What I Learned About Product Marketing by Trying to Avoid Sales

A closer look at the blurred lines between product marketing and sales.

Photo by Nadine E on Unsplash

There’s a running joke in the world of product marketing: the closer your work gets to sales, the further your joy drifts away. And I understand why. I’ve spent years supporting sales teams, helping them hit quotas, and creating what felt like an endless stack of sales collateral. Decks, battle cards, case studies… you name it, I’ve made it. I even convinced myself I was good at it. But full disclosure, I didn’t enjoy it.

That realization guided me toward B2C and DTC marketing, where the work felt more expansive and creative, less anchored to the demands of a pipeline. I wanted to build, innovate, and inspire, not spend my days armoring up sales teams for their next big battle.

To be clear, my aversion isn’t about the people. I’ve worked with some of the smartest, most driven sales professionals in the game. Sales teams are often the lifeblood of a business, and they do the hard, gritty work of closing deals. It’s not the “who” that I struggled with, it’s the “what.”

But here’s the interesting part. For all my distance from the sales function, I’ve come to understand something fundamental: marketing and sales are not as different as we like to think. In fact, they’re two sides of the same coin.

The Myth of Marketing vs. Sales

The “classic fight” between sales and marketing is as old as time. Marketing blames sales for not converting leads; sales blames marketing for not delivering high-quality leads. Marketing says the messaging was clear; sales insists it wasn’t relevant. It’s a tug-of-war that wastes time and energy.

What’s ironic is how much overlap there actually is between the two functions. At their core, both are about persuasion. Both are about understanding people: their needs, their fears, their motivations, and helping them make decisions. Whether you’re selling a SaaS product to a procurement manager or convincing someone to click “Add to Cart,” the essence of the job is the same.

Why Product Marketers are always selling

If you’re a product marketer reading this, you might be thinking, “But I’m not in sales.” Except, you are. You may not have a quota or carry a pipeline, but you’re selling every single day.

Here’s what I mean:

• Selling ideas to the product team. Want to prioritize a feature for the next sprint? Better convince product why it’s mission-critical.

• Selling priorities to the engineering team. They’ve got their roadmap, and you’re asking them to shift gears? That takes persuasion.

• Selling visions to your own team. Rallying a group of marketers around a strategy requires more than a PowerPoint.

• Selling strategies to the CEO. If you want buy-in at the top, you’ve got to pitch with confidence and clarity.

Sound familiar? That’s sales. Every time you craft a pitch, make a case, or fight for a decision, you’re stepping into the role of a salesperson.

The art of selling (without feeling like a salesperson)

If marketers are going to embrace their inner salesperson, the question becomes: how do you do it well? While there’s no definitive formula for success, there are techniques that significantly improve your chances.

1. Empathy Is Your Superpower

Empathy is at the heart of every great sale. Whether you’re talking to a potential customer or your engineering team, understanding their perspective is key.

What are their challenges? What do they value? Speak to that, and you’re halfway there.

2. Tell Stories, Not Stats

People are wired to connect with stories. While data and logic matter, they rarely leave a lasting impression on their own. They remember characters, emotions, and moments. So instead of droning on about the specs of your product or the logic behind your strategy, tell a story that captures the “why.” Why does this matter? What’s the human impact?

3. Show, Don’t Tell

Telling someone what to do rarely works. But showing them? That’s powerful. Want your CEO to back your strategy? Paint a vivid picture of the future if it’s successful. Want customers to fall in love with your product? Show them what life looks like with it.

4. Sell the Future, Not the Thing

This is perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned. The best salespeople—and marketers—don’t sell a product. They sell the transformation that product enables. It’s not about the tool itself; it’s about what the tool makes possible.

Your product is just the means to that end.

Bridging the Gap

The line between marketing and sales isn’t as clear-cut as we like to think. In fact, it’s more of a gradient. And while I may not love creating sales decks or running enablement workshops, I respect the craft of selling because, in many ways, I’m doing it too.

Marketers, especially product marketers, are closer to sales than we realize. At the end of the day, whether you’re selling to a customer, a colleague, or your CEO, the goal is the same: move people to action.

When product marketers lean into this reality, we stop fighting against sales and start recognizing the similarities in our missions. And that shift, when done well, doesn’t just drive business success—it makes the work more fulfilling too.