How do you get buy-in on your positioning and messaging from cross-functional partners?

Great question and critical to the success of any product launch! At Glassdoor, we start by creating a digestible framework with initial messaging recommendations and “seed” this throughout the process with key stakeholders. The initial messaging recommendations are developed using insights from previously conducted research and feedback from key stakeholders or subject matter experts/SMEs. Two of our greatest advantages at Glassdoor Product Marketing are (1) our Head of Market Insights who is literally a part of our PMM org, not adjacent or in a different department, and (2) an amazing GTM team who are experts in our field and genuine advocates for our customers. Because we are centered around market and customer insights, most of the time, half the battle is won in getting buy-in because the content we propose is grounded in research learning. Once PMM feels good about where the initial messaging has landed with key stakeholders and cross-functional partners have had the messaging “seeded” with them (hence, bought-in), then we go on an internal roadshow to “share” and get final feedback and approvals.

Pro-tip: the messaging framework is delivered with an already-approved value prop or positioning statement, a product-on-a-page, and an outline of the initial GTM launch plan so that stakeholders can see the full breadth of how the messaging framework would be applied.

Great question (and there are a few others around messaging development process that I’ll use this response to cover). We have a few processes and frameworks in place that really help with XF alignment.

First of all, if you don’t have one, I recommend developing a messaging framework or template that the entire PMM team will adopt consistently, and that you’ve socialized with partners in advance. That way, your cross-functional team knows what to expect from PMM whenever they receive a new messaging brief. Over the past year, I collaborated with my fellow PMM leads to create a fresh messaging framework template at Momentive, and we brought our frequent internal customers into that process to provide feedback (primarily folks in Marketing/Communications and Sales Enablement roles). As a result, we’ve now got a template that partners agree — in advance! — will contain all the key information they need to be successful, and this cuts down greatly on any XF friction that might occur when it’s time to deliver a new messaging doc.

Additionally, it’s important to show your work so that you’re bringing partners along for the ride as they read what you’ve got to say. The opening third (or so) of our template is dedicated to summarizing (with data!) the market opportunity, buyer pain points, the competitive environment, etc. We also show the building blocks of our positioning — the target audience, problem statement, competitive differentiators, value statement, and benefits — as separate elements before weaving them into customer-facing copy. If we’ve done any message testing (more on that in a different AMA response), we’ll include the results of that, too. There’s little room for “we don’t believe you”-type statements, because we’re drawing a pretty clear map of how we arrived at our positioning.

Lastly, we’ll usually do a first pass with our creative team of writers to ensure our tone and voice are on point, and customer-facing messages are compelling, before briefing in the GTM team. Ultimately, your writers (if you’re not writing all copy yourself) are on the hook for translating your messaging doc into an array of wonderful collateral. The extra bit of preview and polish has everyone ready to run with your messaging and start creating as soon as you hit “go”.

I would say there are 5 tips I'd have for getting buy-in from cross-functional partners on messaging and positioning:

1. Before presenting the messaging, be clear with the cross-functional partner as to who the intended audience is.
2. Explain the goal of the messaging. Is it to raise awareness, convince them to see a demo, etc.
3. Tell a story, as a story is more memorable, and is more likely to be well received. 
4. If you use a slide deck, which I recommend, don't let design distract from the story. Few words and simple graphic elements that are purposely "rough" work great. In other words, you want feedback on the messaging and positioning, not design, so don't overly design it to invite such feedback.
5. Whenever possible, bring in elements of the customer voice to reinforce the messaging and positioning. For instance, before presenting, show 4 or 5 customer quotes, or some customer research that is relevant. Hard to argue with messaging and positioning built directly based on the wants or needs of prospects.

Non-Marketers often look to us as the team with most insight on customers. The more grounded our messaging is in customer research, the more likely we are to get buy in and alignment. Some tips to practically get alignment

1. Show them data and research on consumer behavior and the effectiveness of the messaging in question.
2. Share success stories from other companies who have used similar messaging and saw positive results.
3. Collaborate and gather feedback early from product managers and engineers to ensure the messaging aligns with the product and its goals. I've run short messaging workshops to great effect fro bringing alignment.
4. Communicate the potential risks of not using the suggested messaging, such as missing out on potential customers or not accurately representing the product.