Every PMM Has a Plan Until Sales Punches It in the Face, w/ Laura Akonor

42min | 11/12/2026

Description

Most product marketers get told the roadmap isn't theirs. Laura Akonor, who runs global product marketing for TechEdge at Fifty5Blue, gets invited in. So we asked her how.

Her answer describes it isn't charm. It's quick wins first. It's walking into every meeting as the student, not the expert, not always. It's pulling product into real client conversations. Building the sales deck with sellers instead, and a few more she shared.

As the great philosopher Mike Tyson says, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".

If you're a PMM who's tired of watching their plan get KO'd from sales, start here.

Timestamps:
00:00 Zach, Eric and Gab introduce themselves
00:27 Zach introduces Laura Akonor, product marketing from London
01:38 Gab's opener: are product marketers actually marketers?
03:17 The scoreboard: another guest says yes
04:02 Eric's lightning round, British food edition: tea, cream, Jaffa cakes
06:30 Marmite and the scone debate
08:15 Zach: LinkedIn is all repositioning tips and layoff posts
08:46 The US market seen from London: downsizing every other day
09:45 Building AI products that don't make users fear for their jobs
11:06 Eric: does a PMM have a duty to the roadmap story?
11:54 Co-developing a first AI product with clients
12:40 AI products live and die by context
13:59 Media analytics, decades-long careers, and protecting your champions
15:19 How many customer conversations is enough?
17:35 Gab: does client research change how you use AI internally?
19:08 Which media: TV, streaming and the studios
21:12 Zach: is this a fairy tale? What is Laura doing that we are not?
22:02 "I'm here to solve business problems": first PMM for TechEdge
24:34 How to break down silos: people are not monsters
24:44 Eric: "the roadmap's ours, stay out." How do you actually influence product?
26:39 Quick wins: making technical talks matter to the audience
27:48 Never walk in as the expert
29:26 Gab: when roles are vague, PMM fights uphill
31:29 Gab: if you're the asset-making function, you're lagging, not leading
31:53 Building the sales deck with sellers, not in a corner
33:29 Mike Tyson, philosopher
34:06 Eric: is a US company a safer bet from the UK?
36:16 Funding and runway shape how a CEO shows up
37:36 Zach: do you hire remote?
38:53 Where to find Laura, and the Ghana story saved for part two
40:35 Laura gives the hosts their flowers

Sources mentioned:

Fifty5Blue (formerly Kantar Media): https://www.marketingdive.com/news/kantar-media-enters-new-era-as-fifty5blue-following-1b-sale/813478/
Mike Tyson's "everybody has a plan" line (he actually said it): https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/08/25/plans-hit/
HYROX: https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race/
Laura Akonor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraakonor/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Most product marketers get told the roadmap isn't theirs. Laura Akonor, who runs global product marketing for TechEdge at Fifty5Blue, gets invited in. So we asked her how.

Her answer describes it isn't charm. It's quick wins first. It's walking into every meeting as the student, not the expert, not always. It's pulling product into real client conversations. Building the sales deck with sellers instead, and a few more she shared.

As the great philosopher Mike Tyson says, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".

If you're a PMM who's tired of watching their plan get KO'd from sales, start here.

Timestamps:
00:00 Zach, Eric and Gab introduce themselves
00:27 Zach introduces Laura Akonor, product marketing from London
01:38 Gab's opener: are product marketers actually marketers?
03:17 The scoreboard: another guest says yes
04:02 Eric's lightning round, British food edition: tea, cream, Jaffa cakes
06:30 Marmite and the scone debate
08:15 Zach: LinkedIn is all repositioning tips and layoff posts
08:46 The US market seen from London: downsizing every other day
09:45 Building AI products that don't make users fear for their jobs
11:06 Eric: does a PMM have a duty to the roadmap story?
11:54 Co-developing a first AI product with clients
12:40 AI products live and die by context
13:59 Media analytics, decades-long careers, and protecting your champions
15:19 How many customer conversations is enough?
17:35 Gab: does client research change how you use AI internally?
19:08 Which media: TV, streaming and the studios
21:12 Zach: is this a fairy tale? What is Laura doing that we are not?
22:02 "I'm here to solve business problems": first PMM for TechEdge
24:34 How to break down silos: people are not monsters
24:44 Eric: "the roadmap's ours, stay out." How do you actually influence product?
26:39 Quick wins: making technical talks matter to the audience
27:48 Never walk in as the expert
29:26 Gab: when roles are vague, PMM fights uphill
31:29 Gab: if you're the asset-making function, you're lagging, not leading
31:53 Building the sales deck with sellers, not in a corner
33:29 Mike Tyson, philosopher
34:06 Eric: is a US company a safer bet from the UK?
36:16 Funding and runway shape how a CEO shows up
37:36 Zach: do you hire remote?
38:53 Where to find Laura, and the Ghana story saved for part two
40:35 Laura gives the hosts their flowers

Sources mentioned:

Fifty5Blue (formerly Kantar Media): https://www.marketingdive.com/news/kantar-media-enters-new-era-as-fifty5blue-following-1b-sale/813478/
Mike Tyson's "everybody has a plan" line (he actually said it): https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/08/25/plans-hit/
HYROX: https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race/
Laura Akonor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraakonor/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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