Are you hiring — or even thinking about hiring — a VP, Director, or Manager of Sales, Business Development, or Marketing?
Pause. Rethink your approach.
The truth is, most job descriptions for these roles are outdated. In today’s environment of AI-driven automation, smart CRM systems, and digital outreach, the lines between marketing, sales, and business development have blurred. These roles have effectively merged into one: a modern growth leader.
Before You Hire — Build the System
Do not hire someone until your brand, messaging, and growth processes are substantially built. If you don’t, the odds are high that the hire will fail — and that’s not good for your business or for them.
Before posting that job, ask yourself:
- Do we truly understand the business need and timing?
- Have we budgeted for the right level of financial and time commitment?
- Is there a structured onboarding and process framework in place?
- Has this candidate ever built and executed a process before, or just inherited one?
- How will they fit with the existing team’s chemistry?
- Do they have the grit to push through uncertainty and resistance?
- Can they leverage modern tech, AI, and data to scale growth efficiently?
If you don’t have clear answers to these, you’re not ready to hire. Build the process first. Extract the success model that already lives in your head and your team’s experience. Document it. Test it. Then, and only then, hire someone to scale it.
What the Modern Growth Leader Looks Like
The modern VP, Director, or Manager of Growth integrates marketing, sales, and business development into one unified system. They drive strategy and execution through brand clarity, operational discipline, and measurable outcomes.
They don’t just “sell” — they build a growth engine. They can design your go-to-market strategy, run your CRM, manage your marketing automation, coach your sales team, analyze data, and align every customer-facing function.
They are entrepreneurial. Analytical. Adaptable. They know how to build processes, not just follow them.
Here’s a Sample:
How many candidates have these skill sets combined?
Modern VP / Director / Manager of Marketing, Business Development, or Sales
Overview
The [VP/Director/Manager] of Growth (Marketing, Business Development, and Sales) drives integrated revenue strategy and execution — connecting brand, demand, and customer experience. This role balances strategic leadership with hands-on enablement, ensuring alignment across marketing, sales, and operations to deliver predictable, scalable growth.
The ideal candidate combines entrepreneurial drive with operational discipline and the ability to operate effectively in both full-time and fractional capacities. They thrive in dynamic environments, adapting to changing priorities while maintaining clarity, accountability, and measurable results.
Core Responsibilities
Strategy & Leadership
- Develop and own a unified go-to-market (GTM) strategy integrating marketing, sales, and business development functions.
- Lead brand positioning and market differentiation strategies aligned with organizational goals.
- Build cross-department collaboration to ensure a seamless customer journey from awareness to renewal.
- Design KPIs and dashboards to track growth performance (pipeline, conversion, retention).
- Operate flexibly — able to lead, coach, or execute depending on the organization’s size, maturity, and growth phase.
Marketing
- Oversee multi-channel campaigns (digital, social, SEO, email, video, PR) to generate and nurture demand.
- Implement marketing automation and CRM integration to streamline lead flow and attribution.
- Manage brand storytelling, creative content, and digital presence to enhance awareness and trust.
- Leverage analytics and A/B testing to optimize content performance and conversion rates.
Business Development
- Identify and develop new market opportunities, partnerships, and strategic accounts.
- Build and manage lead generation and prospecting systems, including outbound and inbound playbooks.
- Lead key account acquisition initiatives through targeted campaigns and relationship management.
- Evaluate new channels, alliances, and verticals for revenue diversification.
Sales
- Implement a modern sales process and pipeline management system (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).
- Coach and enable the sales team with data-driven playbooks, proposals, and training tools.
- Align incentives and performance metrics to drive both short-term revenue and long-term relationships.
- Partner with marketing on campaign follow-up and nurturing sequences to improve close rates.
Technology & Data
- Own the growth tech stack (CRM, marketing automation, analytics, prospecting tools, and AI systems).
- Integrate platforms for visibility across the entire customer lifecycle.
- Use data analytics to inform decision-making and improve ROI.
Key Skills & Competencies
- Strategic thinker with a strong grasp of brand, marketing, and sales integration.
- Proficient in CRM systems (HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar).
- Excellent communicator and team builder who can bridge creative, technical, and commercial disciplines.
- Comfortable with analytics, data visualization, and performance reporting.
- Deep understanding of digital marketing, social selling, and account-based marketing (ABM).
- Highly adaptable, capable of working in flexible or fractional leadership roles that adjust to business needs and growth stages.
- Entrepreneurial mindset; thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments.
The Bottom Line
Please — don’t hire another sales or marketing leader to “figure it out.”
Figure it out first. Build the system, define the process, and clarify the brand. Then hire the right leader to scale it.
If you’re unsure how to start, schedule a call. Let’s walk through your current growth structure, identify the gaps, and build the process that ensures your next hire succeeds.