EP21: First marketing hire

In Demand: How to Grow Your SaaS to $1M ARR and Beyond

Now that you know the basics of how to get started with building out a marketing team it’s time to diving into how and when to hire your first marketing leader.

In this episode of In Demand, Asia Orangio, CEO of DemandMaven, breaks down types of marketers that makes since as a first hire, where to sources them from, and how to set them up for success in the first 90 days.

TL;DR

• 1:36 - Who is the best type of marketing to hire?
  • If you are in the software space, you should really only be looking at a generalist who is well versed on demand generation or content marketing.
  • If you are a self-serve, low LTV business, then content marketing makes the most sense. If you have a high LTV and a longer buying cycle, then demand generation is more important.
• 6:40 - The single most important thing when making this hire though is finding someone who has worked in a similar stage of growth for a similar company.
• 9:00 - When you are creating your job description you want to focus on what stage of growth you're in and after that, what type of tech experience do you want them to have.
• 9:55 - There are a few different places that you can focus on for sourcing talent:
  • Your own personal network
  • LinkedIn
  • Recruiting sites like Indeed, Monster, etc.
  • Recruiting and headhunting firms
• 12:45 - What is important for your hire to know after you've hired them?
  • The vision of your company
  • The specific goals for the company
  • Clearly outlined expectations for the role
  • Existing marketing strategies and plans
• 21:25 - Defining the first projects for your first hire
  • Creating a 90 day plan for what you want to accomplish over the first 3 months is a great way to get started.
  • Right from the start talking to customers and listening to any recorded customer interviews that exist