A scorecard for founders · Ten lines
Score a marketing-leader posting before it goes live.
Open the posting as it reads today and tick each line that is true. Every open line has a note under it that says what to change, and there is an example posting further down that you can copy. It takes about ten minutes, and it works for a Head of Marketing, a VP of Marketing, or a first marketing hire.
Free to use and to share. Nothing you tick is stored or sent anywhere.
By Neely Thomson·Published
- In the postingEight lines you can check against the text.01
If notAdd one sentence: "This role owns pipeline created (or revenue sourced), reported monthly." If you can't choose the number yet, choosing it is your first job, before the posting goes up.
- 02
If notName the manager and the person who approves spend. If the budget isn't set, give a range for the first two quarters. A candidate will ask in the first interview either way.
- 03
If notList the systems by name: your CRM, the automation tool, how leads are scored and routed, the report the board reads. Say which exist today and which the hire will build.
- 04
If notDescribe the team as it is on day one. If the answer is nobody, write that. "No direct reports in year one" tells a candidate more than "build and lead a team."
- 05
If notList the AI tools the company pays for and who uses each one now. If nobody owns them, say the role will, and say whether anything they produce is reviewed before it is published.
- 06
If notWrite three outcomes for day ninety that someone could check. For example: the lead definition is signed by sales, the scoreboard is live with baselines, one campaign is in market.
- 07
If notName the rules that apply to your marketing (NACHA, FINRA, HIPAA, FERPA, state procurement rules) and who approves a claim before it is published. If none apply, say so. Candidates from regulated companies will ask.
- 08
If notAdd one application question: "Tell us about something you built that was still running a year after you left it." It works in a final-round interview too.
- Before you postTwo things the posting depends on that a candidate can't see.09
If notWrite one paragraph: who qualifies, which signal counts, what sales does with a qualified lead and how fast. Ask your sales lead to sign it. Without it, the hire negotiates it in their first quarter, with less standing than you have today.
- 10
If notSend the posting to whoever runs sales with one question: "Would you commit to the number in this posting?" Edit it together until the answer is yes.
0/10
Your score
Tick each line that is true as things stand today. The note under every open line says what to change.
Download the scorecard, the fixes and the example posting as a PDF to mark up with your sales leader.
How to read the score
8 to 10
Post it.
The posting describes a job a strong candidate can say yes to. Fix the remaining lines if they are quick, and keep the three interview questions below for the final round.
5 to 7
Fix the posting first.
About half of the role is defined. Work through the open lines before the posting goes up. Most take one conversation. The lead definition and the budget owner take the longest, so start with those two.
0 to 4
The posting is asking for two jobs.
As written, one person is asked to build the marketing function and to run it. Those are different jobs, and often different people. Decide which one this posting is for, then rewrite it around that job. The open lines are the list of what still has to be built.
An example to edit
A posting that covers all eight lines.
Every detail below is a placeholder. Keep the structure, replace what is in brackets, and change the specifics to what is true at your company. The number beside each paragraph is the line it answers.
Head of Marketing, [Company]
[Company] sells [product] to [buyer]. We are [number] people, [funding stage], and marketing has been run by [the founder / sales] until now.
The number you own
Pipeline created: qualified opportunities and their dollar value, reported monthly to the CEO and quarterly to the board. Today marketing sources about [X] percent of pipeline.
Who you report to
The CEO, who also approves the marketing budget. For your first two quarters that budget is [range], with salaries counted separately.
What you will run
[CRM and marketing automation tool], in place and lightly configured. Lead scoring and routing, which do not exist yet and are yours to build. The monthly pipeline report, which lives in a spreadsheet today.
Your team on day one
No direct reports in year one. One contract designer for about ten hours a week, and a paid search agency on a monthly contract that you can keep or replace.
How we use AI
We pay for [tools]. Sales uses them for call notes and marketing uses them for first drafts. You will own that process, and nothing AI-drafted is published without your review.
Your first ninety days
By day 30, a lead definition signed by our head of sales. By day 60, scoring and routing live and the pipeline report running from the CRM. By day 90, one campaign in market to our lead segment, with its results on the report.
The rules we work under
We sell to [banks / schools / health systems], so our marketing claims fall under [rule]. Our [compliance lead] approves any product or performance claim before it is published, usually within two business days.
What we would like to see from you
Tell us about something you built that was still running a year after you handed it off: what it was, who ran it, and how you know.
For the final round
Three of the lines work as interview questions.
- 01
“Which one number would you want to own here, and how would you report it to the board?”
Tests line 01. A strong candidate picks pipeline or revenue and can say where the number would come from.
- 02
“What would you have finished by day ninety?”
Tests line 06. Listen for outcomes you could check, and for what they would need from you to get there.
- 03
“What did you build that was still running a year after you left it?”
Tests line 08. The answer shows whether they build things other people can run.
Who made this
I'm Neely Thomson. I build marketing functions for B2B software startups, mostly in regulated markets. If you'd like a second read of a posting, send it to hello@neelythomson.com. The longer guide to a first marketing hire is here.