How to Find the Right Marketing Help (When You’re Not Sure What You Need)

Many companies know their marketing isn’t working. Leads are inconsistent. Sales doesn’t see value. The website is outdated. Trade shows are expensive and hard to justify. The CRM is disorganized. The typical response?

“We need to hire a Marketing Director.” Or, “Let’s bring in an agency.”

Too often, neither solves the problem. Not because the hire or the agency is bad—but because the company hasn’t clearly defined what marketing is expected to accomplish.

Before interviewing candidates or signing an agency contract, you need to answer a few foundational questions. Those answers determine whether marketing becomes a growth lever—or another sunk cost.

The Core Problem: You’re Shopping for Solutions Without Defining the Problem

Marketing help comes in many forms:

1. Strategic
2. Tactical
3. Creative
4. Technical
5. Operational

When companies say, “We need marketing help,” they’re usually mixing all five together. That’s where things break down. Hiring the wrong type of help for the problem you’re trying to solve leads to:

• Misaligned expectations
• Frustration on both sides
• Money spent without measurable impact

Step 1: Be Honest About What You’re Trying to Achieve

Start here, not with résumés or agency decks. Ask:

• Are we trying to generate new demand or support existing sales efforts?
• Do we need clarity and direction, or execution and volume?
• Are we trying to fix foundations (CRM, data, positioning), or scale activity?

Common Goals (and Why They Matter)

• “We need more qualified leads.” → This is not the same as “we need more content.”
• “Sales cycles are long and inconsistent.” → This often points to alignment and process issues, not campaigns.
• “We’re invisible online.” → This may be positioning, SEO, or simply lack of consistency.
• “We’re busy, but nothing feels measurable.” → This is a strategy and reporting problem.

Until these are clear, no hire or agency can succeed.

Step 2: Understand the Difference Between Strategy and Execution

This is where many companies get tripped up.

Strategy Looks Like:

• Clarifying target markets and personas
• Defining messaging and value propositions
• Mapping the buyer journey
• Prioritizing channels and investments
• Deciding what not to do

Execution Looks Like:

• Writing emails and blog posts
• Managing social media
• Designing trade show materials
• Running ads
• Updating websites and CRMs

👉 Hiring execution when you need strategy leads to lots of activity and little impact.
👉 Hiring strategy without execution leads to great ideas that never leave the page.

You need to know which gap is hurting you right now.

Step 3: In-House Hire vs. Agency — They Are Not Interchangeable

When an In-House Hire Makes Sense

An internal hire is often best when:

• You already have clarity on strategy
• You need day-to-day execution and coordination
• Marketing is tightly integrated with sales and operations
• There’s leadership bandwidth to mentor and guide the role

Risk: Hiring a senior title when the company really needs foundational work—or hiring a junior role with expectations they can’t meet.

When an Agency Makes Sense

An agency can be valuable when:

• You need specialized skills (SEO, paid media, automation)
• You want speed and capacity without a long-term hire
• You need outside perspective and benchmarking
• You lack internal marketing leadership

Risk: Expecting an agency to “figure it all out” without internal clarity, access, or ownership.

Step 4: The Questions You Must Be Able to Answer Before You Interview Anyone

If you can’t answer these, pause the hiring process:

1. What business problem should marketing help solve in the next 6–12 months?
2. How will we define success (leads, pipeline, revenue influence, engagement)?
3. What systems and data are in place—and what’s broken?
4. Who owns decisions internally?
5. How will sales and marketing work together?

These answers shape:

• The job description
• The agency scope
• The budget
• The timeline

Step 5: Consider a Third Option Most Companies Overlook

There’s often a missing middle step:
Strategic guidance before hiring or outsourcing.

This looks like:

• Assessing your current state
• Clarifying goals and priorities
• Defining what type of help you actually need
• Creating a phased plan (now / next / later)

This step reduces risk and prevents expensive mis-hires or misaligned agency relationships.

Final Thought: Marketing Help Is Not a Silver Bullet

Marketing doesn’t fix unclear strategy, misaligned teams, or broken processes—but it amplifies them.

When you take the time to define what you’re trying to achieve first:

• Interviews become clearer
• Agencies perform better
• Investments become measurable
• Frustration drops dramatically

The right marketing help starts with the right questions—not the right vendor.

Many leaders feel pressure to “do something” about marketing—but the smartest move is often clarity before action.

If you’re navigating:

• An upcoming marketing hire
• An underperforming agency
• Unclear ROI from marketing investments

👉 I help leadership teams slow this decision down just enough to get it right. Let’s connect.