TAM excellence
A question we often get asked is: "What makes an excellent TAM?" This touches almost every stage of the role, from candidates (what would I have to do to succeed at this potential role?) to new hires (where should I be spending my time?) to folks in their first year (how do I know I'm doing well?) to old-timers (how do I keep up with the rest of the team?)
An excellent TAM:
| General Principle | Specific Examples |
|---|---|
| Distinguish yourself from other vendors with personalized outreach | Record personalized videos, submit PRs for a customer's software, send personalized food or merch, sign up for their product, invite them to events, or make donations in their name |
| Dig into a customer, find what will be valuable to them, and surface it in a way that deepens the relationship | Get the content right — saving money, expert recommendations, ideas for success beyond PostHog — and deliver it in a way that earns attention |
| Take ownership of a customer problem and see it through to resolution | Even when a full fix isn't possible, owning the issue and driving it to conclusion builds trust — people notice when you see things through |
| Build relationships for the long term so that today's work pays off a year from now | Don't write off a quiet or unresponsive customer — the relationship being built now is for next year's expansion, not this quarter's |
| Balance cross-sell with non-sales value so customers feel helped, not sold to | Avoid making every interaction a revenue conversation — give them value that doesn't require opening the wallet |
| Show sincere interest in the customer's business and back it up with real knowledge | Congratulate them on product launches, give feedback on their product, leave them reviews — and actually know their product well enough to do so |
| Have the technical depth to get hands dirty and help with technical questions | You shouldn't be implementing for customers as a rule, but being capable of it demonstrates you understand enough to be genuinely useful |
| Don't accept "we're good" as a final answer — keep engaging to find where you can help | "Talk to us in 6 months" usually means "don't upsell me" — respond with concrete suggestions on cost reduction or real pain points instead |
| Regularly share learnings — both wins and failures — publicly with the team | When you learn something (especially from a mistake), sharing it helps others avoid the same issues and raises the whole team's effectiveness |
| Develop a sense for when an account is at risk and act proactively | Be close enough to your accounts that you can detect when something feels off, and address it before it becomes a problem |
| Balance directness and transparency with knowing when to give a customer space | Understanding what the right balance looks like for each individual customer is the art of the role |
| Spot gaps in the sales process and proactively fix them rather than complain | An excellent TAM doesn't sit on process frustrations — they take ownership and make improvements |
| Identify the customer's key business goals and align PostHog directly to those outcomes | If a customer wants to increase conversions or grow premium plans, show specifically how PostHog helps reach that goal — make it essential, not just a nice-to-have |
| Enable and upskill your customer champion so they look good within their org | Do the hard work for your champion, then let them take all the credit |
| Be a relentless advocate for customer interests internally | TAMs are closest to customers — engineers need to hear from you about how customers are actually feeling |
| Continuously grow your PostHog expertise to keep pace with the product | PostHog is constantly changing — never shy away from selling a new product because of unfamiliarity; learn it |