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Industries
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Agency & Media
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Agency & Media. Winning the client is half the job.
Fast briefs. Big ideas. Tight turnarounds. Plenty of opinions.
We find new-business, client-services and agency-marketing people who understand scope, margin and what the client is actually buying — not just how to pitch.
Consumer Services
Personal, practical and part of everyday life. The businesses people return to because quality, trust and reliability matter.
Recruitment for sales and marketing roles across health, fitness, beauty, wellness, leisure, membership, appointment-based and other consumer service businesses.
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT IN
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Consumer Services
Personal, practical and part of everyday life. The businesses people return to because quality, trust and reliability matter.
Recruitment for sales and marketing roles across health, fitness, beauty, wellness, leisure, membership, appointment-based and other consumer service businesses.
1 - BIG PICTURE STORY:
The Consumer Services Economy
THE UK PICTURE:
UK household spending increased by 0.8% in real terms across 2025, with spending 0.4% higher in Q4 than a year earlier. Growth was uneven across categories, with transport and miscellaneous goods and services contributing positively towards the end of the year, while recreation and culture weakened. (Office for National Statistics)
THE IRISH PICTURE:
In Ireland, personal consumption of goods and services increased by 2.6% in 2025. Household spending on goods and services reached around €161 billion during the year, with services continuing to account for a substantial share of everyday consumer expenditure. (Central Statistics Office)
For individual businesses, performance can still be highly local. Gyms, salons, trades, repair services and other consumer-facing businesses depend on reputation, convenience, repeat custom and local demand, with reviews, availability, price and ease of booking all influencing where people spend.
+0.8%
Real UK household-consumption growth, 2025
106.5k
Ireland arts, entertainment, recreation & other-services employees, Jul 2026
+4.7%
Ireland employment growth in arts, recreation & other services, year-on-year Jul 2026
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique hiring considerations:
Sales & Marketing professionals in Consumer Services get used to looking past the initial sign-up.
A customer can be easy to acquire because the offer is clear, the need is immediate or the booking process is simple. Whether they stay, return or recommend the business depends much more on what happens afterwards.
That might be the first appointment, the first bill, the first time something goes wrong or simply how easy the service is to use.
Experienced salespeople become more aware of the kind of customer they are bringing in, whether the service can actually be delivered and whether the relationship is likely to become commercially worthwhile.
Marketing has to make the business easy to find and easy to trust before someone commits, but it also has to stay connected to the experience that follows. Reviews, repeat use, complaints, cancellations and referrals quickly show whether the promise matched what the customer actually received.
Two New Business Directors may both show major pitch wins and well-known clients. The same result can start at very different points in the buying journey.
The title tells us surprisingly little unless we know what the client was buying and how the agency made money from it.
CANDIDATE A
Strongest once the brief lands
• Builds strong credentials and pitch processes
• Coordinates senior agency involvement
• Converts briefs once the opportunity is defined
CANDIDATE B
Shapes the brief before it exists
• Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
• Creates preference while needs are still forming
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two Sales Managers may both show strong conversion, team targets and customer growth.
One may lead a high-volume inbound operation with short sales cycles, clear scripts and centrally generated demand.
Another may manage a higher-consideration sale where trust is built over several interactions and the team has to balance conversion with capacity, customer fit, repeat business and referrals.
Similar numbers can come from very different selling environments.
CANDIDATE B — SHAPES THE BRIEF BEFORE IT EXISTS
Leads higher-consideration consultative sales
Builds trust over several customer interactions
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
CANDIDATE A — STRONGEST ONCE THE BRIEF LANDS
Leads higher-consideration consultative sales
Optimises scripts, process and team productivity
Works across centrally generated customer demand
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two Sales Managers may both show strong conversion, team targets and customer growth.
One may lead a high-volume inbound operation with short sales cycles, clear scripts and centrally generated demand.
