EP20: Hiring a marketing team

In Demand: How to Grow Your SaaS to $1M ARR and Beyond

One of the questions most founders have is, "How do I start building a marketing team?"

In this episode of In Demand, Asia Orangio, CEO of DemandMaven, breaks down the options that exist for founders starting to build out their marketing teams and what is the best fit for companies depending on the budget and time constraints they are facing.

TL;DR:

• 1:20 - The four options for building your marketing team are:
• Generalist or specialist contractors
• Agencies or consultancies
• Full-time or part-time employees
• Learning marketing and growth yourself as a founder
• 2:36 - The best option for you will depend on your budget, what the business needs, and what you need as a founder.
• 5:00 - There is no perfect formula for who to hire, but there are patterns.
• When you have less than $10K in MRR, usually contractors and limited consulting are the best options for you.
• If you are above $10K in MRR, then you could start thinking about hiring an employee to focus on marketing. Some say wait to $50K in MRR, but when it makes sense for you will depend on your growth track.
• 7:00 - Contractors work in some different ways:
• Sometimes they charge a flat rate and sometimes will work as per hour or per project.
• You can find jack-of-all-trades type contractors up to hyper-specialized contractors.
• Typically it is easier to find talent and it is pretty low risk to hire contractors.
• The potential downside to contractors and freelancers is that you end up taking on more management work as a founder.
• 11:15 - Agencies and consultancies
• Agencies tend to be more expensive. At the lower end from $5,000 to $7,000 and at the high range $10,000 to $30,000 a month.
• Agencies specialize in execution. They can usually work fast and deliver quickly.
• Typically with consultancies, they are not actually doing the work but helping you bring clarity and perspective on how to overcome the challenges facing your businesses.
• The range for consultancies is also very large all the way from $6,000 or $7,000 up to close to six figures.
• Not all agencies are great at every aspect, so make sure to really work to understand the agency before you decide to work with one.
• 20:30 - Full-time and part-time employees
• Before you make your first marketing hire you should have the budget or runway for one year of that employee's salary.