Main Takeaways: -Product management is a multi-faceted discipline that requires a --PM to have a plethora of skills to be successful. -Successful product managers are not born with these skills but rather hone these skills over time by being conscious, thoughtful, and observant. -The criteria for success and the skills needed to be successful change, as you go up the ladder into leadership roles.

1. Essentials to Becoming a Successful PM
by DocuSign Product Leader
www.productschool.com

2. CERTIFICATES
Your Product Management Certificate Path
Product Leadership
Certificate™
Full Stack Product
Management Certificate™
Product Management
Certificate™
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3. Corporate
Training
Level up your team’s Product
Management skills

4. Free Product Management Resources
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EVENTS
JOB PORTAL
COMMUNITIES
bit.ly/product_resources
COURSES

5. Essentials to Becoming a Successful
Product Manager
Suman Seshadri
Lead Product Manager -
DocuSign

6. Let’s define “Successful Product Manager”
1. Understands the customer’s need
2. Able to align the internal teams towards a common vision / goal
3. Delivers value to the customer

7. A product manager’s role
Product
Manager
Customers
Partners
User
Research
UX design
Content
Engineering
Sales
GTM/
Marketing
Legal
Customer
Support
Security

8. Skills

9. Essential Skills for being a successful Product Manager
1 Research Skills
2 Communication Skills
3 Listening Skills
4 Sales Skills
5 Analytical Skills
6 End to End Thinking Skills
7 Organization Skills
8 Interpersonal Skills

10. Research Skills
Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash
What is it? Ability to analyze, interpret and evaluate
Why you need it: Helps with comprehension, getting
facts and solutions to a problem
Examples of where you will need it:
● Finding a PM job
● Understanding customers and competitors
● Guiding the vision and roadmap of your product
1

11. h
Let’s say you are looking for a PM job. What kind of
researc
and analysis would you do prior to the job interview?
company competitors
Business Model
Company culture,
values, benefits, pay
Style of interviews
product
Job profile / Skillsets
they are looking for
Industry trends Customer feedback

12. Communication Skills
What is it? Ability to articulate effectively using the
best communication channel /medium for the situation
Why you need it: Helps you work effectively and
efficiently
Examples of where you will need it:
● Speaking to your customers
● Speaking to your stakeholders
● Reviewing requirements and getting work done
2
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

13. Let’s say you have concerns on a complex architectural design,
which method of communication would you choose?
Start a group slack message with the team over the weekend
Write a detailed email to the architect regarding your concerns on the design
Have a follow-up meeting with the architect and key stakeholders
1
2
3
Write a detailed email and schedule a follow-up meeting with the architect
and key stakeholders
4

14. Listening Skills
What is it? Ability to keep an open mind to accurately
receive and understand spoken and unspoken messages
Why you need it: Helps you empathize, build trust
Examples of where you will need it:
● To empathize with your customers
● To understand what stakeholders and
leadership is looking for
3
Photo by C D-X on Unsplash

15. Which are the good ways to let other people know you are listening?
Staying quiet and allow them to speak
Do not interrupt; acknowledge by nodding; summarize; ask questions
Listen without judgement and keep an open mind
1
2
3

16. Sales Skills
What is it? The ability to sell by demonstrating
conviction, confidence
Why you need it: To influence teams and to get
things done in a manner that moves the business
forward
Examples of where you will need it:
● Everyday meetings
● When you pitch an idea to a customer, investor,
leadership
● To negotiate a good contract with your partners
4
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

17. What should a salesperson do after selling ?
Stop talking :)

18. Analytical Skills
What is it? Ability to analyze a problem at hand
Why you need it: To better understand your business
metrics, brainstorming, problem solving, for data
driven decision making
Examples of where you will need it:
● To find areas of optimization
● To help prioritize roadmap items
● Product monetization and establishing business model
5
Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash

19. p on
What metrics would you measure if you were to modify account sign
u your website?
Number of users who signed up
Number of failed attempts
Unique visitors, Page views, Unique Page views, bounces, etc
1
2
3
Conversion rate (actual sign ups * 100 /unique visitors)
4

20. End to End Thinking Skills
What is it? Ability to step back and take a broader
look at what is in hand
Why you need it: To understand how changes in one
part of the system can affect another area and
thereby know the pros and cons, assess risks
Examples of where you will need it:
● Day to day operations and troubleshooting
● Providing product requirements
● Product launch preparations
Photo by Pavel Neznanov on Unsplash
6

21. Let’s say you are tasked with replacing an old tool with a new tool.What
aspects would you need to think about?
Problems with using the old tool and reasons
why it needs to be replaced.
Requirements for the new tool - that
alleviates the pain points of the old tool
Gap analysis of the feature set
Costs - pros and cons ; work-arounds
Level of effort in migrating to the new tool
Instrumentation; data and reports
Training users, internal documentation
Plans to sunset the old tool

22. Organizational Skills
What is it? Ability to maximize efficiency by using
structure or process in the ways of working
Why you need it: Improves productivity, increases
focus and clarity of thought, reduces errors
Examples of where you will need it:
● Planning and conducting meetings
● Launch planning
7
Photo by STIL on Unsplash

23. ments
Let’s say it’s Monday and your goal for the week is to complete writing
require
for your upcoming project. What methods would you use to get it done?
Plan your week
Block time on your calendar
Make your To-do List of important tasks
Postpone meetings that are not critical
Decline meetings where you can’t add value
Avoid distractions and multi-tasking

24. Interpersonal Skills
What is it? Ability to interact well with others using
effective communication skills while demonstrating
respect and emotional intelligence
Why you need it: Earn trust, to work effectively
Examples of where you will need it:
● Negotiate and arrive at a decision
● To get stakeholder alignment
● To make work more enjoyable
8
Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

25. What steps would you take to resolve a disagreement with a coworker?
Separate the person from the problem
Keep an open mind and understand the
source of concern
Listen objectively
Show credibility and be poised
Continue to work at it
Try to find common ground

26. How will you acquire
and honethese skills?

27. Conscious learning
Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash
● Read books
● Listen to Podcasts
● Attend classes
● Learn from mentors and role models
● Be present

28. Observation
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
Observe:
● team dynamics during meetings
● body language and non-verbal cues
● Patterns that repeat, for better
future preparation
● Meeting structure
● What is productive and what is not

29. Practice
Photo by Nigel Msipa on Unsplash
● Practice your skills everyday!
● Practice to make progress
● Don’t strive for perfection
● Ask for feedback and aim to do your work
well consistently

30. Conscious learning Observation
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
Practice
Photo by Nigel Msipa on Unsplash
Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash

31. Thanks!
Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/
suman-seshadri-pdm/

32. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
Corporate Training