Marketing not only takes strategy, time and dedication, it also requires its own marketing project manager. Marketing is often broken down into various projects: SEO project, e-mail newsletter project and social media. From personal experience in marketing at VA Partners, I can say that it was only a matter of time until I took on the role of project manager (PM). Many people will attend a PM course, certification or post-secondary program, but for me, it was all about practice makes perfect; I also took the advice of other PM’s to enhance my best practices. Listed below are tips I have put together from experience in order to help a PM enhance their job performance.

What to Know About Project Management Before Starting Your First Project

Become aware of how you present yourselves to others. You want to make sure your team will trust you and respect you and the same goes for the client. As a PM, you do not want to come off as the type of person that is unapproachable; on the other end, you do not want to be someone who is perceived as too easy going, giving off the impression that you are perhaps “too flexible”.

Prioritization is Essential

A project manager may come into a situation where they are receiving complaints from a client, demands from a sales representative who sold the project and problems from their team all at the same time. It is essential to prioritize as a PM. Decide which issue needs immediate attention (perhaps look at which issue will cause further problems if not dealt with first) and schedule remaining tasks accordingly. Always keep in mind that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Organization

Every project acts like a machine with many moving parts; there is the internal team and the team working externally with the client. In order to stay on top of assigned tasks and deadlines, a PM must be able to prioritize not only themselves, but their team. One of the following ways a PM can stay organized is with a Workbook Schedule.

Workbook Schedule

At the beginning of the project, set up a calendar from day one of a project, to the end date. Fast forward to the day the project is due, and begin scheduling your tasks, going backwards. By scheduling your due dates and tasks at the day the project is due and moving backwards, you run less risk of scheduling time inefficiently.

Stay Focused

Staying focused on the end result is the key to ensuring the tasks leading up to it are completed efficiently. As a PM, you must ensure that you do not allow for distractions or interruptions that do not add any value to the project. Utilizing the workbook schedule will also help to keep you focused on the end result.

Flexible

Although you want to keep your project on time and bypass interruptions, as a PM you also want to ensure that you are flexible for any possible changes. The client, sales representative or a member of your team might bring up a change to the plan or foresee a problem in the project. Going into a project with an open mind and the assumption that plans may take a different turn will help to keep your project moving efficiently.

Stay Connected with the Departments in Your Company

A PM not only works with their peers in their department, but will also work with – and at times rely on – their peers in other departments of the company, such as: finance, HR, marketing and sales. If you work for a small company you more than likely have talked to and gotten to know those in each department. If you work for a larger company or corporation, you may have never met the manager of Human Resources, as an example. Keep in mind that you do not want to burn any bridges. Keep lines of communication open with everyone and present yourself in a professional manner regardless of your relationship with your peers; you may be relying on these people in order to meet your deadlines.

Keep Your Tools Up-to-Date

Many times, companies get so caught up in providing their customers what they want, that they tend to neglect their own company. As a PM it is important that you are given the most effective tools in order to complete your job. Putting a project management database in place (and a CRM tool) are essential to keeping your team on track. Using a project management database (such as BaseCamp) that also allows the client to see your day-to-day work and deadlines, will keep lines of communication open and keep everyone on the same page; giving your client access to the project details will make tasks like weekly meetings more efficient.

If you are having problems putting together a project strategy or are looking for answers to questions about project management, feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to help.