hiring a standout interview questions & answers marketing ...€¦ · follow up questions are...

© Harris CMO Partners 2017, all rights reserved. 1

Hiring A Standout B2B Marketing VP/ Director

Interview Questions &

Answers February 2017

• Can they do the job?

• Will they do the job?

• Will they fit in?


Content Page

Today’sChallenge 3

ThedifferencebetweenB2BandB2Cmarketing

Articleoverview

Telephonescreensvs.on-siteinterviews

Interviewquestionsandrecommendedanswers

Part1–Cantheydothejob? 4

Part2–Willtheydothejob? 7

Part3–Willtheyfitin? 9

SampleCandidateWrite-UpsAfterTheInterview


Today’sChallengeTherequirementsforbeingahighperformingB2BmarketingdirectororVPhavegrowndramaticallyinthepastfewyears.Knowledgeandefficientuseofmultipletechnologiesisnowthebaselineentryticket.

MorethanafewB2Bmarketingcandidatestodayarelackingintechnologyskillsneededtofindaqualifiedaudienceanddeliverexcitingsalesleads.Astheinterviewerit’syourjobtodiscoverwhetheracandidate’sskillsetsareamatchforyourcompany’sneedsandgoals.

Today’strulyeffectiveB2Bmarketermustknowaboutsales/marketingautomationandmeasuringmarketingeffectiveness.

Why?Becausetoday’sB2Bpurchaseracquires70%ofhis/herknowledgeaboutyourcompany,productsandservicesonlinebeforeeverengagingwithyoursalesperson.

Justasimportant,theefficientuseofautomationandtechnologycansignificantlylowerthecostsofmarketing.

ArticleOverviewThisarticlehelpsyouasktherightquestions,inalogicalordertodiscover:

1. Canhe/shedothejob?–Telephonescreen2. Willhe/shedothejob?–Telephoneandon-siteinterview3. Willhe/shefitinwiththeorganization?–On-siteinterview

Startwithsofterquestionstohelpthecandidategetcomfortablechattingwithyou.Thenmoveontomoretechnicalquestions.

“B2B marketing focuses on explanation and ROI”


Part1:Cantheydothejob?(telephonescreen)

There’snopointinbringingsomeoneintoyourofficeforaninterviewwhodoesn’thavethetechnicalskillstobesuccessfulatyourcompany.

Usethetelephonescreentoaddress“cantheydothejob?”,whichfocusesonacandidate’sB2Btechnicalandtechnologyskills.

Remembertotakecarefulnotesandreferbacktothemwhenmakingdecisionsaboutnextsteps.

Q1:Tellmehowyoubecameinterestedinmarketingandhowyougotstarted.

A1:ThisisageneralquestionIasktodiscoverifthecandidate’son-the-jobtrainingwasformalorinformal.Ilookforcandidateswhopursuedadegreeinbusiness,economics,marketingorsimilarandbeganinanentrylevelpositioninproductmanagement,sales,brandingorproductmarketing.

Q2:Whatdoyoubelievearethetopthreemarketingchallengestoday?

A2:Lookforanswersthattouchonsales/marketingautomation,metrics,internet/socialmarketing,qualifiedleadgeneration,budgets,talent,resourcesandsales/marketingcooperation.Salesandmarketingautomationisa“must”response.Askthecandidatetoelaborateonresponses.“Whyisthatimportant?”It’simportantbecauseproperandconsistentuseofautomationhelpsdeliveraleaner,fasterandmorecosteffectivemarketingdepartment…veryimportanttoyourCEOandCFO.

“Sales & marketing automation is a ‘must’ response.”


Q3:HowwouldyoucreateamarketingplanyouknowourCEOwouldread?

A3:Lookforanswersthatincludethefollowing:

• IasktheCEOandothercolleagueswhat’simportantandwhattoavoid.

• Istartwithallcurrentlyavailablemarketresearchfrombothprimaryandsecondaryresources.Ilookatimportanttrendsincludingwhat’sdrivingthemandwhatourcompetitorsaredoingtoaddressthem..

• Iincludea1-or2-pageexecutivesummary,companyvision,budget,timeline,resources,useofsales/marketingautomationandmeasurements.

