One of the reasons an interim sales executive can be invaluable at solving marketing problems at an organization, is that they often have a specific area of specialized expertise. This contrasts with the common practice of organizations to develop their executives to be generalists.

According to the book Leadership on Demand by Charles Besondy and Paul Travis:

“Large companies believe in having succession plans and management development programs. Typically, a manager will be identified as having potential ‘for upper management’ and that person is groomed and mentored for years. We all know companies who have policies of moving executives from department to department, country to country, in an effort to prepare them for a senior management role. The goal is that senior managers should be well-rounded individuals with broad knowledge of the business.”

While organizations definitely need executives with general knowledge in a lot of areas, organizations also need specialists to be effective. Bringing in an interim sales executive to address a particular issue that they have extensive knowledge and experience in can be an effective way to improve specific areas of your organization’s sales department. One place to find interim sales executives is at an interim executive company like OneAccord, which has 32 sales and marketing executives in 12 states, each with their unique set of skills and areas of expertise (view OneAccord Interim Executive profiles).

Photo by Keith Allison