Not every firm has marketing people. While many firms – typically the larger and global firms - have had significantly sized marketing teams for years, by contrast, smaller firms have not necessarily had this need. Until now.
 
Smaller firms, whether they have had a certain amount of success on their own, or, whether they might be newly formed and contemplating their marketing efforts, are now starting to re-think marketing for their firm.
 
As a partner in a law or accounting firm, consistent revenue growth year on year is now not a given. And for most firms, it’s a challenge. This is because you need to work at differentiation and showing value, and more specifically, being solutions-focused to your clients. And all of this against the backdrop of a competitive and often slow-to-respond market.
 
This is where marketing and business development comes in. These people are solely focused on helping you achieve your revenue targets, growth goals, and differentiation and value to clients. They can also help you achieve the elite status of business-solutions advisor.
 
But where do you start? And why does it seem hard to take the plunge to hire your first-time marketer?
 
It’s hard because there’s no precedent, no comparisons, and no history on a marketing function or person in your firm. You don’t have the benefit of hindsight of seeing the function work effortlessly and from learning from prior mis-steps (they do happen, frequently). So, the stakes are higher for hiring your first-time marketer. After that, and down the road when you look to build out a marketing function and team after your first-time hire, the challenge is much less so. You will have learnt, seen and feel more educated as to what marketing is, what it can do for your firm, and how it has actually impacted your firm’s bottom line.
 
Given these factors at play, there are several key things to get right in order to make the first-time marketer for your firm work and be effective in both the short and long term. Below are my top three tips to start you off along the right path:
 
Do you have consistent and confirmed expectations?

The most important thing you can get right when hiring a first-time marketer for your firm is knowing exactly what it is you need, and ensuring all key stakeholders are aligned on this. Unless you and your partners can agree on the specific expectations for this role, it is - in my experience - unlikely to be a long-term success. This takes some time at the outset, but it is well worth the end result.

For example, ask yourself and your fellow partners these initial questions and see what answers you all have:

• What type of marketing role will you have? No two marketing roles are the same. We use a framework to tailor a bespoke role for your firm based on what you and your partners need.
• Who is driving the case for the first-time marketer, and why? Motivations and context are particularly key in getting the long-term success of the role right. Firms are full of individuals sometimes with competing interests or certain politics at play. We deal with these issues in a way that makes sense for your firm; no firm is immune from these issues.
• Do you have consensus on a prioritized list of capabilities? I’ve seen firms time and time again set unrealistic goals and capabilities for their first-time marketer, and then wonder why their marketer can’t get everything done. You need to figure out what is key and needs to be done in the first 6-12 months, and what can wait for year two. Understanding these differences is essential and brings the role away from a just a job description and into a real, functioning role.
• How will the marketing role be measured? In the same way you, as a partner, have individual and firm KPIs to meet and exceed, the same must be set for your marketer. 

 
What will be the seniority of the position?

Because you are hiring your first marketing role, this single person must be at the right level of seniority. In a larger team, a combination of ‘doers’ and ‘strategists’ will often form an effective team. But in a single person team, you need to find the right balance in just one person.

There is often a correlation between experience and preference for acting as a doer versus a strategist. Less experienced recruits may tend towards being a ‘yes person’ or an administrative function (creating perception problems around what marketing can actually do). Similarly, there are also risks in hiring someone with too much horsepower who pushes the partners too far too fast (creating problems around getting the right pace and buy-in for the role). Of course, every candidate is unique and firms should not use ‘years of experience’ as a direct proxy for ability or working style.

In thinking about the seniority, also take into account who this person will mostly work with: key partners or even clients, and also what barriers may be in place for this person. In setting your new marketer up for success, they need to know both the good things and the challenging things about the role to have the best chance at getting all the elements right. Think about the challenges you as a partner have; you’re better equipped to deal with them once there’s transparency in place.

And at the risk of laboring this point, this is all particularly important because this person will be (probably for a while) your sole marketing function. This person will shape what marketing is at your firm and will literally go down in your firm’s history as to what marketing is and does for your firm. Over the years, I’ve seen firms really struggle with shifting a (wrong) perception of marketing once its in place. Getting it right at the start is essential.

What are the reporting lines and budget:

Carefully consider who this new marketer reports to. Marketers will prefer to report into a key partner, typically an office managing partner or the firm partner. Reporting into the firm leadership as a whole is another option, but, if this happens, who is the single person with the ultimate authority and responsibility on this role?

