Hi there - Last week, I covered how to ramp up as a new sales hire, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t also cover other functional areas, too.

So next up - marketing!

Let me know what you think. Truly. 🙏

If you're reading this, you either just hired your first marketing person or you just got hired as that first marketing person at a startup. Either way, congrats! 🎉

Before we dive into the roadmap, let's talk about YOUR responsibility in making this hire successful.

Your new marketing hire needs context to be effective. They need to understand your story, your customers, your product, and your vision. Don't assume they'll figure it out through osmosis - be intentional about sharing this information.

I wrote a detailed article about preparing for your first sales hire, and the same preparation and checklist applies to your marketing hire too.

Here's what you need to prepare:

Your new hire can't read your mind. The more context you provide upfront, the faster they'll be able to add value.

Now, speaking to you directly - welcome! 🎉

While your founder has a responsibility to prepare for you, YOU have an equal responsibility to take initiative.

This is always true - but it’s even more important at a startup where there is less formal structure.

Don't wait for information to be handed to you. Ask questions. Schedule your own meetings with the sales team. Request access to tools and data. Be proactive about learning the business.

Before you start, you need to understand what type of marketing hire you are:

Scenario 1: There's already a CMO (fractional or full-time) in place

If you're joining a team that already has marketing leadership, much of the strategy work will likely be done for you. You'll likely be more of an executor - implementing campaigns, creating content, managing tools, and bringing tactical expertise. This roadmap still applies, but your CMO will likely guide your priorities.

Scenario 2: You're the first/only marketing person with no C-suite marketing leader

This is more common than you'd think. Many startups hire their first mid-level marketing person before they have a CMO. And often, the founder doesn't have deep marketing experience themselves.

If this is you, here's the reality: You're going to need to flex up.

You might need to play a more strategic role than you were expecting. You'll need to build the strategy, not just execute someone else's. You'll need to make big decisions about channels, messaging, and budget allocation. You'll need to educate your founder on why marketing takes time and what realistic expectations look like.

This isn't going to be easy. But here's the upside: You're going to expand your skills incredibly fast.

You'll learn how to build from zero. You'll learn how to influence leadership. You'll get exposure to every part of marketing instead of just a niche specialty. These experiences compound quickly and will accelerate your career in ways a more traditional role won't.

Try to embrace it as the amazing learning experience it is. Yes, it's hard. Yes, you'll feel in over your head sometimes. But that's where real growth happens, too. 💪

This roadmap is your guide for the first two months (8 weeks), but it's also a living reference document you'll want to bookmark and revisit at months 2, 3, 4, and beyond.

Why? Because marketing is a long game, and inevitably, founders and sales teams get impatient. When someone asks "where are all the leads??" in month 3, you'll pull this back out and remind everyone of what we all agreed to upfront.

Ok - let's dive in!

Your first two weeks are all about learning. You can't be effective if you don't understand the business, the customers, and the team.

Before we dive into the tactical weeks, read this article: GTM Multivitamins.

Here's the core principle that should guide everything you do: As a startup with limited budget and bandwidth, every initiative you pursue should have multiple benefits.

This means:

As you build your plans in weeks 3-6, constantly ask yourself: How can this one initiative serve multiple purposes across the funnel?

Be creative and resourceful. Ask for budget when you truly need it, but look for ways to maximize impact without constantly requesting more resources. When you can show that one investment drives 3-4 different benefits, you'll have a much easier time getting buy-in.

Now that you understand the business, it's time to add value quickly. And the fastest way to add value? Help close the deals that are already in motion.

Your founder and maybe 1-2 AEs are handling sales conversations. Your job is to create assets that make their job easier, faster, and reduce friction for the buyer.

Start by making a comprehensive list of what exists and what's missing. I wrote a whole article about sales enablement that you should read: Sales enablement 101.

According to Gartner research, these are the most common assets buyers reference in B2B sales:

I'd also add:

Remember: It's easier to help close 10 existing opportunities than to generate 10 net new opportunities from scratch. That's why we start here.

After you've mapped out your sales enablement plan, pivot to nurture marketing.

Here's the insight: It's easier to convert warmer leads already in your CRM than to drive net new leads to your CRM.

You likely have a database of people who've engaged with your company in some way - demo requests, website visitors, past conversations, event attendees. These are warmer than cold prospects, so let's activate them.

These are not revolutionary tactics - but they are often basic things that the startup just hasn’t had the capacity to do yet. And they will make an immediate impact. Check out this article on the surprising ROI of email marketing.

