The Connective Good Blog

What CEOs Fear Most When Hiring CMOs

What CEOs Fear Most When Hiring CMOs

What do CEOs fear most when hiring CMOs? In this episode of The Get podcast, we discuss why the CMO role is particularly tough to fill, and common concerns that bedevil CEOs and investors when they hire CMOs. My guest is Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo...

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What Veteran CMOs Know That First-Timers Don’t

What Veteran CMOs Know That First-Timers Don’t

These days, when CEOs and investors hire marketing leaders, they can have very specific wish lists. Such as: Experience scaling from point A to point B Facility with a mix of sales-led and product-led growth motions Background that spikes in demand generation...

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CMO Secrets to Maximize Recruiter & Network Relationships

CMO Secrets to Maximize Recruiter & Network Relationships

The newest episode of The Get is live and it's a really exciting one! It's called "CMO Secrets to Maximize Recruiter & Network Relationships." I do a deep dive with my guest Tracy Eiler, CMO at OpenSesame. You’ll hear about: What's unique about today's recruiting...

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CEO/CMO Alignment: A framework for you to check out

CEO/CMO Alignment: A framework for you to check out

One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately: How can CEOs and their CMO candidates do better 'shared due diligence' before committing to a CMO job offer? In my executive searches, I've observed that CEOs and investors often are gun-shy about CMO candidates with...

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How To Be The CMO Who Gets Tapped For Board Seats

How To Be The CMO Who Gets Tapped For Board Seats

On this episode of The Get podcast, we hear from Sandra Lopez. She's a marketing dynamo who has been in marketing leadership and general management roles in many of the world's biggest and most influential tech companies, like Adobe, Intel, and Microsoft. She recently...

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Building a Win-Win Relationship With Your Board

Building a Win-Win Relationship With Your Board

On this episode of The Get podcast, we hear from Elana Anderson. She and I overlapped at Forrester way back in the day and since then she has had an awesome career as a marketing leader, with companies including IBM, Unica, Demandware (which became Salesforce Commerce...

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The CMO Hiring Market in 2023: What to Expect

The CMO Hiring Market in 2023: What to Expect

Happy 2023! Here's what I predict we'll see this year in the market for CMOs in SaaS companies. 👀 CEO VIEWS ON THE CMO ROLE "To expand or compress/contract marketing, that is the question…" 1) Some companies are expanding marketing, with an eye to creating a unified...

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What your best CMO candidates want from you

What your best CMO candidates want from you

When I was looking for someone to marry, I wrote up a scorecard to vet potential partners. I called it my LIFE scorecard. I was looking for someone who was a good Listener, had some International experience or interest, was socially Flexible (able to interact with...

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The DNA of a CMO who can scale

The DNA of a CMO who can scale

Greetings from the front lines of executive search for CMOs and VPs of marketing! Dang, is this not the most unique hiring market we've seen in years? A lot of search processes are changing to land the best talent. But one thing that hasn't changed is the relentless...

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How to Inject Discomfort Into Your Scale Journey

How to Inject Discomfort Into Your Scale Journey

Growth and comfort do not co-exist. This was a key theme of my interview with Cynthia Gumbert, the CMO of SmartBear, for The Get podcast. SmartBear is the ~750-person PE-backed SaaS company that is on a growth tear, serving more and more software developers every day....

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A SaaS CMO’s Formula for Successful Scaling

A SaaS CMO’s Formula for Successful Scaling

It's a new episode of The Get podcast! I interview Guy Weismantel, the EVP of Marketing at Ncontracts, the SaaS fintech darling based in Nashville. I had the honor of placing Guy in his role many months ago, and since then the company has doubled. Guy gives a...

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How The Best CMOs Seize Control of Strategic Planning

How The Best CMOs Seize Control of Strategic Planning

The CMO’s most important job when scaling? To create focus, protect focus, and seize control of the strategic planning process - not just for marketing, but for the company as a whole. Here’s how to do that.   Jay Gaines runs marketing at insurance tech scale-up...

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Recruiting VP of Global Solutions Marketing

Recruiting VP of Global Solutions Marketing

I’m doing a really fun new search, for a VP of Global Solutions Marketing for a high-growth SaaS company. This role is about putting the MARKET into Marketing -- it's a bit like being a general manager, driving growth in key solutions areas. Details below.

