If you’re hiring marketing or sales help for the first time, or the first time in a while, the options can feel like a maze. Agency, freelancer, full-time hire, fractional exec. Everyone selling one of them will tell you it’s the right answer.
It depends on what you actually need. Here’s how I think about it.
Start with the problem, not the person
Before you compare options, get clear on three things.
- What are you trying to fix? A specific task, a whole function, or a direction you don’t have yet?
- Do you need strategy, execution or both? Plenty of businesses hire someone to execute before anyone has decided what to execute.
- Who will manage the work? Every option needs someone on your side who can brief, review and decide.
Freelancers
Great when the task is clear and bounded, like a website, a video or a set of ads. You get skill without overhead, and the cost is usually lower. The trade-off is capacity and coordination. One person can only do so much, and if you need several skills, you become the project manager.
Agencies
Good when you need several skills working together, or you need to move faster than one person can. You get a team and a process. The trade-offs are cost and attention. Ask who will actually do your work, because the people in the sales meeting aren’t always the people doing the job.
In-house hire
Best when the work is constant and central to the business, and you’re ready to manage someone. You get a person who knows your company deeply. But one person is rarely great at strategy, design, copy, ads and analytics all at once, and a salary comes with benefits, tools and management time on top.
Fractional leaders
A fractional head of marketing or sales gives you senior thinking for a fraction of a full-time cost. It works well when you need direction and a plan. It works less well if you have nobody to carry out the plan, so pair it with a freelancer, an agency or a junior hire.
Questions to ask anyone you’re considering
- What do you need to know about my business before you recommend anything?
- Who will do the work day to day?
- How will we know it’s working, and when will we check?
- Can I talk to someone you’ve worked with on something similar?
- What would make you say this isn’t the right fit?
That last question tells you a lot. Good partners can name a situation where they’d send you elsewhere.
Red flags
- Guaranteed rankings, followers or sales numbers
- A pitch before they’ve asked you anything
- They can’t explain what they’ll do in plain language
- No clear way to measure results
- Pressure to sign quickly
A simple way to decide
If you need a defined task done, start with a freelancer. If you need a coordinated push, look at an agency. If you need direction, bring in a fractional lead. If the work is ongoing and central, and you’re ready to manage it, consider a hire.
And if you’re not sure which one you need, that’s a good moment to talk to someone neutral before spending anything.
Want to talk it through?
If this sounds like something you’re dealing with, send me a note. Tell me what’s going on and I’ll give you my honest take, and point you to the right person if it isn’t me.