Map out:

Consider what you learned about your buyers. Are they technical? Send them deep-dive product content. Are they executives? Send them strategic insights and ROI stories. Tailor your approach.

Now that you've got plans to help close existing deals (sales enablement) and activate existing leads (nurture), it's time to think about generating net new pipeline.

First, understand what's already been tried:

Based on everything you've learned, build a hypothesis about the right approach. Should it be:

Don't guess - research. Ask yourself:

Use AI to help: ChatGPT or Claude can help you research buyer pain points, content consumption habits, and channel effectiveness for your specific ICP.

As you build your top of funnel strategy, keep that multivitamin principle front and center. How can each initiative serve multiple purposes?

Examples:

Think about how your top of funnel strategy can serve multiple purposes. That's how you maximize impact with limited budget and bandwidth.

Document:

Week 6 is about getting everyone on the same page and committed to your plan.

Outline a clear presentation for the founder and commercial team covering your three priorities in order:

Priority 1: Sales enablement

Priority 2: Nurture marketing

Priority 3: Top of funnel

This is critical. Explain WHY you're prioritizing in this order:

This sequencing shows the founder you can think strategically, prioritize ruthlessly, and focus on quick wins while building for the long term.

Present any budget requests alongside your strategy:

Be specific about costs and what they'll enable you to do.

Critical: Show the multi-funnel impact. Remember those GTM multivitamins? When asking for budget, demonstrate how the investment serves multiple purposes. For example:

"I'm requesting $500/month to upgrade HubSpot to Pro because it will enable:

This shows you're being budget-conscious and strategic about maximizing ROI. You're not asking for money frivolously - you're showing how one investment unlocks multiple capabilities across the funnel.

This is perhaps the most important part of the entire presentation. Get everyone aligned on:

Set expectations clearly: Marketing is a long game.

Most of your efforts will not have an immediate impact. That's not a bug, it's the nature of marketing and why we have marketing + sales. By managing expectations upfront, you protect yourself from future frustration.

Get formal agreement and commitment on the plan. Document it. You'll need this later.

You've got buy-in on your strategy. Now define how you'll measure success and how you'll communicate progress.

For each priority, define the early signals that show you're moving in the right direction:

Sales enablement indicators:

Nurture marketing indicators:

Top of funnel indicators:

These leading indicators are what you'll present quarterly to demonstrate progress, even before you see the lagging indicators (revenue, pipeline growth).

Set up recurring check-ins to maintain alignment:

Monthly meeting with sales:

Quarterly review with founder and commercial team:

This regular cadence keeps everyone informed, maintains collaboration, and prevents the dreaded "what has marketing been doing??" question.

Here's the reality: Around month 2 or 3, someone is going to get impatient. The founder might ask "where are all the leads?" or sales might wonder why pipeline hasn't doubled yet.

This is where you pull this document back out.

Remind them:

Also show them the multi-funnel impact you're already creating. Even if leads haven't flooded in yet, you can demonstrate:

This evidence of multiple benefits from single initiatives shows you're being resourceful and strategic with their investment - exactly what startups need.

This roadmap isn't just an onboarding document - it's a living reference tool that protects you and manages stakeholder expectations as you build marketing from scratch.

Most marketing initiatives take 3-6 months (or longer) to show meaningful results:

The key is staying focused on your leading indicators and communicating progress consistently.

Trust the process you've built and committed to together. 🙏

Marketing is constantly evolving. New channels emerge, algorithms change, best practices shift. You can't do this alone, and you shouldn't try to. It’s lonely.

I strongly recommend joining a peer group or marketing community where you can:

If your startup is venture backed - your investors may even have portfolio specific communities you can join - find out.

Some other communities to consider:

The investment in community (many are free or low-cost) will pay dividends. You'll learn faster, avoid common mistakes, and have a support system when things get tough. Marketing at a startup can feel isolating - connecting with peers makes it less so.

Like this one 🙂

Here are a few others I like:

You've got a solid two month (8-week) roadmap to ramp up as a marketing hire.

Remember:

✅ Learn deeply before you build (Weeks 1-2)
✅ Prioritize quick wins that help sales close deals (Week 3)
✅ Activate what you already have before chasing net new (Week 4)
✅ Build a smart top of funnel strategy based on research (Week 5)
✅ Get buy-in and set clear expectations (Week 6)
✅ Define success metrics and communication cadence (Weeks 7-8)
✅ Resurface this roadmap when people get impatient
✅ Join a community or newsletter distros for ongoing learning and support

You've got this! 🚀

Want to learn more about how I help startups increase their revenue by 150-590%? 👀

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With love and gratitude,