From human dissection to product marketing
By: Aqua Delaney
Tags: Developer Ecosystem, Product Marketing, Career Advice, Product, Career Change

From human dissection to product marketing

Photo by Joyce McCown on Unsplash

As a teen who loved health and fitness, sports psychology and physiology was an obvious career choice. Straight out of university, I landed a ‘dream’ contract with New Zealand Rugby and launched my sports massage practice. It was what I’d always wanted, but for some reason I didn’t feel challenged. I hated the admin and felt really isolated.

At the time, lots of my friends worked in tech startups and I was obsessed with finding out everything I could about what they did. I even volunteered to help them solve problems and generate ideas. Each conversation left me buzzing, and it wasn’t long before I realised that my heart belonged in tech. My ‘lightbulb’ moment at 26 years old led me to wind down my business and start fresh.

Eventually, I landed a marketing executive role at Trade Me and then moved to product marketing at Xero. As I progressed in my new career, I realised just how transferable the skills I gained in my sports career were to my role as a product marketer (except human dissection — I’m yet to find a use for that). Here are four things I carried with me into my new career, and why they’ve stuck with me.

Don’t leave anything to chance

When I was contemplating a career switch, I felt completely out of my depth. But having a clear vision really helped. I sought the advice of countless mentors, created a checklist and set incremental goals towards my bigger ones. Being prepared for every outcome gave me the confidence to push forward when I doubted myself. Looking back, I’ve realised this was the best possible training for a career in product marketing.

In product, you should leave as little as possible to chance. It’s the only way to feel comfortable with change. My first go-to-market checklist was created after I inadvertently brought down an entire website. Now, it’s the first thing I do to make sure everything is considered before, during and after launch. Uncertainty will always be part of the job, but good planning and early feedback makes it easier. For me, it’s about comprehensive research, a clear strategy, measurable goals and an extensive checklist. These mitigate risk and help everyone sleep at night.

Challenge your assumptions

Ever felt frustrated by a doctor who rushed to a diagnosis you’d already Googled? When I worked in sports massage and exercise programming, I saw so many clients with similar symptoms. It would have been easy to make assumptions based on what I’d seen before. But by asking questions and listening to what was being said, and just as importantly, what wasn’t, I could identify the root cause, ease their pain and help prevent it happening again. Digging deeper and building a complete picture of what’s going on was essential for solving the problem.

This was a great skill to take with me into product marketing. Product people are naturally curious and try to remove bias and preconceived ideas. But it’s not always easy. Sometimes people develop a solution to a problem, but they may just be fixing a symptom of a much deeper issue. Unless we listen, challenge our assumptions and dig deep to find a root cause, we won’t find true solutions that deliver impactful results.

For example, I once worked on a product that enabled anyone who sold something on Trade Me to have it fetched from their door and delivered to the buyer. We assumed that negotiating rates with couriers would be the real value. But after testing the messaging with customers, we discovered that not having to drive to a post office or organise packaging was far more valuable than price. In fact, many would pay a premium for the convenience! Had we gone with our assumption, ‘book a courier’ wouldn’t be the success it is today.

Focus on the thing that matters

The ability to focus through pressure and manage stress is crucial in competition, and I witnessed first-hand just how much athletes practice beyond the field. Like the rugby player who’d spend hours with his eyes closed, visualising himself kicking goals over and over, mentally honing his technique and blocking out a roaring crowd. He felt completely ready on game day, because he was focused on the one thing that mattered in that moment.

In product, there’s always too much to do, but the techniques I learned from high-performing athletes apply just the same. Learning to focus on the important stuff amongst the deafening screams of feature requests, dependencies and business pivots takes incredible discipline. But it’s better to execute a few things well than dilute your efforts and end up getting nothing done. I have a to-do list as long as my arm, but I ruthlessly prioritise one thing each day. Close those tabs, turn off notifications and make space. Nothing else matters today!

Put your own oxygen mask on first

As a masseuse, I saw loads of tech folk with migraines and pain, most of which were resolved by creating a safe space to talk, strength training and diet. We’re not machines — we need time away to nourish and inspire the body and mind, to create longevity for ourselves, our relationships and our careers. Self care trumps everything, and it’s important to remember that you won’t always find the answer staring at a screen.

I’ve experienced incredible self doubt and burnout, but over time, I’ve learned to take care of myself despite a high volume of work and responsibility. I’ve learned to be open about my fears and share the load. I’ve also discovered that I think better away from my desk. I need exercise to relieve stress and percolate on the big stuff, so I’ll head out for a run with a problem in mind, and return feeling energised and full of ideas.

Regular, short breaks keep me fresh, so I’ll often book a long weekend after a period of intensity or before a busy time. I also make sure I stay mindful of what others are going through. Safe spaces foster vulnerability, and vulnerability builds strong relationships and trust, which creates better work, stronger teams and happier humans.

How did you get where you are?

These days, I’m living my dream in Xero’s ecosystem team, driving strategy and go-to-market for our public API and developer tools. I love enabling developers around the world to build clever things, grow their business and improve the experience for our shared customers. It’s a beautiful storm of ideas, action and super smart humans who bring banter, passion and an incredible work ethic to every project.

I used to feel embarrassed about ‘not using my degree’ but I’ve come to realise that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Leaving nothing to chance, challenging my assumptions, staying focused and taking care of myself were the skills I needed to leap into a new career, and find my new home among product people at Xero.

I’ll always advocate for reading and structured learning, but nothing beats practical experience. And nothing beats the life skills you pick up along the way, no matter what career pathway you’re on.