When your company needs to fill a senior marketing executive search, you need the right candidate, and you need to move fast without shorting quality. Your opportunity cost of having the top marketing job open or filled with less than an A player is significant. MarketPro can help you find the right person who has the experience, background, and initiative to meet or exceed the goals set for your organization’s growth goals.
Bigger Does Not Mean Better
In the marketing executive search industry, there are firms of all sizes, but the big 5 (SHREK) include:
- Spencer Stuart;
- Heidrick & Struggles;
- Russell Reynolds Associates;
- Egon Zehnder;
- Korn Ferry.
You may think that, due to their size, one of these firms would be the best choice for your company’s senior marketing executive search, but if you are looking for top executive-level marketing talent, you might be surprised to learn that this is not usually the case. MarketPro has been successful in finding top marketing executive talent for clients after other search firms failed.
A Tale Of Two Clients
As we work with clients and candidates, we develop lasting relationships, which often pave the way for future collaborations. This is a cautionary tale of companies that hired search firms to look for top-tier marketing talent, but because they did not have a deep understanding of marketing and a relentless focus on culture fit, they were unable to deliver suitable candidates.
MarketPro was retained for a chief marketing officer executive search after another agency had failed to deliver even one suitable candidate for an incredible CMO opportunity. When the client came to us, zero candidates had made it to the second round of interviews. We successfully completed the recruitment process and ultimately had two candidates our client would have been thrilled to extend an offer to. It came down to their top two, with both of their candidate choices being ultra-talented and exceptionally qualified, so it was a tough decision. They offered the job to one; however, the remaining candidate was someone they were ready to make an offer to had we been unable to get a deal done with their top choice. She ultimately landed a great position somewhere else, about three months later.
We touched base with her to offer her congrats on her new position, and she gave us a heads up that she was going to need to speak with us in a couple of months and that she was going to need to fill a VP position who would be her right-hand person.
After about 30 days, we reached out to her to check on the status of her upcoming VP search. She told us that her company had decided to go in a different direction with that search. They went with one of the SHREK firms. Our team came to realize that we had overlooked our opportunity to provide her with a comprehensive understanding of our recruitment capabilities, taking for granted that she already knew. The difference was that this time she was on the employer side of the equation, and her experience with us was that of a candidate. We neglected to communicate the advantages MarketPro offers to a hiring organization and the exclusive benefits we bring to the table.
About six months passed, and we spoke with her again to inquire about the results of her VP search. She told us that they were not getting the level of candidates they had expected or needed, and after wasting months on a bad process, they decided to do the search on their own. So far, they had better quality talent in the interview process doing it on their own than they had in six months of working with the executive search firm. While this may sound surprising, it is not uncommon.
We were interested in learning more about how she came to the decision to choose one of the SHREK firms for the search instead of working with MarketPro. She said that this agency told her that because they were so large and were a recognized brand, they had better access to talent. They said they would get a better response when contacting talent than a boutique firm would. This is a fairly common statement these big firms often make, but in reality, this could not be further from the truth.
Our former candidate now faces the dilemma of having an unfilled VP position after 6 months. Because of the way the fee structure was set up with the firm they hired, her organization had to pay the entire search fee even though the firm did not deliver a suitable candidate. With her search budget depleted, she was now forced to conduct the search on her own.
Now, she is facing the challenges of being a fairly new CMO and trying to find the time to dedicate to this search and be effective in her job. If her organization had partnered with MarketPro, her new VP would already be in position, providing her with support and resources to assist her in effectively managing her responsibilities.
MarketPro’s Competitive Advantages
When seeking top-tier executive marketing talent, it is crucial to conduct due diligence before partnering with an executive search firm to avoid facing the situation of the aforementioned companies, who hired firms that were unable to deliver the talent they promised. MarketPro excels in delivering top marketing executive talent because:
We Know Marketing Talent And Where To Find It
We specialize in finding top C-suite-level marketing executives. We are not a one-stop shop for all types of high-level positions, like the Big 5. MarketPro was founded by senior-level marketing executives, and every one of our team members has an extensive background in marketing.
