Hiring a VP of Product Marketing is is an absolutely critical hire for a SaaS startup or fast scaling tech company. The right person will accelerate your go-to-market motion and product–market fit, as well as shape your storytelling, and attract amazing product marketers to join their team (talent density).
In this post, we’ll break down:
- When to hire a VP of Product Marketing
- What this person should own
- What to look for in candidates
- How to structure your search for success
When to Hire a VP of Product Marketing
If you’re asking “Do we need a VP or is a Product Marketing Lead enough?”, here’s how to tell:
You’re ready to hire a VP when:
- You’re entering a new market or moving from a 2nd product to a platform approach
- Sales and product are misaligned on personas, your value prop in the market and creating a repeatable playbook to generate demand
- Your messaging isn’t resonating in the market…or isn’t consistent
- You’re planning to scale a product marketing team and need executive leadership
This role is critical at the Series B–D stage, when your product is working but messaging, positioning and sales enablement need to scale alongside your product.
What a VP of Product Marketing Should Own
This is a high-leverage strategic role. Look for someone who can own:
- Positioning & Messaging: Craft and scale your storytelling, that resonates across segments and personas.
- Product Launches: A true partner with product and sales to orchestrate launches that drive awareness and pipeline.
- Competitive Intelligence: Develop a scalable strategy to monitor competitors and enable sales with the right battlecards.
- Segmentation & ICP Definition: Hammer down your ICP and tailor GTM strategy for different segments or verticals.
- Enablement & Influence: Arm sales and CS teams with the right materials, talk tracks, and training.
Where I’ve seen leaders make the biggest impact is the first 2. They own your story. How you are perceived in the market and create the north star for all of your messaging. They are great at navigating matrixed environments. They instill confidence in your VP of Product and VP of Sales and get a seat at the table for Marketing. If they can’t build a bridge with your executive leadership team, it’s a bad sign for things to come.
What to Look for in a VP of Product Marketing
A strong VP of Product Marketing is someone who:
✅ Has owned GTM strategy at a company of your stage (or one stage ahead)
Someone coming from $1B+ public SaaS might struggle in your Series B chaos. Prioritize experience launching B2B SaaS products at similar ACV and overall scale. Think about the biggest challenges you are currently facing. Ideally they’ve already overcome 1-2 of those similar major rocks and have helped get to the other side (12-24 months later).
✅ Can speak product and sales
This person needs to be able to hold their own with Product and Sales leaders. They should be fluent in roadmap strategy, what resonates with your target customers and buyer objections. Look for candidates who’ve worked closely with both product and GTM leaders.
✅ Is customer obsessed
Great PMM leaders don’t guess. They do listening tours, dig into win/loss data, run messaging tests, and stay close to the customer.
✅ Has built (and led) teams
If you’re hiring a VP, they need to be able to attract and scale a team of Product Marketing Managers and second line leaders.
How to Structure the Search
You need to be structured and intentional from the very beginning of the search. Here’s how to do it right:
1. Write a strategic scorecard, not just a job description
Define the most important outcomes: “Develop a segmentation and GTM plan for three new verticals in 6 months” is more powerful than “Must have 10+ years of PMM experience.”
2. Map the market
A niche executive recruiter (like us at WithAgility) can help you assess the reality of the market and identify the right talent pool. Not just the “available now” candidates but high-performing PMM leaders who aren’t actively looking. We can provide you with insights on which companies have the right level of talent that you are looking for, where they are geographically located, what target compensations should look like and what it’s takes to win in competitive conversations.
3. Align internally before interviewing
Make sure your CEO, CPO, and Head of Sales agree on what this person will own. Align on what good looks like, what each person will focus on in interviews. Misalignment leads to failed searches and expensive mis-hires.
4. Test strategy in the interview process
Don’t just ask what they’ve done—ask how they’d approach your specific challenges. Give them context on what you are facing and ask them to present a major strategy or product launch that they’ve owned in a similar situation. Dig into their why and process behind everything. What they learned and what they would do differently in your environment. You’ll get to see how they think and what type of strategic leader they are, without giving them free/consulting work as part of your interview. It’s a win/win.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Focusing too much on industry over stage-fit or product complexity
- Overvaluing brand-name logos without understanding their role there & impact in the market
- Skipping structured interviews & scorecards in favor of gut feels and vibe checks
Let’s Help You Hire the Right One
At WithAgility, we literally specialize in placing B2B marketing leaders at scaling technology companies. Whether you’re hiring your first Product Marketing leader or replacing a VP who wasn’t the right fit, we help SaaS companies:
- Define the role clearly
- Build out a structured and consistent interview process to properly assess talent
- Access & secure passive Marketing leaders
- Move fast without compromising quality
Want to learn how we can help you hire your next VP of Product Marketing AND shorten your time to hire? Let’s talk.
About WithAgility
We are the Recruiters for B2B Marketing & Product teams. WithAgility provides executive search, fractional recruiting and talent consulting to the fastest growing technology companies in the world. For help hiring your next leader or scaling your team, contact us today. We look forward to working with you.