Before your next marketing hire, read this first. As a marketing agency, one thing you might not expect us to say is that outsourcing your entire marketing effort to an agency is the wrong move. From Fortune 500s to startups, we’ve noticed one common theme: Our most successful partnerships happen when we work with stellar internal marketers. But in today’s tough hiring market, it’s harder than ever for companies to find talent for key marketing roles. When considering the additional challenge of aligning with candidates that fit with organizational culture and dynamics, the perfect hire is exceedingly elusive.
Fortunately, sourcing amazing talent for roles like CMO, Director of Marketing or VP of Marketing is not impossible. We’ve seen it happen, and we know the secret to successfully hiring for internal marketing roles is by partnering with a capable, experienced and just plain fun search partner (ahem, yes, we’re picturing our friends over at PS Partners).
How marketing hires go wrong; and what you really need on your internal marketing team
The demands for marketing services are high: sales reps need collateral at every stage of the buyer journey, while product teams need help thinking beyond the nitty-gritty of what the product is. The website needs information to explain what the solution or product does, you need to tell your brand story (while providing something to link to on social media!), and ultimately you need to find ways to effectively convert prospects into customers.
This plethora of marketing needs can lead HR teams on a fruitless chase to find an ultimate Jack-or-Jill-of-All-Trades or worse yet, overfill their marketing teams with less-than-average hires hoping to build an internal bank of specialized marketing talent. Building an internal marketing team with all the required specialized skills (and without breaking the bank) is not a realistic approach for any size business.
The cure for a poorly staffed marketing department usually isn’t a bunch of additional hires; it’s investing in one or two great ones.
By starting with a carefully selected, experienced ringmaster to run the marketing show, companies can grow thoughtfully with strong leadership first. Then, the bulk of the specialized marketing work should be tackled by an agency with oversight from your internal marketing leaders.
But, that brings us back to the problem plaguing many businesses today: Where do I find a unicorn CMO/Director of Marketing/VP of Marketing who will be the best fit for my unique business?
Hiring above-average marketers requires an above-average search
The way to get the right marketer for the job is the same as the way to solve any high-stakes business conundrum: Turn to the experts. It is highly unlikely that your ideal CMO is going to be found on a job board on the internet. And, like internal marketing teams, HR departments wear a lot of hats, which causes their work to get siloed and their hiring efforts to be semi-effective.
We often tell our clients to outsource what they can’t do well, so they can focus on your strengths and do them even better. That’s why we recommend that our clients work closely with boutique strategic firms like PS Partners to recruit for key marketing roles. Using a high-touch executive search partner with a vast network like PS Partners is a wise investment that saves time and resources. Why? They are laser-focused on getting the right fit for your important hire the first time.
There’s “a search partner”, and then there’s “Our Favorite Search Partner”
For us, it’s always about quality over quantity. The PS Partners team specializes in recruiting executives. With expertise in a variety of industries, they have an advantage over other firms because they carefully select their clients as much as their clients choose them. They stay within their wheelhouse, so they can stay within their clients’.
If you are hiring for a marketing or sales role that’s crucial to company success, your first step should be to reach out to Gina and her team at PS Partners. And, if there is one thing we can promise, it’s that she’ll make the process fun!