Why You Need an ICP for B2B Marketing Recruitment
- Jay Thandi
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Generic job ads are a pipeline problem, that leads to wasted interview hours, and quietly damage EVP. Define your Ideal Candidate Profile first so the job ad becomes a targeted message that attracts marketers who own pipeline and revenue. The UK skills gap is real and persists even as the market cools, so precision is your advantage. Free B2B ICP pack available at the end.
Why hiring B2B marketers is Tough
Most organisation have different products, but even those with similar products are trying to reach different customers, have access to runs a different resources and have developed different go-to-market and customer acquistion strategies.
Some businesses are product-led, others sales-led, many try to find the right balance in between. Funnel definitions vary, as do expectations for sourced pipeline, attribution, and partnership with sales. The complex nature of the market collides with a market full of candidates who have vastly different experience, meaning even those who look good on paper but have not been responsible for delivering or achieving the outcomes you need.
Hiring teams can also get distracted, leaning towards applicants with big brand names. A strong logo does not guarantee fit, and it does not mean your environment will help that person thrive.
Across the UK, skills shortages continue to pressure growth and put more work on already stretched teams. The Open University Business Barometer reports that 62% of organisations face skills gaps, and many expect them to worsen, which slows delivery and increases workload. In parallel, the British Chambers of Commerce found that even in an easing quarter, 76% of firms attempting to recruit faced difficulties. A high volume of applications does not solve hiring problems, and can make them worse.
If this pattern sounds familiar, and you've been struggling with hiring visit our Marketing page to find out how we can support you with key hires.
Why your next marketing hire must start with an Ideal Candidate Profile
You would not launch a campaign without a clear audience and offer. Apply the same standard to hiring. An Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP) is a one page agreement on who you need and why they would join you. It aligns HR, Talent Acquisition and the hiring teams before the first outreach and it gives candidates an honest picture of the profile you need.
Build the ICP in three layers
Technical layer
State the non negotiables tied to your motion. For sales led teams that can mean ABM orchestration, SDR and AE partnership, and attribution literacy with RevOps. For PLG that can mean growth experimentation, product telemetry, content systems that move activation and expansion. Be clear about automation platforms, data access and reporting expectations.
Behavioural layer
Describe how the marketer works. Stakeholder alignment with sales, hypothesis driven planning, regular experiments and post mortems, and clear written communication that turns data into decisions. These behaviours drive progress in long, multi stakeholder sales cycles.
Motivational layer
Explain why they will do their best work here. Appetite for creating demand in new segments, patience for complex committees, energy for PLG activation, curiosity for attribution problems, desire to co own targets with sales.
Clarity at this level improves response quality and shortens time to decision. UK data points to the value of structured, evidence led selection for fairness and consistency, which strengthens candidate experience and speeds decisions.
Partner with a Marketing Recruitment Agency that runs an ICP first process so you start with alignment, not noise. If your focus is B2B specifically, explore our B2B Marketing services for hiring support.
A fast agenda to build your B2B marketing Recruitment ICP
You can create a strong ICP in one focused working session.
Responsibilities and definitionsAgree PLG, sales led or hybrid. Lock MQL, SQL and SAL definitions with Sales and RevOps. Decide shared ownership of pipeline by segment. This removes the number one source of misalignment in interviews and debriefs.
Outcomes for six and twelve monthsChoose three to five results that Sales cares about. Examples include a portion of sourced pipeline in named segments, improved meeting acceptance in Tier 1 accounts, better conversion at a specific sales stage through enablement and proof, and lower cost per qualified opportunity. When outcomes are clear, your ad and outreach become specific and compelling.
Trade offs and dealbreakersDecide strategist versus operator, depth versus breadth, PLG experience required or nice to have, industry domain depth versus adaptable generalist. Capture dealbreakers to avoid drift when a shiny CV appears.
Write the ICPDocument the technical, behavioural and motivational layers in one page. Limit non negotiables to what truly matters. Add three evidence prompts for interviews, for example show us a programme that created demand and improved sourced pipeline with before and after metrics and constraints.
Scorecard and processUse a structured scorecard that maps to outcomes. Keep the loop lean, for example two interviews and a short work sample. UK HR data highlights that structured selection reduces bias and improves consistency, which supports better EVP and faster decisions.
