The 4 pitfalls when hiring a CMO

Hiring the right CMO is a huge force multiplier - here's how to get it right.

Hiring the right CMO can be a massive force multiplier for any company, but it can also have the reverse effect if you get it wrong.

Recently, I was speaking with a successful tech company CEO who’s had a few failed attempts at hiring a CMO. He was frustrated and asked me for advice on “How do I hire the right one?”

It’s a question that I seem to be getting more of these days. Sure, there are times when an executive fails to deliver, but more often than not, something is off with the role or the mutual fit (misalignment between the candidate and the company) that could have been addressed in the hiring process.

It almost always comes down to these 4 common pitfalls:

1. Poor Role Definition
   I still get calls for CMO roles with no job description, or a vague description that includes too much and thus says very little.
   
   I’ve seen descriptions that include everything from having a CMO who can “roll up their sleeves to run ad campaigns,” set up a tech stack, be the company spokesperson, and set a transformative GTM strategy for the company. That’s a kitchen sink of skills that is hard to find in one person…
   
   While it might be obvious to say, before hiring any executive, especially a CMO, it’s important to write a job description that includes a concise list of specific outcomes you want them to deliver (vs tactics or deliverables).
   
   This will help you better hone in on the type of CMO you want to hire, and help candidates better understand what matters most to you and your company.
   
   

2. Hiring the Wrong Type of CMO for the Right Job
   Even with the right job description, it’s very common to hire a rockstar CMO in the wrong role for their passion and experience.
   
   This HBR article remains one of my favorite in defining the different types of CMOs, based on the outcomes they deliver:

   

   I advise all of my clients hiring CMOs to first identify the outcomes they want the CMO to drive, and thus the archetype they need to hire for. Then you can start to define the specific goals and skills they need.
   
   If you hire a Strategy or P&L-minded CMO for a Commercialization CMO role, you’ll likely overspend and under-utilize them - and they may end up frustrated and job-hopping. Conversely, if you want a CMO to drive the GTM Strategy, then hiring a Commercialization CMO will likely leave you feeling under-served.
   
   

3. Misaligned or Unrealistic Expectations
   Goal setting should be table stakes for any executive role, but I’ve spoken with plenty of CEOs who don’t have a concise set of goals to measure their CMO’s performance.
   
   This is really a shame, and CMOs are equally at fault here for not pushing for clear outcomes. CEOs and CMOs need to agree on a scorecard for the role, with no more than 3-5 primary metrics, and this should be created and debated BEFORE the CMO ever starts.

   

   Another even more common pitfall is CMO goals with misaligned metrics - ones that seem good on the surface, but are fraught with misalignment underneath. For example, the CEO has an idea that they want the CMO to be measured based on X goal – but in reality, the majority or all of the resources, decision rights, process, and tools required to achieve the goal are owned by other teams and leaders.
   
   In one case, I spoke with a CEO whose CMO’s success was going to be measured based on Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). I wondered more about whether this metric was the best way to evaluate his CMO’s impact. When I pressed, the CEO admitted that this metric, including how it was defined, the process to set SQLs, the CRM where they lived, and the people who managed them were all under the CRO.
   
   This was really a goal owned by Sales that he wanted Marketing to support. Which is fine in and of itself. But it’s not a good north star metric for a CMO, whose paycheck should warrant having a big goal with real accountability – including the decision rights and resources to make it happen.
   
   The best metrics are ones that each C-level leader and their teams own, to collectively make the revenue plan happen.
   
   For a CMO, this could be trial sign ups, marketing pipeline, or a whole host of other great KPIs. But it needs to be something they have real accountability, resources, and the majority of the decision rights to make happen.
   

Goal setting is one of the most critical things to get right for any role, and it’s a leader's job (in this case the CEO’s) to set goals that are measurable, ownable, and attainable. Doing this well is a superpower and it’s the most powerful level for driving great performance and alignment in your CMO.

4. Mismatched Values & Ways of Working
   This one is not unique to CMOs, but hiring for culture and values fit is essential for a great executive team that works well together.
   
   But it requires real introspection to define and prioritize the values and behaviors your company and executive team needs most. For example, if one of your values is speed, then vet candidates based on how they make decisions and set the pace among their teams. Ask them questions that help you understand what “fast” looks like to them.
   
   How do they decide when something needs to be done thoughtfully and more slowly, and can they give specific examples? If they think a fast turnaround big project was getting a new website launched in under a year and you expect a new brand identity and website in 1-2 quarters, then either reset your expectations or move on to finding a better fit.
   
   I see this happen a lot when companies fall in love with the executive who has worked at big sexy tech companies and wants to try their hand at an earlier stage startup. These executives might be used to working in an environment with tens of thousands of employees, large budgets, and 3-5 year roadmaps. Will that translate well to your smaller company?
   
   It’s tough…and very few executives have the EQ and skill to successfully transform their own behaviors and pace from super large enterprise to a fast-moving, growth-stage company and vice versa.
   
   

So what can you do to avoid these pitfalls?

There are a few simple steps that will help you avoid these all-to-common pitfalls, and save you a lot of potential headaches down the road:

• Write an outcomes-focused job description and force yourself to put it on one page. Get feedback from other CMOs to make it stronger and more clear.
  

• Define the metrics you expect the CMO to deliver (2-3 primary) and then discuss these with candidates in the interview. See how they think about goal-setting and how they’d look to drive the outcomes you expect of them.
  

• Create a candidate scorecard with a focused list of experiences, skill sets, and values or behaviors you want this person to have. Provide this to all interviewers, so you’re all evaluating from the same “songbook” so to speak.
  

• Vet for alignment with your team’s values and “ways of working.” Make sure several people on your CMO hiring committee have good questions teed up to evaluate these areas, and ask for specific past examples from candidates. 

Hiring the right C-level team members is one of the hardest and most important jobs of the CEO. But it’s well worth it. When you get the right CMO in the right role for your company, it is a huge force multiplier for your success.