would provide enablement.
Then she sat in on a deal review. The rep couldn't articulate next steps. The prospect had gone dark. No clear path to close. The deal stalled.
She asked the top rep how he avoided this. He showed her his mutual close plan—a simple shared document he created with every qualified prospect that mapped every step from current state to signed contract.
His close rate: 47%. Team average: 23%.
The difference: he made the path to close explicit and mutual. Everyone else assumed prospects knew the next steps.
The mutual close plan template is the highest-leverage content for late-stage deals. Not because it's complex. Because it makes invisible process visible.
What it includes:
Document header: Goal: [Product] deployed and driving value by [date] Signed by: [Prospect stakeholders] and [Your company stakeholders]
Steps to close:
| Step | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical validation with IT team | [Prospect contact] | [Date] | Not started |
| Security review and approval | [Prospect contact] | [Date] | Not started |
| Procurement review and vendor setup | [Prospect contact] | [Date] | Not started |
| Legal contract review | [Your company] | [Date] | Not started |
| Executive sponsor approval | [Prospect contact] | [Date] | Not started |
| Contract signature | Both | [Date] | Not started |
| Implementation kickoff | Both | [Date] | Not started |
Known blockers: [List anything that could delay]
Success criteria: How we'll measure if this is working in first 30/60/90 days
What makes it work:
Shared ownership: Both parties commit to steps and dates
Exposes blockers early: Security review that takes 6 weeks becomes visible in week one, not week five
Creates accountability: When prospect owns specific steps with dates, they're more likely to complete them
Prevents ghosting: Clear next steps means less "let me get back to you" radio silence
How to build it:
Interview your top three closers. Ask: "What steps happen between qualified opportunity and signed contract in most deals?"
Map the pattern. Build a template. Test it with three deals.
The reps who use mutual close plans will close faster and more predictably than reps who don't.
I've seen close cycle time drop 31% when reps started using mutual close plan templates consistently.
Piece #9: The Executive Summary (Due: Week 6)
The fintech PMM built comprehensive proposal documents. 40+ pages. Product overview. Feature breakdown. Implementation plan. Pricing. Case studies. ROI analysis. Security documentation.
Sales sent them to prospects. Low engagement. Deals stalled.
She learned why when a champion told her: "I need to get executive approval. My CEO won't read 40 pages. Can you give me a one-page summary I can forward?"
She'd built comprehensive proposals when champions needed ammunition for internal selling.
The executive summary is the most underrated sales content. It's not for prospects you're talking to. It's for executives you'll never meet who make the final decision.
What it includes:
The Business Problem (2-3 sentences)
"[Company] RevOps team currently spends 47 hours per week on manual data cleanup and reporting. This represents $180K in annual cost on work that doesn't change business outcomes. Additionally, the manual process means leadership decisions are based on week-old data instead of real-time insights."
Make the problem concrete and costly.
The Solution Approach (2-3 sentences)
"[Product] automates the entire data cleanup and reporting process. [Customer], a similar-sized B2B company, eliminated 63 hours of weekly manual work in their first 30 days. Their RevOps team now focuses on strategic analysis instead of spreadsheet maintenance."
Show what changes and prove it with customer proof.
The Business Impact (2-3 sentences)
"Expected outcomes based on [customer] benchmark: eliminate 40+ hours of manual work weekly ($156K annual value), reduce reporting cycle from 5 days to real-time (enabling faster decision-making), and reallocate RevOps capacity from operational tasks to strategic initiatives that drive revenue."
Quantify the value in business terms.
The Investment (1-2 sentences)
"Annual investment: $45K. Payback period: 3.1 months based on eliminated manual work. 12-month ROI: 247%."
Make the economics simple and favorable.
The Timeline (1-2 sentences)
"Implementation: 3 weeks. Value realization: First 30 days based on [customer] experience."
Show it's fast and low-risk.
Total length: One page. Seven paragraphs. Readable in 90 seconds.
How to build it:
Take your best recent customer story. Extract the key data points: problem cost, solution approach, time to value, ROI metrics.
Turn it into the template above. Generic version first, then customize per deal.
Test with three champions. Ask: "If you forwarded this to your CEO, would they understand the business case?"
Refine until answer is yes.
I've built executive summaries in two hours that unlocked stalled deals because champions finally had a forwardable artifact for internal selling.
Piece #10: The "What Happens Next" Guide (Due: Week 6)
The customer success PMM built comprehensive onboarding documentation. Implementation guides. Training videos. Knowledge base articles. 200+ pages of resources.
New customers asked: "This is overwhelming. What do we actually do first?"
They'd built comprehensive resources when customers needed a simple roadmap.
The "What Happens Next" guide is the bridge between signed contract and realized value. Not comprehensive documentation—a simple week-by-week plan that shows customers the exact path from kickoff to production.