• Ifocusonfacts,numbers,leadgenerationandconversionplusthosemeasurementsthattellusifatacticisworking.

• IaskthesalesteamandotherknowledgeablecolleaguesfortheirinputandopinionsasIgoalong.

Q4:Howwouldyouprioritizemarketingopportunitiesforourcompany?

A4:Lookforanswersthatdemonstratethecandidate’scurrentknowledgeofwhat’sworkingandwhat’snot.Forexample,emailisstillthe#1mostsuccessfultacticforB2Bmarketers.Contentandmarketingchannelsarealsocritical.Besuretoaskthecandidatetoelaborateonhis/her answers and apply them to yourcompany.

Q5:Whatpercentofourmarketingbudgetshouldbeallocatedtoonlinemarketing?Why?

A5:Asmartmarketerwillbasehis/heransweronarangeandbeabletotellyouwhy.Ilikeanswerslike

“AccordingtoGartner(orwhoever)B2Bcompaniesspendanaverageof___ononlinemarketing.”Thecurrentaverageis30-40%dependingonthepoll.

“How would you prioritize marketing tactics?”


Q6:Howhaveyoumeasuredmarketingtacticsandleadgenerationinthepast?

A6:LookforanswersthataddressyourCEO’sandCFO’shighestpriorities:

• Revenue,margin&cashflow

• ProfitandROI

• Scoring(e.g.prospect’sprofileagainstcurrentanddesiredcustomerprofiles)

• Cooperationwithsalesandrelatedfunctionstoestablishgoalsandmeasurements

Q7:Ittakesalottorunmarketingatthiscompany.Whatcontrolswouldyouusetokeepeverythingmovingandyourteamaccountable?

A7:Marketingrelated-Budgets,leadqualification,diagnosticmeasurements(what’sworking),contributionsbytactic/program,conversionrates,leadgenresultsbyweek/month/quarter,KPIs,competitorbenchmarksandothernumbers-drivenactivities.

Salesrelated–Leadqualification,leadchannelorigination,marketingoriginatedleads-to-winsratio,leading-indicators-to-forecastratio.

Q8:WhatisCACandhowdoyoumeasureit?

A8:CACisCustomerAcquisitionCostandmeansthepricewepaytoacquireanewcustomer.It’smeasuredbyaddingallsalesandmarketingcostsinatimeperiodanddividingbythetotalnumberofnewcustomers.

“What is CAC and how do you measure it?”


Q8:WhatisMOCandhowdoyoumeasureit?

A8: MOC is Marketing Originated Customer andmeasures howmuchnewbusiness isdrivenby themarketing team. It’s measured by dividing all newcustomersinatimeperiodbythenumberthatstartedasamarketinglead.

Part2:Willtheydothejob?(telephone/on-site)Q9:Whatmarketingsites,blogsandforumsdoyouregularlyread?

A4:There’sprobablynorightanswerhere.IlikeanswersthatincludeMarketingSherpa,InsideSales.com,MarketingProfs,Hubspot,DuctTapeMarketing,SethGodin,MOZ,SEMrushandContentMarketingInstitute.TheamountofoutsidereadingrequiredtokeepupwithB2Bmarketingishuge.Makesureyourcandidateiscurrent.

Q10:Whatisthemosteffectivecontentmarketingyou’vedone?Whatweretheresults?

A5:ThisisacriticalcomponentofB2Bmarketingbecausecontentdrivesconversionsinmostmarketingchannelstoday.Lookforspecificcampaigndetailsandresultsthatweremeasuredbyclicks,conversionsandqualifiedleads.

Thebestcontenttodaysolvesaproblemforsomeone.

Aboveallcontentmustbeoriginalandshowthatyourcompanyisinnovativeandtrulyinterestedinhelpingpeopleresolvechallengesthatarerelatedtoyourmarketspace.Creativityandinnovationarewhere

today’sB2Bmarketermustshinetobreakthroughtheclutterandgetconversionsfromqualifiedleads.

“What marketing sites, blogs and forums do you read?”


Q11:HowdoyouhandlelastminuterequestsfromsalesortheCEO?

