Our director of marketing and sales has been doing a great job, but the seat has grown too large for one person to handle. We need to split marketing and sales into two distinct seats, but our current budget cannot support hiring a second executive. How do we structure this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is extremely common for small to mid-sized businesses to have a combined Sales and Marketing seat on their early Accountability Chart. However, as you scale, these functions naturally split. Sales is about closing deals today; marketing is about generating leads for tomorrow. They require different skill sets and distinct focus. If the seat has grown too big but your budget is tight, you must still split the seats structurally on your Accountability Chart. Do not keep them combined just because of budget constraints. Define a distinct Sales seat and a distinct Marketing seat, each with their own five core roles. Next, place your current director's name in both seats temporarily, or place them in the one seat they GWC™ best, and leave the other seat empty with the Integrator temporarily occupying it. If the director keeps both seats, they must wear two hats and manage their time accordingly, recognizing that these are two different functions. As soon as cash flow allows, your plan should be to hire for the open seat. This approach keeps your organizational structure clean, highlights where you have a resource gap, and prevents you from creating a compromised, dual-function seat that will eventually bottleneck your growth.