Bringing on a top-tier Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) can change the course of your company’s future. But attracting elite leaders can be challenging. If you’ve struggled in your executive search for a chief marketing officer, it’s probably because you haven’t created the kind of opportunity top-tier candidates are looking for.
Let’s walk through seven company traits that elite CMOs actually care about, and how you can build a leadership opportunity that gets them excited to say yes.
1. Competitive Compensation
Elite CMOs expect to be compensated fairly for the value they bring. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re chasing the biggest paycheck. Compensation includes performance incentives and long-term equity opportunities, in addition to the base salary. Talented marketing leaders want a package that reflects the impact of their role and rewards them for building real, lasting value.
Offering a compensation package that doesn’t meet market expectations will deter elite CMOs from any opportunity. If your company is struggling to craft competitive offers, consider working with a retained search firm for CMOs. These experts can update your package to meet market trends and offer tailored insight into what talented candidates are looking for. Their advice can help you attract marketing leaders at the top of their game.
It takes more than baseline packages to drive top CMOs to your team. Compensation gets them to the table. Team dynamics, leadership vision, product strength, and career opportunities keep them there.
2. Strong Product-Market Fit
If your offering doesn’t solve a meaningful problem or hasn’t found its fit in the market, attracting a top-level CMO will be an uphill battle. Top marketing leaders know that even the most brilliant campaigns won’t save a weak product.
Sell your product to your potential CMOs using data. Outline a clear ideal customer profile (ICP) backed by customer quotes and satisfaction surveys. Demonstrate traction in the market through your sales cycles and inbound interest. Share how you learned more about product-market fit through failed experiments and product iterations.
All this information shows potential marketing executives that your product has legs, and their role will be to amplify its potential. When elite CMOs can pour fuel on the fire rather than trying to spark flames from wet logs, they want to join your team.
3. Inspiring Vision and Values
Top CMOs are strategic thinkers and leaders, not grunts. They want to shape the future of the business. To achieve their goals, they need a company vision they can support, a C-level team they can collaborate with, and the autonomy to make their own decisions.
Candidates look for these traits during the hiring process. You increase their interest when you clearly outline your company’s mission and long-term goals, as well as how you expect the CMO to contribute. Share where you’ll rely on their expertise and leadership and how you’ll measure success.
And to evaluate the executive team culture, elite CMOs rely heavily on their experiences with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). If your leadership and communication styles work with the candidate’s, they’ll be excited about the opportunity. But if they sense your leadership culture is fractured, ego-driven, visionless, or secretive, high-caliber marketing executives will walk away without hesitation.
Keep an eye on your digital presence. Candidates will vet you online before they ever step into an interview, and you want them to like what they see. Make sure your website communicates your best selling points.
It can also pay to work with executive recruiting consultants who will not only find you great candidates but also communicate your strengths to those candidates.
4. Collaborative Sales Culture
The best marketing leaders know that collaboration between sales and marketing is like fertilizer for revenue growth. If your teams operate in a silo or work against each other, you’ll lose any high-performing CMO’s interest.
To attract a standout marketing executive, make sure your sales leadership is open to collaboration. Include the VP of Sales or Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) in interviews. They can share how marketing supports pipeline growth and lead quality. CMOs will feel more comfortable when they can see that their main collaborator is fully on their side.
5. Marketing Resources and Support
No CMO, no matter how brilliant, can succeed alone. Elite candidates want to know what infrastructure you have to offer. That includes details about their team, budget, and digital tools, as well as your current marketing campaigns and strategies. Will they be expected to build from scratch or optimize what’s already there?
Be forthright about your marketing department, regardless of your company’s size. Top CMOs won’t tolerate being asked to perform miracles with zero support. However, the right leader can be interested in growing the department if you commit to supporting them. To attract talented CMOs, demonstrate your willingness to invest, even if you don’t have much in place yet.
6. Long-Term Career Growth
Elite CMOs often have long-term career goals that go beyond a single role. Some may be looking for a path to president or general manager roles. Others might want board visibility or the chance to become a future investor.
Either way, they’re looking for long-term career growth. That’s why it’s important to communicate how their role can evolve. Address questions like:
- Will they have access to the board?
- How can they access executive development opportunities?
- Will their voice shape company-wide strategy?
- What new areas of ownership could they take on in the next few years?
- Is there a path to expanded profit and loss (P&L) responsibility?
The more clearly you paint a picture of long-term growth and influence, the more compelling the opportunity becomes. And don’t overlook long-term financial incentives. Equity, performance-based bonuses, title-and-pay progression milestones, and exit participation can tip the scales in your favor.
7. Reputation and Industry Respect
Remember that elite CMOs care about where they hang their hat. They want to be proud of the company they represent. If your brand has a poor reputation in the market or your Glassdoor reviews are negative, top candidates will be reluctant to work with you.
You don’t have to be a household name. However, you must be transparent and credible. Elite candidates want to see that you’re invested in internal culture, committed to improving your public perception, and dedicated to positive customer relationships. Show top CMOs that they can be proud to stand with your team.
Everyone Wins
Attracting talented CMOs is about more than gimmicks or job titles. Marketing experts can see through a fake sales pitch in a heartbeat. You need to build an authentic opportunity based on what motivates high-level marketing talent to attract them to your company. And when you do, elite CMOs can see themselves winning—and get excited about helping you win, too.
