I’m probably going to offend someone, and I’m sorry.

Recently, a client asked me for marketing assistance. At Doescher Advisors, one of our values is that if we believe someone else is more qualified to advise the client, we refer that client to them. In this case, we arranged meetings with two extremely successful chief marketing officers who were in businesses that were similar to that of this particular client.

The next time I met with the client, he told me the two CMOs were very impressive and helpful, and he said they both offered to respond to any questions he may have in the future.

To his surprise, when he asked them what traits, experience, and knowledge he should look for in a CMO, they both said exactly the same thing: The best CMOs they had ever worked with had been personally successful selling a product or service.

Neither my client or I were expecting that, but the more we thought about it, it makes great sense.

The next time you’re hiring a CMO, you may want to consider this advice.