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"Our work is often invisible, and our success is often attributed to others."
Nonsense.
I don’t know how this became the conventional advice, but I have always rejected it.
A Product Manager’s work remains invisible because:
PMs do a poor job of providing visibility into their value.
Product leaders do a poor job of providing visibility into their teams’ value.
PMs will continue grinding away until code is released. And then they’ll quietly accept others getting the credit.
PMs will celebrate the Sales team closing deals. And never attribute it to the roadmap they crafted to help deliver those results.
PMs will collaborate with Professional Services and Client Implementation teams on a major customer deployment. And then watch from the sidelines as those teams get the kudos.
Stop doing this.
I’m not advocating being arrogant. I’m not saying take credit at the cost of others.
But respect comes to those who demand it.
Product Managers need to:
Not wait to be recognized.
Do great work and then ask to be recognized.
Product leaders need to:
Create opportunities to allow their PMs to showcase their work.
Be the biggest cheerleaders for their team.
Being “sales-y” is icky
I get it. Sales - ew.
And we don’t like being boastful.
We’re constantly told that good leaders display humility, take the blame while giving others credit, etc.
Yes, I agree with all that.
At the same time, there is nothing wrong with a bit of chest thumping.
Even the best leaders know how to highlight their accomplishments and value.
We just have to know how to do it right.
Here’s when it really matters - and you’ve probably felt this tension:
We know we need to “sell ourself” in performance reviews and job interviews;
But we don’t want to come across as arrogant, boastful, or, worse, “sales-y.”
To make it harder, we fall into two common traps:
Trap 1: We downplay our achievements, assuming our work will “speak for itself.” (It rarely does.)
Trap 2: When we do talk about our work, we highlight the wrong things — tasks completed, features shipped, tickets closed, or generic activities like “defined the roadmap” or “led customer discovery” — instead of what actually matters: outcomes, results, and impact.
No wonder so many of us struggle to get promoted or stand out in job interviews. We’re not trained to talk about ourselves effectively.
The reality is selling is a requirement not just in business and career, but in life.
Think about it. We are actually in a constant state of selling ourselves — our ideas, our plans, our goals, our motivations, our likes, our loves, our value.
We do this to bring people along or get what we want. Without selling, we can’t get people to work with us. We can’t form relationships. We can’t connect with others.
Unfortunately, being a salesperson doesn’t come naturally to most people. And PMs are no exception. Because selling makes people feel uncomfortable.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. And it shouldn’t be that way.
So, today I want to shift that perspective. To make selling yourself feel more natural, and maybe even fun.
Enter: The Science of Persuasion
Social psychologist Robert Cialdini spent decades studying what makes people say “yes.” In his classic book Influence, published in 1984, he identified “6 Principles of Persuasion” that teach us how selling can be done ethically, effectively, and cringe-free.
We can use them to highlight our value in a way that feels natural, credible, and even helpful to others.
Let’s break them down with a Product Management lens. Then, test them out for yourself.
Principle 1: Reciprocity
Ever noticed how you’re inclined to return a favor when someone does something nice for you?
On the other, we’re less inclined to do anything when people ask us to do something for them with nothing in return.
It’s human nature.
People feel obliged to give back to those who give first.
Here’s a LinkedIn DM I received recently:
I’m going to be honest: these kinds of messages rarely ever get a response. They are 100% focused on the sender’s needs, offering nothing of real value in return. I get at least ten of these a week. I ignore them all. Every hiring manager, recruiter, and business owner I speak with has the same challenge.
They have done zero research on me or my company.
They are asking me to tap into my network for them. My network relationships are built on reputation, trust, and reciprocity. I’m sure this person is a nice person, but I don’t know them. Why would I spend my reputation currency on them?
They’ve included their resume. First, I don’t have an opening currently. A quick search will tell them that. Second, they’re asking me to (1) study their resume, (2) make a decision on who in my network may be interested, (3) determine how to position this person to that contact in a meaningful way, (4) draft an email to that person forwarding their resume in a way that doesn’t burn my reputation currency.
In short, they’re asking me to do work for them when I don’t even know who they are or the value they bring.
