A/E Industry Missing the Mark with Marketing Hires

By Mark Goodale

NATICK, Mass. — More and more A/E leaders are looking to hire marketing directors to help them develop and implement marketing strategies.

Many firms are hiring the wrong candidates—they think they're hiring marketing directors but they're really hiring business development professionals. The problem is that many A/E firms still don't understand the difference between marketing and sales—sales is just a subset of marketing.

Too many firms that need marketing directors are ending up with sales people—and leaders of these firms generally don't know how to manage their new sales force very well. They don't know how to compensate them and they don't know how to effectively incorporate them and their roles into the existing culture of their firms. Instead of hiring someone to beat down doors, many A/E firms really need a person who can help position the firm in target markets and bring opportunities to technical people for them to close—it's a much more sustainable model than simply relying on a key salesperson.

The resume of a marketing director should indicate that the candidate has experience in developing and implementing firm-wide marketing strategies. This person should know how to develop a marketing budget, be familiar with customer relationship management packages and other marketing software and understand how to handle leads through to the sale, to project completion and beyond.

On the other hand, a business development resume states the candidate is responsible for "x" amount of sales dollars. Their previous work titles typically include director or manager of business development or sales, although sometimes these positions may be referred to as director of marketing.

When advertising for a marketing director position, expect to end up with more resumes from sales people than from true marketers. You'll have to whittle it down from there.

Goodale is a principal and the leader of the marketing division of ZweigWhite, a management-consulting firm serving the AEC industry.