“I’m Just A Normal PMM Trying To Survive” (with David Lim)

“I’m Just A Normal PMM Trying To Survive” (with David Lim)

From We're Not Marketers by Gabriel Bujold, Eric Holland, Zach Roberts

January 29, 2026 · 43 min · Season 5 · Episode 10

About this episode

David Lim discusses the challenges and realities of being a product marketer in various organizations.

Are product marketers actually marketers, or are they just glorified slide deck designers waiting for sales to bark orders? David Lim—a PMM who's survived Google, HP, and multiple startups—joins the skeleton crew to drop some uncomfortable truths. We talk about earning respect when founders don't have a clue what you do, why knowing your customer's quarterly priorities is a superpower, and what happens when you fight a C-suite exec on product strategy (spoiler: sometimes you get fired). If you've ever been asked to "make that deck pretty," this one's for you. More From This Episode The brutal truth: What happens when you don't earn internal respect as a PMM Why sales teams don't talk to product teams (and how PMMs become the bridge) The one customer question David asks that unlocks everything: "What are your quarterly priorities?" David got fired for fighting a founder on product strategy—here's what he learned Why most founders have zero idea what PMMs actually do (and think you're just a lead gen machine) The "gut feeling" trap: When executives ignore your research and launch anyway How to stop rolling your eyes when leadership makes dumb decisions (David admits he's not good…

People in this episode

Hosts: Gabriel Bujold, Eric Holland, Zach Roberts

Guest: David Lim

Topics covered

  • product marketing
  • internal respect
  • customer priorities
  • product strategy
  • founder misconceptions
  • executive decisions

Keywords

  • product marketing
  • PMM
  • sales teams
  • customer priorities
  • founders
  • product strategy
  • executive decisions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Google, HP, C-suite

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