When you’re ready to grow, nothing accelerates that trajectory faster – or derails it harder – than the person you put in charge of your marketing strategy. You need someone who can shape the direction of your brand, drive sustainable growth, and align every marketing effort with your long-term vision. It’s a big decision, and it deserves a thoughtful approach.
You may have already noticed this, but it’s worth emphasizing: Resumes don’t always tell the whole story. Just because someone held a VP of Marketing title or came from a flashy company doesn’t mean they can deliver inside your business. Especially if you’re a startup or a scaling company. Titles don’t do you much good, as you really need strategic brains, operational muscle, and the emotional intelligence to lead a team through change.
Here’s what to really look for when hiring a marketing leader – and how to make the smartest possible choice for where your business is right now.
1. Strategic Thinker, Not Just a Tactical Doer
You’re not hiring someone to “run your Instagram” or “build out a newsletter.” You’re hiring someone who can design and oversee an entire marketing ecosystem – one that brings in qualified leads, nurtures your audience, and converts attention into revenue. That takes strategic thinking. A great marketing leader should be able to diagnose your current gaps, see opportunities others miss, and craft a growth roadmap that makes sense based on your goals, timeline, and budget.
Yes, they should understand the tactics. But their real value comes from knowing which levers to pull – and when.
Ask questions like: “If I gave you a $100K marketing budget, how would you allocate it over the next six months?” or “What’s your framework for identifying the highest-ROI growth channels in a new market?” If their answer is just a list of platforms or campaign types, you may be looking at a tactician, not a strategist.
2. Adaptability to Your Stage of Growth
A leader who helped scale a Fortune 500 brand might be great – but only if they know how to operate in a scrappier, earlier-stage environment. If you’re still figuring out product-market fit or running lean with a small team, you need someone who knows how to build from scratch, not just manage departments. And if you’re further along and looking to scale fast, you need someone who can quickly establish systems, delegate wisely, and manage through complexity.
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration Skills
Marketing doesn’t live in a silo anymore. Your marketing leader will need to work hand-in-hand with sales, product, customer support, and leadership. That means they need the soft skills to collaborate across departments, rally others around a shared vision, and manage internal politics with grace.
Watch how they talk about past teams.
- Do they give credit?
- Do they speak with clarity and humility?
- How have they handled conflicts between departments or adjusted their approach based on feedback from sales or customer success?
Their ability to connect the dots across your company will matter just as much as their ability to run a campaign.
4. Data Fluency and Decision-Making
In a digital-first world, marketing is numbers-driven. You need someone who’s not afraid of dashboards, attribution models, or conversion rate audits. A strong marketing leader should know how to interpret data, spot patterns, and make decisions that are informed but not paralyzed by metrics.
Your marketing leader should be able to answer tough questions like: “How do you measure marketing ROI in a multi-touch environment?” or “What would you do if our lead flow looked great on paper but wasn’t converting into sales?”
Gut instinct is great, but only when it’s paired with insight. Look for someone who can bring you both at the same time.
5. Leadership That Builds and Elevates Others
You’re hiring a leader, not a solo act. Whether they’re managing a small team now or tasked with hiring and scaling one soon, you want someone who sees themselves as a builder of people. Can they coach a junior marketer into a confident contributor? Can they step back and let others own pieces of the strategy?
Look for someone who isn’t afraid to get into the trenches, but doesn’t stay there forever. You need someone who creates structure without micromanaging and holds their team to high standards (but with kindness and respect).
6. Consider Fractional Leadership – Especially Early On
If this feels like a tall order, that’s because it is. Not every business is ready to bring on a full-time CMO, and that’s where fractional leadership shines. Hiring a fractional CMO can give you access to seasoned executive talent without the full-time cost or risk. It’s a smart move if you need strategic oversight and scalable systems, but aren’t ready for a permanent hire.
Fractional CMOs are often brought in to clean up messy funnels, reposition brands, launch new channels, or build a team from scratch. They bring an outside perspective that can sometimes unlock growth quickly.
You get the benefit of high-level leadership – plus the flexibility to scale up or down depending on your needs. It’s especially valuable during transitions, product launches, or periods of fast change.
Don’t Rush the Process
Hiring a marketing leader is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Get clear on what your business needs most and conduct interviews accordingly. Look past the resume, listen closely to how they think, and pay attention to how they communicate. You’ll find the right person!