Recruitment firms that are not marketing-specific often reach out to candidates for positions that are not within their area of expertise. We frequently get calls from marketing talent who have been contacted by one of the big agencies only to discover that the job they were proposing did not fit their background or experience.
Our team of marketing experts possesses an intimate understanding of the industry’s intricacies and nuances. This specialized focus gives us an edge in discerning the exact needs of our client partners as well as a deeper understanding of the qualifications required to fill their open position with unrivaled accuracy.
MarketPro has a proven history of delivering candidates that not only meet but exceed the expectations of our clients. We know where to find top-level marketing talent and possess keen insight into their mindset, giving us the ability to effectively engage with them and best present your opportunity.
We Have Access To A Larger Talent Pool
MarketPro is a boutique firm catering to companies seeking talent to fill the highest-level marketing positions. We only place marketing executive talent, so our client base is not as extensive as that of the SHREK firms.
This is a huge benefit to our clients because all executive search firms do not poach from their clients for at least one year. MarketPro extends that to ten years. This is a big challenge for the Big 5 SHREK firms, as they have such a large customer list that you really end up limiting your pool of available talent. Korn Ferry, for example, works with 40% of the Fortune 500. Which is great for them, but do you want to rule out 40% of candidates before you start a search for your next top marketing executive?
The large firms will tell you that they have more brand recognition and more access to talent than a boutique firm such as ours, but this is a fairly common sales pitch and not accurate in a marketing executive search. Their large client bases alone rule out many potential talented candidates. Due to the size of the firms, they have very talented people, and they also have team members who are just OK. If you are a Fortune 100 company, you get the “A” team. If you are a mid-size or high-growth company, you might not get to work with their top people or the same people who pitch their services to you.
As marketers ourselves, we know how to message potential candidates and how to get them to respond to us. Our response rates are significantly higher than those of firms that are not marketing-specific, and this is why we were able to provide excellent candidates for the aforementioned search after one firm had already failed.
We Exceed The Industry Average In Timeliness
The industry average time to fill a CMO executive search is approximately 6 months. As fast as technology is evolving, the industry is also changing, and you need to remain engaged, adapting, and evolving. A lot can happen in 6 months! You don’t want to find your organization sidelined for lack of a focused and determined marketing leader.
MarketPro consistently finds the right fit for our clients within an average of 10 to 12 weeks, cutting the average industry fill time in half. We can find and present top-tier talent in half of the time because:
- We limit our senior associates to only working on two searches at a time. Compared to the four or five searches, they try to work at most firms. This is a very time-intensive role, with an incredibly large number of interviews being conducted each day. There is simply no way to be effective if you are focused on too many clients at the same time;
- By only focusing on senior-level marketing roles, hiring former marketers for our team, and having over 25 years of experience placing the best marketing talent, we have a unique set of expertise that is unmatched to bring you the best possible marketing executive talent who is also a great fit for your culture and leadership team.
MarketPro Partners With Clients For Mutual Success
The MarketPro team forms a close partnership with each client to ensure the highest-quality shortlist of marketing executive talent is located in a timely manner. We also spend more time with each candidate to make sure we properly assess culture fit than other search firms.
Most executive search firms use a fee structure that is time-based with an initial amount due and subsequent payments due at certain time intervals, which ultimately does not require any real results.
MarketPro’s goal is to create a win-win for both the client and the candidate, which is the only way for us to win. Our agreement is structured based on performance, with the final payment not being earned until the candidate’s start date. This aligns us as partners in the process. When your organization is in need of an exceptional marketing executive firm to fill a C-suite position, trust MarketPro with your search. You can count on us to deliver top-notch professionals who can lead your organization’s success to new heights.