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Why CMOs Of Growth-Stage Companies Can Have Short Tenures

Why CMOs Of Growth-Stage Companies Can Have Short Tenures

"This candidate spent a year in their last job, 18 months at the job before that, and 9 months at the role before that. Too risky. Bring me someone with longer tenures." This is the most common objection I hear from CEOs when discussing candidates for CMO roles. While...

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Recruiting VP of Global Product Marketing

Recruiting VP of Global Product Marketing

I’m excited to announce a new search, for a VP of Global Product Marketing for a high-growth global SaaS company that recently IPOed. This is a great fit for a veteran product marketing executive who has a heritage of transforming the product marketing function,...

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New Season Of The Get: The Marketing Talent Podcast

New Season Of The Get: The Marketing Talent Podcast

I'm excited to share that The Get podcast, the marketing talent podcast hosted by yours truly, has wrapped up its second season. It's ready for you to binge. If you are looking to feel productive, get inspired, and learn, tune in. The Get explores how B2B SaaS...

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If you’re lucky enough to hire now, get it right

If you’re lucky enough to hire now, get it right

If the recent survey of the Revenue Collective is to be believed, the hiring scene is a bit bleak now. There is a lot of 'wait and see' on the part of hiring leaders. But the good news is there is still some hiring. If you are recruiting, count yourself lucky! Here...

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New eBook: Winning As A Marketing Leader

New eBook: Winning As A Marketing Leader

Once a marketing leader is in place, that person needs to draw a straight line from overall business strategy to marketing strategy to marketing org design to hiring and leading. It sounds simple, but it can be challenging. I collaborated with my pals at Drift and The...

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The 9 things I see CEOs and CMOs talking about in 2020

The 9 things I see CEOs and CMOs talking about in 2020

Here's what I foresee CEOs and CMOs talking about behind closed doors this year. Think of it as a guide to help marketing leaders situate, stay, and soar. Take a scan - let me know which is your favorite. These trends, predictions, and signals come from my searches...

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Meet ‘The Get’, the new marketing talent podcast

Meet ‘The Get’, the new marketing talent podcast

Excited to share with you my newest project... Meet The Get, the new marketing talent podcast. My days are chock-full of talking to marketing leaders one-on-one. It's fun to swim around in the tribulations, trends, and triumphs of today’s top marketers. And at the end...

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CMO Hiring: The 12 Tradeoffs You Will Face

CMO Hiring: The 12 Tradeoffs You Will Face

Anticipating tradeoffs when hiring your marketing leader will save you time and energy You've probably heard this before. You've probably even said it yourself. Hiring a great marketing leader is like finding a unicorn. It's elusive and challenging to find 'the one.'...

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Recruiting a CMO, SaaS MarTech Company

Recruiting a CMO, SaaS MarTech Company

Who’s the strongest B2B SaaS marketing leader you know -- someone who has scaled a marketing function for a growth-stage company? I’ve just been retained to recruit a Chief Marketing Officer for a SaaS company with a mission of bringing confidence to the world's...

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Recruiting a VP of Brand, Content, & Communications

Recruiting a VP of Brand, Content, & Communications

Who's the best B2B brand & marketing communications leader you know? I've just been retained to recruit a VP of Brand, Content & Communications for a human capital SaaS company with a mission of helping SMBs create great places to work. Here's an infographic...

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How to Pick an Executive Search Partner Like a Pro

How to Pick an Executive Search Partner Like a Pro

I've noticed something. When people call to ask me about doing a search for them, they are often grasping for questions to ask. It's understandable. A search partner is an unusual mix: Part brand ambassador: Your search partner will have hundreds of conversations on...

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Podcast: Executive Recruiting for Marketing

Podcast: Executive Recruiting for Marketing

It was fun to join the hosts of the MarTech Advisor "Talking Stack" podcast to discuss executive recruiting for marketing and martech roles. Some highlights: If you want to hire a great marketing leader, you have to think like one The 5 things to align to hire a...

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Announcing a Completed Search: USAFacts Head of Marketing

Announcing a Completed Search: USAFacts Head of Marketing

I am excited to announce a new placement: Lisa Conquergood joins USAFacts in Seattle to lead marketing. USAFacts is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic initiative, started by Steve Ballmer, with the goal of making government data more accessible and understandable to all...

