If your CMO takes a leave of absence, goes on maternity leave, or the position will be vacant for some period of time, it can affect your entire marketing strategy. Your marketing department needs a strong leader to help maintain continuity, prevent disruption, and provide direction to keep your marketing on track. So what should you do? You can hire an interim CMO to step in and fill the gap until your CMO returns or you find the perfect permanent replacement.
What Should You Be Looking For In An Interim CMO?
It is a challenge to locate an individual who possesses all the competencies that your company needs and the people skills to step into the role of CMO, jumping into action and quickly getting up to speed. Some of the top skills that you should keep in mind when you look for an interim CMO for hire include:
- A temporary CMO needs to be flexible, adaptable, and able to quickly appraise the current marketing situation;
- They must possess an in-depth understanding of your business;
- They must possess excellent people skills so they can bring alignment between different departments to accomplish the goals of the company;
- They must have strong leadership skills and the tenacity to voice concerns about any internal obstacles they encounter and effectively communicate a fresh vision for the department;
- An interim CMO must have a comprehensive understanding of data analytics and the associated tools. They should be adept at interpreting and using this information effectively to promote customer engagement and drive revenue;
- They should be current on marketing trends and discerning in evaluating them, continuously benchmarking the procedures and strategies being utilized by their team, and be proactive in implementing those that would be more effective.
Where Do You Find A Temporary Chief Marketing Officer For Hire?
Locating the candidate who has the perfect blend of talent to step in and guide one of the most important cornerstones to the success of your company is no easy task. You could try looking within your current business contacts, get referrals from sources you trust, or search on professional sites like Linked-In, but these avenues are going to take time and effort. Once you find those interested in the job, you will need to go through a series of steps.
- You will need to take the time to create a job description that accurately defines the role and responsibilities;
- Someone within your organization will need to conduct a first interview to screen candidates. This interviewer will need to be an expert in marketing and astute in discerning the candidate’s level of expertise in order to choose those who will go on to a second interview;
- The best candidates should be interviewed a second time, not only for their skill set but also to see if they will fit your corporate culture. Most companies will use a team approach, and the candidate will talk with various executives from different departments;
- Once a candidate is selected, an offer is made, and a contract is drawn up. When you hire an interim CMO, the position will typically have a start and end date and sometimes an option to extend or terminate early.
The Best Way To Hire An Interim CMO Is To Leave It To The Experts At MarketPro
The fastest and most efficient way to hire a qualified temporary CMO is to contact MarketPro and bypass most of these time-consuming steps! Our skilled team is composed of former marketing executives who will do the heavy lifting for you. Using their twenty-plus years of experience in finding top marketing talent, they carefully review all potential candidates to ensure the perfect fit and present you with the very best. Each candidate we introduce you to will be fully qualified to step in and lead your marketing team successfully toward achieving your company’s goals. This leaves you with only the task of choosing who is the best fit for your corporate culture.