Comments on: Tip #33: Guest list

By: Feeds mobile edition

Feeds mobile edition — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:36:14 +0000

[...] you on deadline?” No, I’m filing my nails. Of course I’m on deadline. What do you want? Tip #33: Guest list People I want to hear a pitch from, in descending order: CEO, CTO, VP Product Development, Janitor, [...]

By: Russ

Russ — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:12:06 +0000

Curious how you’d feel about having someone else answer the CEOs emails. Time is the main reason.

By: Marissa Louie

Marissa Louie — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:07:39 +0000

thanks rafe, @malouie is going to tweet this: CEO, CTO, VP Product Development, Janitor, Brand Marketing Manager. hilarious!

By: Clyde Smith

Clyde Smith — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:36:17 +0000

I think this is a corollary to #29:

“OMG
A-list bloggers are like angry, spoiled schoolgirls. Calibrate your pitches accordingly.”

Since you [and I] are the center of the universe, shouldn’t the CEO be calling us?

By: Jananitor

Jananitor — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:02:43 +0000

Another typical bash. Yawn. If a pitch angle is on target, truthful and unique, it doesn’t matter who clicks the send button.

By: Mich

Mich — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:10:07 +0000

doubley ouch.

By: Adam Zand

Adam Zand — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:45:03 +0000

How about a pitch from a PR agency? Or do you mean after you’ve agreed to a meeting that they might have arranged?

Have you ever heard from a customer that is thrilled with a product? That might be interesting perspective.

By: Rafe

Rafe — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:10:29 +0000

Ted, I’m happy to meet with anyone who can genuinely speak about a product or company because they *believe* in it and know it at a level beyond the sales pitch. Evangelists generally get it, although some are too slick by half. Dev and Tech leads are almost always great, although many are not good in front of a crowd and some lack high-level perspective.

Customers? No, not for this job. They’re good for different kinds of stories.

There are exceptions. But when someone tries to set me up with a marketing manager, I am instantly suspicious.

By: Aditi Sharma

Aditi Sharma — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:26:41 +0000

wow, janitor before brand marketing manager?
ouch.

By: Ted Haeger

Ted Haeger — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:28:28 +0000

Entities that are conspicuously missing from your list:
– Product Evangelist (who are usually more tech than mktg)
– Developer Community Manager (who are typically in their roles because they are able to keep real about a platform/offering’s real shortcomings)
– Technical Product Manager (whose job it is to know the real product road map)
– Developer lead, or architect (who are often way more knowledgeable than any VP of Dev)
– Current user/customer (who, no matter how much pre-briefing prep from a vendor, remains resolutely realistic about the product)

Would any of these entities rank before “janitor”?