How to hire your first marketing employee.

For many design firms, the first marketing/ new business person's hire represents an exciting marker of growth. A kind of milestone that says you've made it, and a signifier of your ambition to scale.

It also represents a resignation that you can't do it all, and that you're willing to relinquish the outward message of your agency to another, more specialist person.

Only most agencies can't afford for their first marketing hire to be a specialist. More often than not, they hire someone junior who has enthusiasm but needs direction. The direction that the business owner can't give. After all, that's the reason they hired someone in the first place.

I know, because I was that young hire. 

I arrived at BrandOpus with two years of agency new business under my belt with a highly regarded marketing agency lead generation outfit. I knew this area, and I was excited to hit the ground running for a single agency after juggling multiple accounts.

But on my first day, it became obvious that this wasn't the 'sales role' I was used to. This was holistic marketing that would generate a longer-term pipeline of leads, which was a huge and exciting opportunity to learn. But no-one in the agency could give me a template, a rulebook, a process, and any clue of what my day to day job entailed.

It's a catch 22, and one that needs addressing. Many marketing and new business hires seem to vanish after a probation period when one side or the other gets fed up.

I learnt everything from experience and from scratch. I felt anxious, unconfident, unsure. I wasn't sure what was working, and what wasn't.

Because there was no precedent, but also because there was no formal way of linking up marketing activities with new business enquiries. Just a gut feel amongst management that all was well with my approach. I could have given up at any point if I wasn't as stubborn as I am.

If like me, either side is stubborn, they try to work through the no-mans-land to find a working process that fits their agency. But that takes time. A lot of time.

I estimate that it took me about 18 months to identify, create a process and feel comfortable and in control of most aspects of my role. But I'm so glad we both persevered.

So how can you avoid this unproductive, low confidence, frankly painful journey to marketing bliss?

Here are a few thoughts to follow if you're ready to hire your first marketing person:

#1 Be frank about how much direction they will get.

Are you both comfortable with how your expectations match up?

#2 Look for someone with B2B experience and an understanding of brand.

Consider people with qualifications in creativity and marketing (my degree was fashion communications and marketing, with a specialism in brand)

#3 Do they understand how they will integrate (or not) with the broader team?

Young hires are often attracted to working closely with colleagues, but marketing can be a lonely role.

#4 Do you have a routine in place for their role?

A handover from another member of staff? Or will they be creating this role from scratch?

#5 If from scratch, do they have ideas of how to solve your marketing challenges?

Do they feel comfortable with the openness of this brief?
Are they a self-starter?

Good luck with your search for a marketing bod, and congratulations on your business growth!