A11:Lookforanswersthatshowthecandidateunderstandshis/herroleisoneofservice,notindividualexpression.

• “Irespondquicklywithquestionstounderstandtheirneedsandtimingobjectives.”

• “Iworkwiththerequestortoprioritizetheirrequest.”

• “Irespondwithaphonecallorgototheiroffice.”

• “Igetitdonequickly.”

Q12:Whatsalesandmarketingautomationplatformshaveyouused?

A12:Thereareliterallythousandsoftheseonthemarkettodaysoyourfollowupquestionsarekey.ThemostpopularplatformsincludeSalesforce,Marketo,Infusionsoft,Pardot,Eloqua,Hubspot,Act-On,Salesfusionandmanymore.Regardlessofyourcandidate’sresponseyoumustfollowupwithquestionslike:

• Howlongdidittakeyoutobecomeproficient?• Walkmethroughacampaignyoucreatedanddeployed.• Whatotherapplicationsdidyouintegrateitwith?

Q13:Whattoolsdoyouuseforproductivityandscheduling?

A13:Again,there’snorightanswerhere.Someonecanusepaperandagolfpencilifthat’swhatworksforthem.HowevertheanswersIlikebestareOutlook,Trello,Basecamp(orsimilar),Evernoteandanythingthatsyncsmobiletolaptop/desktop.Ifyouarewiththepersonaskhim/hertoshowyouontheirmobile.

“What is CAC and how do you measure it?”


Part3:Willtheyfitin?(on-site)Q14:Howdoyouliketocommunicatewithcolleagues?

A14:Inmyopinionface-to-faceisthetopanswer,followedbyphone-to-phone.Althoughnecessary,theleastdesirableanswerisemail.Ashowstopperisthedreadedmemo.

Q15:Howdoyoubuildaboat?

A15:You’relookingforthecandidate’spoiseinansweringablue-skyquestion.Thebestansweris‘Istartaskingquestions’.Inrapidorderthecandidateshouldshowyouhowhe/shetacklesachallengeforwhichtheymayhavenoknowledge.Thisisagreatopportunityforthecandidatetoshowyouclearthinking,ahighlevelofselfawareness,systematicproblemsolvingand,hopefully,agoodsenseofhumor.

Q16:Whatdoyouthinkaboutinteractingwithemployeesasagroupafterwork?

A16:Marketersmustbepeoplepersons.Theyneedtoenjoyothers,beabletoengagecomfortablywithdifferentpointsofviewandsocializewell…especiallywithpeopletheyseeeveryday.

Ilikeanswersthatsimplyconvey‘Ienjoyit’versusanswersthattilttoward‘Idoitoutofobligation’.Acandidatedoesn’thavetolovetheannualholidaypartybutonewhomeetsothersforabeverageafterworkor,betteryet,hashis/hercolleaguesoverforaballgameorbarbecueisagoodbet.Thisisn’tarequirementbyanymeansbutithelps.

Q17:What’sthebiggestconflictyou’veeverhadwithsalesandhowdidyouresolveit?

A17:Amarketerthat’sneverhadaconflictwithsalesmaybenotexperiencedenough.Lookforanswersthat

tilttoward‘Iaskedquestions’andwhichshowanabilitytoresolveconflictquicklyandfairlywithoutcollateraldamage.

“How do you build a boat?”

Sales & marketing fighting over lead quality.


About the author MikeHarrisisaformerCMOandveteranhirerofmarketingteams.Hisexperienceismostlyintechandmanufacturingcompanies.

Hedevelopedtheseinterviewquestionsandanswersovermanyyearsofrefiningtheinterviewprocesstoavoidwastingtimewithsoftquestionsandcuttothechasequicklyonacandidate’squalifications.

TodayMikeheadsHarrisCMOPartners,afirmbasedinPhoenix,AZ,thatbringsinterimandfractionalCMOservicestoclientsneedingthesesolutions.

HehasservedclientsthroughoutNorthAmericaandalsoinEurope,ChinaandLatinAmerica.

W: http://harriscmopartners.com

P: (602) 759-0191

E: [email protected]

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