For hiring managers and TA partners who want a template to move faster, download the B2B Marketing ICP Checklist at the end of this article.
Write the job ad after the ICP
Great marketers will research their target audiences and refine their message to attract the right customers. The ICP will help apply these same principles to attract the right type of applications. This will also add clarity to the selection process.
Lead with the problem and the outcomes you want
Share what is integral to the role and requirements from applicants
Describe what they should expect in terms of resources and cross-department collaborations
Explain the process and what you will assess
Generic ads invite everyone to apply and increase workloads for your team screening applications. The rise of candidates leveraging AI to apply can increase application volume and complicate screening. A structured scorecard and evidence prompts (e.g., 'show us a program...') are essential to cut through the noise and validate the required experience. This wastes time for HR, Talent and Hiring teams speaking with irrelevant applicants. Even strong marketing applicants, interviewing without the experience required for the role will feel misled. Poor candidate recruitment experiences can damage your reputation as an employer.
A sharp ICP and lean recruitment process will reduce cycle time and improve acceptance rates.
If you're looking to require marketing talent at Director, VP or a Chief Marketing Officer, it in integral to develop a strong proposition to attract the right leadership. We often see a shift from the Technical layer to understand more about MarTech Ownership, and Motivational focus move to understanding how they've adapted GTM strategies, transformed teams, adopted new innovations and driven organisational change.
ICP Layer | Focus Shift for Director/VP/CMO |
Technical Layer | Shifts from using tools (HubSpot, 6sense) to owning the MarTech Stack budget, architecture, and governance (e.g., attribution fidelity, data hygiene strategy). |
Outcomes | Shifts from improving MQL-to-SQL conversion to improving the CAC:LTV ratio, achieving Net Revenue Retention (NRR) targets, and defining the organizational structure for the next 3 years. |
Behavioural Layer | Focuses on Board-level communication, stakeholder alignment across the executive suite, and leading organisational change (e.g., successfully moving to a new GTM model). |
Visit our Executive Search page to learn more about our Headhunting services.
Role‑specific ICP examples for B2B marketing
Demand generation and pipeline roles
Outcomes: Increase qualified pipeline from named accounts by 25% in six months; reduce CAC‑to‑LTV ratio by improving MQL→SQL conversion by 20%.
Technical: HubSpot or Marketo, lead scoring, Salesforce hygiene, ABM orchestration with 6sense or Demandbase.
Behavioural: Owns a number, partners well with sales, hypothesis‑driven experimentation.
Motivational: Energised by pipeline accountability and measurable impact.
Product marketing (PMM)
Outcomes: Launch two major features with adoption targets; deliver ROI cases and sales enablement decks that shorten deal cycles.
Technical: Positioning and Ideal Customer Persona definition, messaging frameworks, competitive analysis, enablement content.
Behavioural: Crisp communication, cross‑functional influence, data‑led storytelling.
Motivational: Drawn to narrative refinement and adoption impact.
ABM and enterprise strategy
Outcomes: Deliver three ABM plays that generate meetings with C‑suite in top 50 accounts.
Technical: Intent data usage, orchestration from signal to play, content‑led GTM.
Behavioural: Strategic thinker, comfortable with long cycles, strong stakeholder management.
Motivational: Enjoys complex deal environments and influencing senior decision‑makers.
How Solis runs an B2B Marketing Headhunting Search
Labour market indicators have shifted through 2024 and 2025, with vacancies easing and mixed regional signals. Even so, a large share of employers still report recruitment challenges, and many teams face workload strain while roles remain open
Attracting marketers who align with the business goals and objectives will be integral to your business success heading in to 2026.
Our approach to starting Retained recruitment searches includes:
Alignment session to confirm motion, definitions and three outcomes
One page ICP with trade offs and dealbreakers
Targeted job advertising
Personalised outreach
Weekly insights (EVP feedback, Competitor Analysis)
Shortlist with evidence (Personal and Professional References)
If you're looking to partner with a B2B Marketing Recruitment Agency that hires for impact you submit an enquiry via the contact page.
Book a 20 minute consultation to define your B2B marketing ICP. The B2B Marketing ICP Checklist and align your team before you post a job.
