Want Marketing Innovation? Stop Hiring People Who’ve Only Worked in Professional Services
Professional service firms often talk about the need to stand out. To be bold. To stop blending in with their competitors.
And yet when it comes to hiring marketers, the brief is almost always the same: “Must have experience in law/accountancy/consulting.” “Needs to understand how professional services work.” “Looking for someone who can hit the ground running.”
But if you’re only hiring people who’ve already worked in the sector, how do you expect your marketing to look or feel any different?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you want innovation, you need to bring in people who haven’t come up through the same path as everyone else.
The comfort zone of sector-specific hiring
It’s understandable why firms default to hiring marketers who’ve “been there, done that” in professional services.
You assume they’ll get up to speed quicker. They’ll understand the internal politics. They’ll know what language to use (and what to avoid). It feels lower risk.
But the reality is marketers who’ve only worked in the same sector are often carrying the same assumptions, habits and frameworks as the last three people who had their role. They’re trained in what has been done, not necessarily what could be done.
The downside of professional services echo chambers
When you hire exclusively from within your own industry, you unintentionally create an echo chamber.
You get campaigns that look like everyone else’s. Messaging that’s cautious and risk-averse. Content that’s technically accurate but utterly forgettable.
Many professional services marketers have spent years trying to “educate the business” or “convince partners” to try new approaches. And over time, they can lose the sharp edge that makes marketing truly effective: curiosity, challenge and a bias for action.
If you’ve ever wondered why your content feels safe, your social media lacks engagement, or your brand doesn’t stand out, it might not be your strategy. It might be your hiring.
What you’re actually missing by hiring the same profile
Marketers from outside the sector can bring immense value, not in spite of their different background, but because of it. Let me give you some practical examples of what this looks like in action.
Consumer marketers understand how to engage people emotionally, not just rationally.
They know how to tap into what truly motivates a purchasing decision. Rather than listing features and credentials, they create narratives that resonate. For professional services, this could mean transforming a bland “we offer tax advice” into a story about helping business owners sleep better at night knowing their affairs are in order.
Tech and SaaS marketers bring test-and-learn cultures and performance-driven thinking.
They’re used to A/B testing everything, from email subject lines to landing page layouts. They understand data and aren’t afraid to try something, measure it, learn from it and iterate quickly. This approach can be transformative for professional service firms that have been doing things the same way for years without questioning whether it actually works.
Retail or agency talent is often brilliant at turning complexity into clear, confident messaging.
They’ve had to sell complicated products to diverse audiences, often with seconds to capture attention. This skill is invaluable when you’re trying to explain intricate legal structures or financial strategies to time-poor decision makers.
Media and publishing backgrounds can be excellent for content strategy and audience building.
These marketers understand what makes people actually want to read something. They know how to create content that doesn’t just exist but gets shared, discussed and remembered.
These are exactly the kinds of capabilities professional service firms need more of, especially when marketing is tasked with driving differentiation, visibility and growth.
“But they won’t understand our firm…” and other myths
This is the most common objection I hear when suggesting non-sector hires: “They won’t get it.” “They won’t understand how partners think.” “They’ll struggle with the complexity of what we do.”
Here’s the truth: great marketers are quick learners.
They can absorb technical detail. They can work with subject matter experts. And they can translate complexity into clarity, which is literally their job.
What’s harder to teach is innovation. Energy. The ability to spot opportunities others have missed. To challenge the status quo with confidence.
Think about it this way. If someone has successfully marketed complex software solutions to enterprise clients, do you really think they can’t learn about employment law? If they’ve built an audience for a financial publication, won’t those skills transfer to building thought leadership for your firm?
The concern about “understanding how partners think” is often overstated too. Yes, professional services have unique dynamics, but these can be learned in weeks or months. What takes years to develop is the creative thinking, strategic mindset and commercial instinct that external hires bring with them.
If you’re hiring purely on the basis of sector knowledge, you’re prioritising familiarity over progress. And that’s a risky move for any firm trying to grow in a competitive market.
How to hire for innovation without losing relevance
This isn’t about swinging the pendulum too far the other way. You don’t need to abandon all sector experience. But you do need to be intentional about how you approach your hiring strategy.
Here’s how to make this work in practice:
Don’t make “professional services experience” a hard requirement.
Instead, make it a bonus, not a dealbreaker. When you’re writing your job description, focus on the skills and mindset you actually need. Do you need someone who’s worked in law, or do you need someone who can create compelling content that drives engagement? These are not the same thing.
Look at mindset, not just CVs.
Curiosity, adaptability and commercial instinct matter more than years in similar roles. During the interview process, listen for how candidates talk about their work. Do they demonstrate a willingness to learn? Do they ask thoughtful questions about your firm? Can they articulate how their different experience might be an advantage rather than a limitation?
Set practical interview tasks that reveal true capability.
Give candidates scenarios that test their ability to bring fresh thinking while staying grounded. For example, you could share a piece of your current marketing content and ask them to critique it and suggest improvements. Or present them with a marketing challenge your firm is facing and see how they’d approach it. This reveals far more than asking them to recite their experience in your sector.
Provide the right support to bridge the knowledge gap.
Pair external hires with a fractional CMO or strategic adviser who understands the sector and can guide the transition. This is where someone with deep professional services knowledge becomes invaluable, not as the doer, but as the mentor and translator. They can help your new hire navigate the internal landscape while protecting their fresh perspective.
Create a proper onboarding process.
Don’t just throw them in and expect them to figure it out. Give them time to meet with different teams, understand your clients and learn about your services. The investment you make in their first few months will pay dividends.
This approach gives you the best of both worlds: new ideas and proven insight. Fresh thinking and industry relevance.
Final thought
If your marketing feels stale, safe or samey, the solution isn’t always a new strategy or agency.
Sometimes, it’s about who’s sitting at the table.
And if everyone has the same background, the same assumptions and the same playbook, you shouldn’t be surprised when your marketing blends in.
Innovation doesn’t come from hiring “safe”. It comes from hiring different.
Need help?
If you would like help with your marketing, bringing on a marketing consultant with a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. I work with B2B businesses and professional service firms in London, Kent, the UK, and Europe, specialising as a legal marketing consultant. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.