Here’s another:
Nope. My time is precious. And it’s clear this person has done zero research on me and my company. (No employees, so no need for performance reviews.)
This is the wrong approach to networking.
I get it: We all need help from those who have access to the things we need — insights, access, connections, a job, money.
What these approaches are all doing is taking attention instead of offering value first. The better way is to flip the approach.
Here are some ways we can do this:
In 1:1s, come prepared with insights, trends, or ideas that help your manager or team.
In interviews, offer perspectives on their product, business, or market (respectfully), demonstrating thoughtfulness and initiative.
When building your network, offer something of value to the person you're reaching out to instead of asking them for something first.
When you give first, people want to hear more from you.
Principle 2: Scarcity
People value what's rare or unique.
Every Product Manager has a unique blend of skills, experiences, and strengths. Own yours.
What's something you do better than most PMs you've worked with?
Where have you tackled challenges others avoided?
What's your personal superpower? Turning ambiguity into clarity? Building trust quickly? Storytelling? Executive presence?
Why does that matter? What results have you delivered as an outcome of this superpower?
Don't shy away from what makes you unique. That’s your differentiator.
People listen to those who are credible experts.
Establishing authority is a critical piece of any selling effort. There's a lot of noise out there. Within your organization everyone is jockeying to be heard. So why should anyone listen to you?
Every one of your teammates is trying to convince your boss (who is also their boss) that they're special. So why should your boss advance you over the others?
We don't need to boast “I’m the best.” Instead, highlight:
Where your contributions have led to meaningful outcomes.
Results you’ve helped deliver — results that matter to your organization, your customers, to others.
Where you’ve been trusted to lead.
When you’ve been asked to mentor or coach others.
Instances where your judgment shaped important decisions.
It’s not about bragging. It’s about showing we’re seen as a trusted expert in our organization or field.
Principle 4: Commitment and Consistency
People trust those who are consistent in their commitments — they do what they say they're going to do. Always.
As PMs, we need to frame our achievements around the goals and values our company (or hiring manager) cares about.
“At the start of the year, we prioritized improving activation. I focused my work on solving X, which moved activation from A% to B%.”
In interviews: “You mentioned you’re looking for someone who can drive cross-functional alignment. Here’s a recent example of how I did that and the outcome that we achieved as a result.”
This keeps the conversation aligned to their goals while highlighting your commitment to consistently delivering value.
Principle 5: Likability
People say yes to people they like.
Being likable isn’t about fake smiles. It’s about showing up as helpful, collaborative, and invested in shared success.
In our conversations, we need to:
Talk about team success, not just individual wins.
Highlight how we worked across functions to get buy-in and deliver value.
Show curiosity about their challenges, not just our resume.
People root for people who make others better.
People follow the lead of others.
In PM interviews and reviews, we need to go beyond saying we did something well. We need to show that others recognized our impact.
Personal references are the best. When the recruiter asks for 2-3 references, make sure they’re people who will not just rave about you, but will be able to give concrete examples of why you're special.
Did your feature launch lead to increased customer adoption, noted in internal dashboards?
Did sales reps start referencing your product changes in their pitches?
Were you invited to share your approach with other teams?
These are just a fe examples of subtle but powerful ways to establish credibility through the recognition of others.
Summary
We don’t have to be salesy to sell ourselves.
We have to:
Speak in outcomes, not outputs.
Use proven persuasion principles to frame our value.
Help others see how our strengths align with their needs.
It’s not arrogance. It’s clarity.
If you’re struggling to sell yourself, focus on the 6 Principles of Persuasion:
Reciprocity: Offer value first.
Scarcity: Highlight your unique strengths.
Authority: Show where you're trusted and credible.
Consistency: Align your work to stated goals and values.
Likability: Be collaborative and highlight team wins.
Social Proof: Let others’ recognition validate your impact.
The next time you walk into a job interview, 1:1, or annual review, you’ll be ready to talk about your impact — credibly, confidently, and persuasively.
That’s it for this week.
Have a joyful week, and, if you can, make it joyful for someone else too.
cheers,
shardul
Shardul Mehta
I ❤️ product managers.