You will also have to consider what budget needs to be set aside for this person. Of course, a more junior person is less expensive than a senior person, but cost shouldn’t be your main driver. More often than not, you get what you pay for. Additionally, educate yourself on what a marketer will cost at your firm. Their salaries are structured differently to your administrative employees’ salaries. We advise firms on this constantly. And as you might expect, it is different based on size of firm, type of firm, remit of role, geography, and seniority of position.

Closely tied to the issues of reporting lines and budget is how your new marketer will show their worth and value: their return on your investment. Bring your new marketer in on this conversation so you’re both in it together. For example, ask them to create a bi-annual report to show what they’ve worked on and how that has contributed to the revenue of your firm. The more senior the person, the easier this is to show. Get them to tie their efforts into the overarching goals of the firm and how that fits with the trajectory you both discussed at the outset.

Final thoughts:
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It might seem hard to embark on a first-time marketing role because it is an unknown to you. But most firms who haven’t had a dedicated marketing function are now taking the plunge. Keep your firm, your partners, and your market position as it should be and let us help you embark on this challenge together. This is literally all that we do. In our experience, firms that follow the above steps commence their search from a stronger foundation and have greater success with their new marketing function. 

I recently offered my top tips to the Firms and Hiring Managers of BD and marketing people at the offer stage (see previous blog). Now, I offer similar tips from the perspective of the candidate:

BD & Marketing Candidates:

• Know your value in the market. Understand your market value, considering both technical background and softer skills. There’s a lot of information available to you, but balance everything that you read. And, talk to your search partner about your value and, importantly, where you fit in the range. (Typically, firms set a salary range for each role based on seniority and experience.) Understand what factors you have (or don’t have) that push you to a certain end of that range. Candidates often put themselves at the top end of a range, but may not have the skills, both technical and soft skills, to prove their worth at that top end. So, understanding the range is one thing, but where you fit in that range is another - and will differ depending on the role you’re pursuing.

 

• Disclose your salary expectation early. Share with the hiring manager or HR professional what your salary expectation is right from the start. This is easily done if you know your value in the market. (Note: disclosing your salary expectation is not the same thing as disclosing your salary, which in some states and cities is now banned; see earlier blog addressing this issue) This puts everyone on the same page from the get-go. Additionally, go one step further and inquire as to whether your expectation matches the range the firm has set for this role. Its important to have this discussion early on.

 

• You shouldn’t need to negotiate. Because you know your value and have disclosed your salary expectation, when the offer is communicated, there shouldn’t be the need for any negotiation. Everyone should already be on the same page. (Of course, if the above steps haven’t been followed, get ready to negotiate.) The only time negotiation is warranted – in my view – is if something has changed with your salary expectation along the way, for example, you may have been promoted. And, even if this happens, it should be communicated to the hiring firm straight away. There should be zero surprises at the offer stage.

 

• Accept promptly. As you are now both aligned on salary expectation and where you fit within the range, the offer that comes out from the firm will typically meet your expectations. Firms do for the most part want to offer competitive salaries and want to meet your expectations. So, accept promptly. Its reasonable to take a day or two to consider the offer and inquire as to the full benefits, but then don’t keep people waiting. It’s in both of your interests to close out the deal in a timely fashion.

 

• Counteroffer. Think about whether your firm may make a counteroffer. Some firms make the strategic call to do this, rather than try to hire ‘another you’. Know what your response will be and how you will deal with this scenario before it happens. Your search partner will also be experienced in dealing with these issues. Keep in mind that the firm who has just make you an offer will be very sensitive to game-playing when it comes to counteroffers. Be honest and act promptly during this time; again, its in both of your interests to close this out promptly. And remember, you sought out this opportunity for a reason. I see too often people stay for a counteroffer and then regret it down the road.

 

• Be professional and responsive. The stress of the offer stage does wear some people down. And typically it follows a pretty thorough meeting and interview process that has been going on for some time. Remember to continue to respond quickly and to always be professional, even if the people you’re dealing with in your new firm at the offer stage aren’t the people you might be working with. People’s true colors can show during times of stress, and I’ve seen unnecessary negative impressions being formed by both sides because of the stress during these times.

The offer stage doesn’t have to be daunting. If the right information is shared at the start, and the right conversations are had to ensure expectation alignment, the process can, and will, go very smoothly. These are exciting times for both the candidate and the firm; do them correctly and they will be enjoyable.