Interim Marketing: When a Specialist is Needed

One of the reasons an interim marketing executive can be invaluable at solving marketing problems at an organization, is that they often have a specific area of specialized expertise. This contrasts with the common practice of organizations to develop their executives to be generalists.

According to the book Leadership on Demand by Charles Besondy and Paul Travis:

Large companies believe in having succession plans and management development programs. Typically, a manager will be identified as having potential ‘for upper management’ and that person is groomed and mentored for years. We all know companies who have policies of moving executives from department to department, country to country, in an effort to prepare them for a senior management role. The goal is that senior managers should be well-rounded individuals with broad knowledge of the business.

While organizations definitely need executives with general knowledge in a lot of areas, organizations also need specialists to be effective. Bringing in an interim marketing executive to address a particular issue that they have extensive knowledge and experience in can be an effective way to improve specific areas of your organization’s marketing. One place to find interim marketing executives is at an interim executive company like OneAccord, which has 32 sales and marketing executives in 12 states, each with their unique set of skills and areas of expertise (view OneAccord Interim Executive profiles).

Photo by Keith Allison

Hire an Interim Marketing Executive? 7 Ways Interim Management Can Help an Organization

Avoid Performance Gaps

The most obvious reason to hire an interim executive is to fill a vacancy when an executive leaves until a permanent replacement can be hired. Quickly hiring an interim marketing executive can reduce the negative impact in productivity often caused when an executive leaves a top position.

Save Money by Not Hiring a FTE

Your company may not need a full time marketing executive for the entire year. An alternative is hiring an interim marketing executive who has 20+ years of experience to establish a sales strategy for the year. You only pay him or her for a couple months while they lay out a strategy to take sales to the next level and then have a competent manager, who is less expensive, to maintain the strategy for the rest of the year.

Increase Bandwidth to Tackle Tough Challenges or Take Advantage of Opportunity

When facing extraordinary challenges or a tremendous opportunity, it can benefit an organization to bring on additional resources to temporarily increase bandwidth at the executive level. An interim marketing executive can work in tandem with the full time marketing executive to get things done at a key time for the company.

Get High Cost Executives for a Fraction of the Price

It can cost an organization a million dollars to hire an experienced and proven marketing executive to take your revenue to grow to the next level. Factor in the headhunter commission, the signing bonus, competitive salary and benefits, and the costs can add up. The alternative is to hire an interim executive to do the same thing but without a lot of the expense. An interim marketing executive who has a proven track record or growing a company by several multiples in revenue can be hired on to work a couple days a week and not require the bonuses, benefits, and finders fees.

Acquire Difficult to Find Executive Talent

An interim executive from a good interim executive firm often has 20+ years of experience at Fortune 500 companies. Often executives with this type of experience would be difficult to acquire for a small or midsized company. However interim executives with this level of experience are easily accessible, you just have to contact an interim executive firm like OneAccord.

Interim Management Executives are Often Overqualified

Often times a small to medium sized business will hire an interim executive with 20-30 years of experience at larger companies. In this case overqualification can be a good thing. Interim managers have a very steep learning curve, and their experience helps them make an immediate contribution. They also can mentor and train up younger executives at the company.

Avoid Public Scrutiny of Executive Changes

According to the book, Leadership on Demand by Chuck Besondy and Paul Travis, public companies are required to disclose changes at certain executive positions. Too many replacements of top executives at a public company can lead to speculation by stock analysts that there is trouble in the company and stock price can be negatively affected. Hiring an interim executive to work in an interim capacity is usually not required to be publicly disclosed, which can help avoid this type of scenario.

Photo by Barun Patro

Interim Marketing Fits Perfectly for the New Work Model

The Did You Know presentation on You Tube illustrates the rapid and radical changes going on in the world. One aspect of life that is shifting is the nature of work. Here are some interesting facts from the video:

• The US Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner has 10-14 jobs by the age of 38.

• 1 in 4 workers has been with their current employer for less than a year. 1 in 2 has been there less than 5 years.

The trend of shorter job durations has a huge impact on how business will operate. Companies of the future will rely less and less on permanent workers and more on the specialized temporary worker who can accomplish a specific task with great effectiveness, even at the executive level. This is how interim executives can really help an organization who needs an effective leader to set a new direction for marketing, reinvigorate a sales force, or a myriad of other important jobs in marketing or sales. A interim marketing executives does not require a huge annual salary with an expensive benefits package. They can accomplish a goal by coming in a couple days a week or working a couple months to roll out a new product or execute a new national marketing campaign. Once the job is done, they can go away until you need them again.