I worked with a company last year that had several problems: they
had way too much inventory, they had no systems in place (purchasing
systems, inventory control systems, etc.,) and they were in need of
some marketing help.

Somewhere along the way, the owner finally realized he needed a
high-powered marketer.  Now, we’re talking about a company that had,
historically, way under-paid their managers.  In order to get the
marketer the owner wanted, he paid more than twice as much as he had
ever paid his highest-paid executive in the past, and almost four times
as much as some of the management team was making.

Was it worth it?  Well, I talked to the owner of the company the
other day.  He told me they had had to start putting on the brakes
because this marketer was driving so much business they couldn’t
produce it all.  I don’t know about you, but that’s a problem I’d like
to have in any business.

I think the point here is that you can have a great product (this
company had the very best.)   You can have great manufacturing and
production people.  You can have outstanding accounting people.  This
company had all of that.  What they lacked was a marketing genius. 
And, as the old saying goes, nothing happens until the sale is made. 
It doesn’t matter how much you can produce if you can’t sell it.

Marketing is not the place to scrimp.  It’s a false economy of scale
to think you’re saving money by hiring a “cheap” marketing manager.  If
you’re going to splurge, this is where you do it.  A good marketer will
pay for him / her self in a short time.  Look for someone who’s got
real-world experience.  Look for someone with a history of blowing the
lid off the sales.  And finally, check references.  Make sure that what
you’re hiring is really what you’re getting.