Another may manage a higher-consideration sale where trust is built over several interactions and the team has to balance conversion with capacity, customer fit, repeat business and referrals.
Similar numbers can come from very different selling environments.
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE A
Manages clear targets and short sales cycles
Optimises scripts, process and team productivity
Works across centrally generated customer demand
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE B
Leads higher-consideration consultative sales
Builds trust over several customer interactions
Balances conversion with service capacity and fit
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector →
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector
→
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
MARKETING
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
SALES
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals
SALES
01
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
02
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
03
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
04
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
05
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
MARKETING
01
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
02
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
03
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
04
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
05
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
SALES STRENGTH SIGNALS
Understands the real reason the customer is buying
Converts without creating expectations Operations cannot meet
Looks beyond volume to retention and customer quality
Matches demand with local or operational capacity
Builds value through repeat business and referrals
MARKETING strength signals
Makes the service easy to find, understand and trust
Reduces uncertainty before the customer buys
Judges acquisition quality as well as acquisition cost
Connects demand generation with available service capacity
Uses retention, reviews and behaviour to improve customer value
40-person Belfast brand agency needed a Commercial Director during a major repositioning.
Result: 3-person shortlist. Successful hire remains in post today.
The brief required an unusual combination of strategic leadership, people management and new business ability. We mapped the relevant market thoroughly and narrowed a broad potential field to three candidates capable of operating across all three areas.
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding how someone has acquired customers, the service environment they have worked in and what happened to those customers afterwards.
We look beyond the agency name and title to the proposition, pricing model, account economics and real commercial ownership behind someone's experience.
DISCUSS A HIRE
FOR PROFESSIONALS
Considering your next move?
We help make sense of the experience you've built, what you're genuinely good at and where it might take you next.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
CALL TO ACTION
Hiring in Agency & Media?
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder · About MRKTSEARCH →
+0.8%
Real UK household-consumption growth, 2025
106.5k
Ireland arts, entertainment, recreation & other-services employees, Jul 2026
+4.7%
Ireland employment growth in arts, recreation & other services, year-on-year Jul 2026
06 — THE NUMBERS
The Consumer Services Economy
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding how someone has acquired customers, the service environment they have worked in and what happened to those customers afterwards.
SOURCES
Advertising Association; Creative Communications Ireland.
£35.2bn
UK creative & media agency GVA, 2024
£46.7bn
UK advertising investment, 2025
€1.7bn
Irish advertising market, 2025
06 — THE NUMBERS
The agency & media economy
Sales & Marketing professionals in Consumer Services get used to looking past the initial sign-up.
A customer can be easy to acquire because the offer is clear, the need is immediate or the booking process is simple. Whether they stay, return or recommend the business depends much more on what happens afterwards.
That might be the first appointment, the first bill, the first time something goes wrong or simply how easy the service is to use.
Experienced salespeople become more aware of the kind of customer they are bringing in, whether the service can actually be delivered and whether the relationship is likely to become commercially worthwhile.
Marketing has to make the business easy to find and easy to trust before someone commits, but it also has to stay connected to the experience that follows. Reviews, repeat use, complaints, cancellations and referrals quickly show whether the promise matched what the customer actually received.
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique Hiring Considerations
Sales & Marketing professionals in Consumer Services get used to looking past the initial sign-up.
A customer can be easy to acquire because the offer is clear, the need is immediate or the booking process is simple. Whether they stay, return or recommend the business depends much more on what happens afterwards.
That might be the first appointment, the first bill, the first time something goes wrong or simply how easy the service is to use.
Experienced salespeople become more aware of the kind of customer they are bringing in, whether the service can actually be delivered and whether the relationship is likely to become commercially worthwhile.
Marketing has to make the business easy to find and easy to trust before someone commits, but it also has to stay connected to the experience that follows. Reviews, repeat use, complaints, cancellations and referrals quickly show whether the promise matched what the customer actually received.
01 — THE SECTOR