Part I - When to make your first marketing hire

When we first meet founders, inevitably within the first 10-15 minutes of the conversation we're asked -- "When should I hire a full time marketer? What does that role look like? How do I find the right person?"

The truth is that there is no one right answer; it really depends on your go-to market strategy, offering status, current business economics, and a host of other organization-specific factors. 

At Noted, we've worked with dozens of B2B founders to build high-performing marketing functions. Having come from start-up backgrounds ourselves, we know first-hand how difficult (and expensive!) it can be to make a first marketing hire -- especially if the timing isn't right and/or that hire doesn't work out. 

Note — This is the first of a three part series on start-up marketing hiring; the subsequent posts will focus on who and how to hire. For now, we'll focus on when to hire -- here are a few key questions that B2B founders should consider as they think about making their first marketing hire. 

Why do you want to hire a full time marketer? A lot of times, founders aren't quite sure why they need a marketer. We typically hear founders say in vague terms, "We need to grow," or an investor recommended that they hire someone. But, not having a clear picture on the actual issues that the new hire will tackle sets you, and the new hire, up for failure. First step: Make a list of the specific marketing problems that need to be solved, and ask yourself: Do I need a marketer because I don't know how to do this, or because I don't have the time to handle it all? Many times, especially for early stage B2B companies, it's completely fine to bootstrap marketing initially. Your marketing won't be perfect right away, and that's ok. 

Do you have multiple marketing challenges that need to be tackled? Now that you have the list of marketing problems to be solved, think about whether the needs warrant full-time help. Generally, if you have a specific marketing activity or project with a clear scope, it probably makes more sense to hire a freelancer or consultancy versus a full-time hire. Focus on delivering a product that has demonstrable value to a specific customer base, and supplement with marketing consultants and freelancers in the interim. 

Have you already determined your go-to market strategy and launched your product? The right time to add a full-time B2B marketer depends on a number of factors. Are you trying to target SMBs with a more transactional approach, lower ACV and <30 day sales cycle? If so, you'll want to invest in a marketer earlier on, likely prior to product launch. But if you have an enterprise SaaS product, you can wait until you have a repeatable sales model in place before incorporating marketing to elevate the storyline and increase channel mix to drive lead generation.

Have you allocated a marketing budget that goes beyond headcount? Remember that hiring a full-time marketer isn't just about their compensation; you also will need to provide them with a reasonable marketing budget to work with. Typically, we have seen start-ups allocate a marketing budget of 8-12% of their expected new logo revenue for marketing (more so for high growth companies ready to experience 3X or more growth) -- this would include both headcount and other expenses. So for example, if you're expecting to bring in $5M in new ARR for the year, you should probably plan to allocate around $400K for the year, with at least 30-50% for headcount and the remainder for marketing expenses.

Do you have the time to find the right person? In our experience, hiring the first B2B marketer takes a lot of time -- at least 3-6 months. Even then, it will take that person at least 90 days to fully ramp on the industry, get to know the team, and figure out his/her strategic and tactical approach before embarking on actual execution. If your marketing needs are more immediate, working with experienced consultants might be a better quick fix. 

Next up: Who to hire as your first marketing hire -- stay tuned for more. 

If you have questions on marketing hiring, feel free to reach out to the Noted team at info@noted-marketing.com.