What it includes:
Week 1: Setup
- Your tasks: Provide user list, identify admin, grant system access
- Our tasks: Configure workspace, set up integrations, import data
- End of week: You can log in and see your data
Week 2: Configuration
- Your tasks: Review imported data, provide business logic rules, identify test scenarios
- Our tasks: Configure workflows, build initial dashboards, set up automation
- End of week: System configured for your specific use case
Week 3: Testing
- Your tasks: Test workflows with real data, provide feedback, identify adjustments
- Our tasks: Refine configuration, fix any issues, prepare for launch
- End of week: System tested and approved for production
Week 4: Launch
- Your tasks: Announce to team, complete user training, start using in daily workflow
- Our tasks: Monitor for issues, provide hands-on support, measure initial results
- End of week: Full team using system in production
Expected outcome at day 30: [Specific metric based on customer benchmarks]
What makes it work:
Week-by-week structure: Clear phases prevent overwhelm
Split responsibilities: Customers know what they own vs. what you own
End-of-week milestones: Progress is visible and measurable
30-day outcome: Sets clear expectation for when value appears
How to build it:
Map your fastest customer implementation. What happened each week? What did they do? What did you do?
Turn it into a template. Test with next three customers. Measure: did they hit the timeline?
Refine based on where customers typically get stuck.
Sales uses this in two places:
- During sales process to show implementation is fast and clear
- After contract signature to set customer expectations
I've seen time-to-value improve 40% when customers have clear week-by-week roadmaps vs. comprehensive documentation.
The 15 Pieces You Should Skip (Until These 10 Are Perfect)
New PMMs waste months building content that looks strategic but delivers minimal value:
- Comprehensive pitch decks (40+ slides) - Build the 2-minute pitch instead
- Generic case studies - Build the proof slide instead
- Detailed whitepapers - Build the executive summary instead
- Extensive FAQ documents - Build the five-objection response library instead
- Product overview videos - Build the demo script instead
- Competitive comparison matrices - Build the trap question instead
- Positioning frameworks - Build the one-line differentiator instead
- Messaging architecture - Build the "why change" email instead
- Content calendars - Build content sales actually uses first
- ROI calculators - Build the proof slide with real customer ROI instead
- Industry research reports - Sales needs deal-specific content, not market analysis
- Webinar presentations - Sales needs one-on-one content first
- Email nurture sequences - Sales needs high-intent content first
- Social media content - Sales needs closing content first
- Thought leadership articles - Sales needs tactical ammunition first
The pattern: comprehensive content feels strategic. Tactical content drives deals.
Build what drives deals first. Build what feels strategic later.
How to Build All 10 in Your First Six Weeks
New PMMs think: "I need to do research before building content."
Wrong. You need to build content while doing research.
Week 1:
- Piece #1: 2-minute pitch (4 hours - interview three reps, document pattern)
- Piece #2: One-line differentiator (3 hours - listen to calls, extract differentiator)
Week 2:
- Piece #3: Trap question (2 hours - interview reps, test question)
- Piece #4: Proof slide (3 hours - gather customer results, design slide)
Week 3:
- Piece #5: Objection response library (5 hours - analyze calls, build five responses)
Week 4:
- Piece #6: Demo script (6 hours - interview SE, document script)
- Piece #7: "Why change" email (2 hours - find gap, write email)
Week 5:
- Piece #8: Mutual close plan template (3 hours - interview closers, build template)
Week 6:
- Piece #9: Executive summary (2 hours - extract best customer story, build template)
- Piece #10: "What happens next" guide (3 hours - map implementation, build roadmap)
Total time investment: 33 hours across six weeks.
Total content created: The 10 pieces sales will use in every deal.
Compare to the new PMM who spends 12 weeks doing research and building comprehensive content libraries that generate 11% engagement.
You'll spend less time and create more value.
What Changes When You Have These 10 Pieces
Before I learned this approach, my first 90 days as a PMM looked like:
- Time invested in sales content: 240 hours
- Pieces of content created: 47
- Sales engagement rate: 14%
- Sales team satisfaction with PMM support: 2.8/5.0
- Win rate change: 0% (no measurable impact)
After I learned to focus on these 10 pieces first:
- Time invested in sales content: 33 hours (first six weeks)
- Pieces of content created: 10
- Sales engagement rate: 68%
- Sales team satisfaction with PMM support: 4.3/5.0
- Win rate change: +11 percentage points in competitive deals
The difference: I stopped building content that demonstrated my strategic thinking and started building content that helped sales win deals.
Sales doesn't need comprehensive libraries. They need perfect ammunition for the 10 moments that determine whether deals close.
Build the 10 pieces that matter. Make them perfect. Watch win rates climb.
Then build the strategic content. Once sales trusts you can help them close deals this quarter, they'll trust your strategy for next quarter.
But not before.