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Recruiting a Head of Marketing & Communications, Seattle

Recruiting a Head of Marketing & Communications, Seattle

The Connective Good is doing a retained search for a Head of Marketing & Communications for a non-profit civic initiative in Seattle. This job is about putting unbiased facts on government spending and outcomes into the hands of citizens, the media, and other...

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Recruiting a VP of Marketing (B2C and B2B), Boston

Recruiting a VP of Marketing (B2C and B2B), Boston

The Connective Good just started a retained search for a VP of Marketing for the world's best-known car-sharing company, based in Boston. Infographic below with details. Our dream candidate has experience: Stewarding a well-known consumer brand Driving acquisition,...

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Recruiting a Director of Product Marketing, Boston

Recruiting a Director of Product Marketing, Boston

The Connective Good is doing a search for a Director of Product Marketing at a cybersecurity company in Boston with a global presence and an 80% CAGR. Infographic below with details. Email to share your interest or recommend a colleague. Thanks to Lisa Finch, visual...

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Recruiting a VP of Marketing Data & Technology, Seattle

Recruiting a VP of Marketing Data & Technology, Seattle

The Connective Good just got retained to recruit a VP of Marketing Data & Technology for a 7000+ person SaaS software company based in Seattle. This is a meaty role! The ideal fit has:   Experience (re)building B2B martech stacks to support significant scale...

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Recruiting a VP of Client & Team Engagement, NYC

Recruiting a VP of Client & Team Engagement, NYC

The Connective Good is doing a retained search for a VP of Client and Team Engagement for a marketing analytics company in NYC. The ideal fit is someone who: Has a marketing background Is conversant in analytics/statistics/quantitative research Inspires individuals...

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Recruiting a VP of Marketing, Boston

Recruiting a VP of Marketing, Boston

The Connective Good is doing a search for a VP of Marketing for a growing and global marketing technology company. The role is based in Boston, and has a heavy emphasis on driving demand. This new leader will: Build a scalable demand engine Drive traffic and...

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Recruiting a Director of Marketing Technology, Denver

Recruiting a Director of Marketing Technology, Denver

The Connective Good just started a search for a Director of Marketing Technology for a top digital health company serving 30 million consumers a month. The role is based in Denver. This new leader will: Dream up and deliver new programs to re-engage consumers and...

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Does Your Dream Candidate Have Values That Match Yours?

Does Your Dream Candidate Have Values That Match Yours?

I write to share something with you: a cool way to evaluate if your dream candidate has leadership values that are a match with your organization. You may want to adopt this exercise in your own recruiting. Recently I was retained by the Chief Brand Technologist (yes...

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New Career Advice Column

New Career Advice Column

I'm excited to announce that I've started a new career advice column, called "Ask the MarTech Recruiter". This column will appear weekly on the ChiefMarTec.com blog, edited by the esteemed Scott Brinker of MarTech fame. The first column addresses how to interview for...

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Nine Things You Must Do To Hire “The One” This Quarter

Nine Things You Must Do To Hire “The One” This Quarter

Did you know that January to March is the busiest season of the year for recruiting? That means one thing: If you are looking to recruit a top marketer by March 31, you will be competing with many other companies. If you're like most of the people I've worked with,...

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VP of Marketing, Pacific Northwest – Infographic

VP of Marketing, Pacific Northwest – Infographic

The Connective Good just started a search for a new VP of Marketing in the Pacific Northwest. This new leader will: Modernize marketing and contribute to an overall digital transformation for a beloved brand Drive customer acquisition, personalization, and engagement...

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VP of Marketing, Boston – Infographic

VP of Marketing, Boston – Infographic

The Connective Good just started a search for a new VP of Marketing in Boston. This new leader will: Chart the growth path for a global company of 100 people that's growing 50% each year Build the brand, the demand, and the marketing band Bring a background in B2B...

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How I Attract More Female Candidates For Executive Searches

How I Attract More Female Candidates For Executive Searches

"…And we'd like you to introduce us to plenty of women candidates." I've heard these words a lot, as the leader of an executive search practice. Often, clients want a diverse slate of candidates. This can be a tall order when recruiting senior analytical marketers and...

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5 Types of Management Intelligence: A Cheat Sheet

5 Types of Management Intelligence: A Cheat Sheet

Have you ever met someone and written them off as a dim bulb, until you saw them in a different setting and realized how smart they are at something else? For instance, someone who wouldn't be described as book smart, but is great at relating with others? Or the PhD...

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