Have you ever pitched an idea you knew was great… and it still got shot down?

I’ve seen this happen to a lot of really smart people.

Not because the idea is bad.
Not because leadership doesn’t get it.
But because they pitched it too soon.

Most PMMs wait until their strategy is fully baked before they bring it to stakeholders. They want it to be perfect.

That’s the mistake. By the time you formally pitch an idea, it should already feel familiar, refined, and supported. If your first real conversation about an idea is when you’re presenting it, you’ve already lost.

There’s a better way. I call it the Trojan Horse method.

The Trojan Horse Method

The best PMMs don’t ask for buy-in — they create momentum so people want in.

Instead of presenting your big idea all at once, plant the seeds early. It’s a Trojan Horse because by the time you officially “introduce” the idea, it’s already been discussed, refined, and supported internally.

Here’s how it works.

Build Your Sponsor Map

Before you do anything else, map the decision makers AND the people they trust.

Ask yourself:

• Who needs to sign off on this? (Your manager? The CMO? The entire C-Suite?)

• What kind of decision maker are they? (Data-driven, story-driven, opinion-driven)

• Who do they trust? (Their direct report? A specific cross-functional leader?)

Your goal here is to map the key decision makers, identify the influencers they trust, and gather the right “ingredients” to make your case.

For example, let’s imagine you’re pitching a pricing project…

• The CFO wants hard numbers and a financial model.

• The CMO wants the value story you’ll tell customers.

• The CEO wants the big-picture business impact.

Each leader needs a different version of the same idea — and they need the right people backing it.

Plant the Seed

This is where most PMMs go wrong.

They get excited about an idea and spend weeks perfecting it in a vacuum. Then, they present it to cross-functional teams and wonder why no one is excited.

The better approach? Bring stakeholders in early before it’s fully baked. Your goal at this stage isn’t to pitch — it’s to frame your idea around their goals and invite them to help shape it.

This works because:

• They feel part of the process. People support what they help create.

• You pre-emptively collect feedback and address pushback. You surface concerns before they become major blockers.

• When people feel ownership, they don’t just agree — they advocate for it. Now, it’s our idea, not just your idea.

If done right, your stakeholders will start advocating for your idea before you even formally present it.

Pitch as a Collective

Now, you’re not pitching alone. You’re showing execs that this idea already has buy-in and it’s ready to move forward.

Here’s how I would structure this pitch:

• Bring your champions into the pitch with you (sharing is caring). Show that the right teams and players are already on board.

• Highlight that concerns have already been addressed. Execs love to see that cross-functional blockers have been considered and resolved.

• Frame it as a no-brainer next step, not a brand new proposal. If the idea has already been discussed widely, it won’t feel as risky.

Bad pitch: “Here's my proposal, let me convince you why it's great!”
Better pitch: "We've been discussing this across teams, and there's strong support for moving forward. Here’s how it would work."

At this point, leadership isn’t just evaluating your individual idea. They’re recognizing that it’s already been shaped, validated, and de-risked.

This makes saying yes an easy decision.

The best PMMs win influence before they walk into the room.

CAMPER ESSENTIALS

🎧 Playlist: I chat about how to sell stories in product marketing in the first episode of PMM Talk, a new YouTube series by Senda Ben Abdallah that kicked off this week.

🎧 Playlist: Justin Dorfman, co-founder of AssetMule, graciously hosted me on his podcast The GTM Pack Show. We chatted about my favorite AI tools, how I got the name for PMM Camp, and so much more.