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Emissary Advisor FAQ

A Community of Doers and Givers

Emissary Advisors possess transformative insights that create immeasurable value for our clients. We take care of the details so that our Advisors can get straight to the fun part – forming new relationships and doing truly meaningful work.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF ME AS AN EMISSARY?

Our Emissary Advisors are guides for technology companies who are seeking to deepen their presence in the marketplace. Often, our clients are hoping to gain insight into a specific opportunity that our Emissary Advisors are uniquely positioned to elucidate. Emissary Advisors become more than a consultant in an Emissary engagement; they are more of a mentor, guiding the clients they are working with toward success.

WHAT ABOUT CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION?

We set expectations with both our clients and Emissary Advisors that confidential or proprietary information is not to be shared or requested during an engagement. In the unlikely event that you are asked something that you do not wish to respond to, simply make that clear. If we can offer and guidance or support, always feel free to reach out to advisor-support@emissary.io.

WILL I BE COMPENSATED?

Yes. We offer compensation at competitive rates based on the format and duration of our engagements.

CAN I WORK WITH EMISSARY WHILE HOLDING A FULL-TIME POSITION?

Absolutely! Your time commitment as an Emissary is designed to be easily managed alongside other demanding work. There is always flexibility around scheduling for any phone conversations, and email exchanges tend to be concise and sparse. Most of our Emissary Advisors have held, or currently hold, global director to C-level positions, and we are very mindful of the value of their time.

I CAN’T CONSULT WITHIN MY CURRENT INDUSTRY. I SEE IT AS A CONFLICT.

Most of Emissary’s clients are vendors looking to understand how best to do business in a given industry or with a given potential account. Almost without exception, you’ll be assisting a company outside of your industry that is seeking to better understand your area of expertise. If you do perceive a conflict, you always have the option to decline an engagement offered to you.

HOW AM I PAID?

Via check or direct deposit. Payments are processed bi-monthly, and are generally received by Emissary Advisors within 2-3 business days. Electronic payments are sent by our third-party payment partner, Veem.

AM I EXPECTED TO MAKE INTRODUCTIONS?

Introductions are not expected, and are not required. Some Emissary Advisors see great value for their former employer, or for others in their network, and they will connect the client team they are working with to one of their contacts. Other Emissary Advisors prefer to only provide guidance on who to contact, but do not feel comfortable introducing the clients to anyone in their network. The Emissary’s discretion is always paramount.

Additionally, for a sales team, knowledge about their buyers is incredibly valuable, with or without an introduction. By understanding more about their potential buyers, the account executive can tailor their pitch to be maximally effective, creating a smart potential partner instead of an uninformed salesperson. Our bedrock expectation for Emissary Advisors is to act as coaches, helping our clients to better understand a given company, or a given industry.

I’VE NEVER HEARD OF EMISSARY. TELL ME MORE ABOUT IT.

We raised our seed round of funding near the end of 2013, and have been operating since early 2015. Emissary’s CEO Allen Mueller, joined Emissary in January 2020 after serving as CRO of Miller Heiman Group, recently acquired by Korn Ferry, and Managing Director of Corporate Executive Board, acquired by Gartner. Read more about Allen here. Shortly after joining Emissary, Allen led the company through our latest round of funding ($6.3 million in 2020) which included G20 Ventures, PBJ Capital, Converge, and Castor Ventures. Read more about our latest round of funding here.

WHAT TYPES OF B2B CLIENTS DO YOU WORK WITH?

Our B2B clients are primarily technology vendors which vary in size from smaller, well-funded startups to companies in the Fortune 500. We also work with clients focused on marketing technology, traditional marketing, and advertising.

DOES THE CLIENT SEE MY PROFILE?

The client sees an anonymized profile based on the information you shared during the advisor onboarding process. All of our clients are bound by the confidentiality agreements in our operating terms.

You’re able to edit your profile at any time, and can see exactly what clients see by logging into Emissary Exchange > Account > Profile > Scroll down and click “Preview What Clients See.”

CAN CLIENTS USE MY NAME?

No, clients are not permitted to use your name without your permission in any context outside of an engagement. They have also agreed not to disclose that they have engaged with you.

I’M CURRENTLY EMPLOYED, AND WOULD LIKE TO CHECK WITH MY LEGAL DEPARTMENT.

This is common for Emissary Advisors in traditionally sensitive industries like finance, government, etc. When approaching your legal department, remember that you will never be providing information about your current company and never any confidential or proprietary information from any piece of your background. You’ll only be asked to share guidance based on your past experiences.

It is always our goal to offer clarity to our Emissary Advisors, and to those who are considering joining our Emissary community. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Emissary Relations team.