What should be true before the first marketing lead?
A named bottleneck, a weekly decision cadence sketch, and one internal owner who can receive a system. Without that, the hire inherits chaos.
First marketing hire
Before you hire a head of marketing
Hiring into an undefined GTM motion produces expensive, frustrated marketers. Clarify the constraint, the weekly cadence, and what "good" looks like first — then recruit into a real brief.
Is a head of marketing the same as a CMO?
Often the first hire is a senior generalist or growth lead — not a full executive team peer. Titles should match the actual decision rights you can give them.
Can WSS define the role before we recruit?
Yes — role design, scorecard, and first 90-day outcomes are a common output of diagnosis or fractional support.
Next step
Define the role before the search.
A 20-minute diagnostic names the constraint the hire has to move — so the role spec writes itself.