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Building a world-class marketing team requires more than just finding people with the right technical skills. As digital tools evolve and AI reshapes how customers find information, marketing leaders must adapt their approach to team building and talent development. Maureen Lally, a veteran marketing executive, has spent years refining her method for creating high-performing teams that drive global results. Her experience shows that while data analysis and technical expertise matter, it’s the human elements — trust, collaboration, and diversity — that truly determine a team’s success.
Adapting to marketing’s new reality
Gone are the days when SEO and pay-per-click campaigns were enough. “Google now has essentially become everyone’s homepage,” Maureen points out. With Google’s AI providing instant answers to searches, marketing teams face a tougher challenge getting their brands noticed. Success today requires a mix of data analysis, content creation and presence across multiple channels — from social media to podcasts. But more than that, it requires understanding how buyers actually make decisions.
Here’s a surprising fact about B2B purchases: companies usually know which brands they’re considering before they even start researching. “On day one they have three brands in mind,” Maureen explains. What follows is a detailed evaluation process, often involving up to seven-person teams looking at everything from financials to user experience. The outcome? “Over 90% of the time, one of the three brands they thought about on day one is the one selected,” says Maureen. This is why getting your brand recognized early matters more than ever.
Building your marketing dream team
When Maureen puts together a team, she looks beyond the obvious technical requirements. Yes, you need data specialists, SEO experts, writers and strategists. But skills alone won’t cut it. “I hire for people who have demonstrated their ability to be good team players,” she says. “When things get busy, when budgets are tight, when time frames are tight – it’s really important for people to be collaborative, trustworthy, and to have one another’s back.”
Her hiring process rests on three foundations:
Assembling a skilled and collaborative team
Modern marketing demands a diverse skill set: data analysts who understand audience behavior, SEO specialists who can navigate Google’s evolving landscape, creative writers who craft compelling content and strategists who see the bigger picture. But technical skills alone aren’t enough – Maureen emphasizes finding people who work well together and support each other through various challenges.
Building trust through measurable results
Trust forms the core of high-performing teams. Maureen looks for people who consistently deliver on their promises and can quantify their impact. “Can you articulate and quantify the value you’ve been able to deliver?” she asks. This accountability creates a foundation of mutual respect and drives the team toward clear goals.
Fostering growth through recognition and development
Maureen believes in creating an environment where team members can thrive long-term. She emphasizes the importance of recognition and career development in building high-performing teams. “When people come into an organization and feel they have no future, they’re not going to put their whole commitment toward it,” she explains. Her approach involves providing opportunities for both new and veteran team members. She arranges access to online training across various educational topics, allowing employees to expand their knowledge beyond their immediate roles. “I’ve worked in organizations with people who had been there for twenty or thirty years. How do you keep them motivated? Through recognition, through opportunities to do new assignments or stretch assignments so that they feel that they’re contributing and adding huge value to the organization, especially if they’ve been there for a long time.”
This investment in people pays dividends in team performance and loyalty. By offering outside training and development opportunities at the company’s expense, team members can pursue enrichment without financial barriers. These initiatives help keep employees engaged, motivated, and committed to larger corporate goals. For Maureen, building a successful marketing team comes down to finding people who combine technical expertise with genuine collaboration skills. In today’s fast-paced environment, having teammates who support each other isn’t just nice — it’s essential for survival. “We don’t have to be great friends,” she says, “but we have to really like and respect each other to go that extra mile.”
To learn more about Maureen’s approach to building high-performing marketing teams, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her website.
