Looking back to look forward
Back in the olden days when I started hiring into FMCG – 2006 to be exact – the most sought-after brands to work for and poach from were very much the blue chips….. L’Oreal, Mars, P&G, Unilever, Diageo all had exceptional graduate talent that coursed throughout their businesses and moving between those top tier brands was commonplace and the liked of Innocent or Gu, did brilliantly by enticing that talent with a challenger opportunity.
Fast forward 20 years and that talent is less in demand – why?
For today’s challenger brands, it makes sense on paper. They’ve worked with elite leadership teams. They’ve got the training. They know what “good” looks like. Surely, they’ll bring all that magic to your business?
However, I speak with SME leaders in FMCG every week who are wrestling with this exact question. And while bringing in Blue Chip talent can work wonderfully in the right circumstances, it can also go spectacularly wrong. Let me share what I’ve learned from countless conversations with both sides of this equation.
The need for grit
Whether it’s a generational thing or its simply the nature of how FMCG / Grocery has evolved, there is challenge around every corner for commercial teams but the challenges Unilever and Mars face are intrinsically different to challengers – when you’re the 4th, 5th, or even 7th brand in your category, you’re fighting for every scrap of attention. You don’t get the same airtime with buyers that the market leaders enjoy and the budgets are dwarfed by the category leaders – in short, the path to winning is very, very different and therefore the talent needs to have the grit, even sheer bloody mindedness to keep going despite the knocks.
Its more salesy, more creative and far broader – in a challenger the founder may know less than the NAM about a JBP. You won’t have an NAE, Trade & Category, a field sales team……. So, the role is broader, the need to do the admin, the selling & the numbers is all encompassing – it’s A LOT! Those who can’t multi- task and where 20 different hats on a given day may struggle and unfortunately, the longer an individual remains within the blue-chip circuit the more indoctrinated into structure they become.
Interview focus
So, whilst every interview can be different, my advice is to focus that first stage on identifying the following traits – by creating a scorecard for each, a founder can assess these criteria objectively……. Avoidance of hiring on pure gut feel or having worked for the “right” brands for sales roles something to avoid.
- Resilience: The ability to hear “no” repeatedly and keep going with genuine enthusiasm
- Sales hunger: A real drive to win new business, not just manage existing accounts
- Adaptability: Comfort with ambiguity and changing priorities
- Self-sufficiency: The ability to work without extensive support structures
- Commercial awareness: Understanding that every penny matters
Someone who’s built their career at a challenger brand or another SME often has these qualities in abundance. Whilst its not to say a blue-chip trained candidate won’t have these skills but any strong founder or commercial leader will need to deep dive into potential candidates psyches to make that final assessment.
The Bottom Line
The best hire for your growing business might have a CV that looks very different from what you imagined. Someone who’s succeeded at another challenger brand, who’s had to fight for every win, who understands that resilience and hustle matter as much as process and polish, could be exactly what you need.
Blue Chip experience isn’t a guarantee of success in an SME environment. And SME experience isn’t a consolation prize.
