Launches are just the beginning of Ignition’s capabilities. It’s also a streamlined way to showcase sophisticated go-to-market strategies (and even get a new job out of it).
“I hit it out of the park.”
These were the first words out of Sean Lord’s mouth when he told us how his final-round job interview went. And Sean hit it out of the park, indeed: He was offered a Director of Product Marketing Management position and a 50% higher salary.
We were thrilled to hear about Sean’s new job—and flattered when Sean credited much of his big win to Ignition, which he used to craft an interactive launch plan and support his interview conversations. While Sean’s industry expertise and on-point strategies undoubtedly tipped the scales in his favor, we’re proud that Ignition could play a part in supporting his career growth.
Here’s Sean’s success story.
How Sean Leveraged Ignition to Stand Out and Score a Better Job
Before Discovering Ignition: A Job Search with No End in Sight
Sean applied for a few similar roles prior to getting hired but he didn’t have much success in the early phases of his job search. The feedback he was given: his go-to-market plan was “comprehensive but generic.” Sean wasn’t showcasing his go-to-market chops in a way that garnered excitement and buy-in from the decision makers he interviewed with, so they ultimately hired other candidates.
So Sean set out in search of a go-to-market tool that would help him:
- Highlight his unique insights and apply his industry expertise directly to roles he was applying for
- Easily support the dynamic nature of product launches to refine the go-to-market plan as needed
- Display the wide range of insights, assets, and strategic roadmaps included in an effective go-to-market plan
After a little research, Sean found Ignition and connected with our CEO, Derek Osgood. And that’s when Sean finally found the traction he was looking for in his job search.
With Ignition: A Go-To-Market Plan That Impressed the Unimpressible
Freshly onboarded with Ignition, Sean dove into crafting the perfect go-to-market plan for the next role he applied for: Director of Marketing Management for a prominent software reseller in the US.
Sean sailed through his initial interviews and was then challenged to do a test project. After a few hours of initial research, he created a sample go-to-market plan in Ignition. Sean opted for a major-tier launch, set the launch date, outlined objectives, created suggested messaging, and chose promotional channels. All insights and key components were housed within Ignition, making it easy to review every aspect of the launch plan.
Sean told us he was particularly impressed with Ignition’s copilot feature, which guides the user through various aspects of plan development. The copilot helped Sean narrow down his objectives, choose media assets that tied in with his plan, and refine his suggested messaging. Sean says he “tends to over-explain” when explaining his ideas and approaches, so he found the copilot’s messaging guidance to be particularly useful because it prompted him to be more concise.
To give himself more of a leg up, Sean also crafted a sample piece of content that tied in with the launch, a thoughtful discussion of current problems in mobile security that linked it back to the company’s solutions.
The completed go-to-market plan was so straightforward and easy to navigate that Sean felt he could share it with the hiring manager prior to the last-round interview. So Sean sent the plan, crossed his fingers, and anticipated the upcoming conversation.
Gaining Confidence and Acing Interviews
“Ignition gave me sales confidence.”
When Sean met with the hiring manager again, he received glowing feedback about his interactive go-to-market plan and how professionally it was presented. Sean also felt that the clear presentation of his plan within Ignition enabled him to communicate more clearly and avoid his tendency to over-explain, prompting an overall smoother conversation. “Ignition gave me sales confidence,” he later told us.
But there was one more party Sean needed to sway: the company’s internal subject matter expert, a veteran cybersecurity pro who’s notoriously hard to impress because he often thinks marketers lack thorough understanding of the industry.
The hard-to-impress subject matter expert’s first word to Sean? “Wow.” That’s right, he said “wow.” And then complimented Sean on his go-to-market plan, noting how it illustrated Sean’s deep knowledge of cybersecurity and the company’s current challenges.
So it’s no surprise that Sean was offered the job shortly after. He’s now the Director of Product Marketing Management and he’s making 50% more salary than his previous role.
Sean told us he wants to keep using Ignition—he’s confident that Ignition’s robust go-to-market ecosystem will help him perform better. We agree, of course. And we can’t wait to see what Sean accomplishes next.
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