{"id":26919,"date":"2013-03-17t00:04:45","date_gmt":"2013-03-17t04:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=26919"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:19","slug":"10-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-hire-a-marketer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2013\/03\/17\/10-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-hire-a-marketer\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things you need to know before you hire a marketer [pro member exclusive]"},"content":{"rendered":"

and 12 questions a good marketing professional should be asking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by bruce w. marcus<\/em>
\n professional services marketing 3.0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

and now a word to accountants who think they know marketing. unless you\u2019re that rare bird who\u2019s had some successful experience because you have some kind of inborn talent for marketing \u2013 and there are some of you like that \u2013 you don\u2019t know beans.<\/p>\n

and you won\u2019t know beans until they start teaching marketing in\u00a0 accounting schools, which is long overdue. or until you\u2019ve had long experience with a terrific marketer on your staff. but if you don\u2019t have a natural affinity for it, there are things you should know that will result in your competing successfully in this wildly competitive market. or until you hire marketers who know their stuff, and can teach you what you should know.<\/p>\n

to be fair, there is emerging a new kind of accountant who is of a new generation. this individual is part of the new trend of professionals who are not constrained by the traditions of elitism that segregated the professional from the marketer \u2013 who understands the dynamic of marketing professional services, and, as well, understands that marketing is an essential part of firm management. this new professional is part of the dynamic of the new marketing 3.0.<\/p>\n

still, you should know, first, that the mechanics of marketing — the media relations and the writing and the direct mail and seminars and such \u2013 are not marketing. marketing, in the final analysis, is an art form. the mechanics and tools are not the art. and as i\u2019ve often said, when you\u2019re hiring a marketer, don\u2019t look for a mechanic \u2013 look for an artist.<\/p>\n

ok, then, how do you hire an artist to do your marketing? even before you talk to your first interviewee, or read your first resume, you need to know this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. understand and respect the skills of marketing. you can understand a lot, if you don\u2019t try to gum it up with trying to do what you\u2019re not trained to do.<\/li>\n
  2. don\u2019t take seriously the opinions of non-marketers about technical marketing matters. they\u2019re not likely to know. some of the best articles, brochures, and other written marketing material wouldn\u2019t pass muster for a 7th<\/sup> grade grammar teacher. but know that marketing writing isn\u2019t designed for grammar teachers. it\u2019s designed to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively, with credibility and passion. writing ain\u2019t wordsmithing, any more than fine cabinet making is just hammering and sawing. it\u2019s communication of ideas.<\/li>\n
  3. at the same time, know the difference between promotional activities, such as activities that enhance name recognition and reputation, and actually getting clients to build a practice. the difference is strategy, and a range of practice development activities that get you in front of prospects. promotional activities are important, but won\u2019t do much to get you clients if you don\u2019t follow up with practice development activities.<\/li>\n
  4. either trust your marketer\u2019s judgment, or get a marketer you do trust. no, your wife, who has a degree in english and did a fine job of raising your children, can\u2019t write your brochure. she doesn\u2019t know how. and the consensus of your partners about marketing copy is about as useful as your marketing team\u2019s consensus about an audit or a brief.<\/li>\n
  5. read resumes carefully, and know (or find out) the differences between different kinds of marketing professionals. in the early days following bates,<\/em> one big eight accounting firm hired its first marketing director from an ad agency. but the guy had been in ad traffic<\/em>, and knew nothing about professional firm marketing, or how to write press releases that someone would publish, or a brochure. \u201cbut he worked for a major ad agency,\u201d was the excuse.<\/li>\n
  6. make sure that both you and your prospective marketing hire both understand the same things about your marketing objectives, and that both of your objectives are realistic.<\/li>\n
  7. make sure you both understand what you\u2019re willing to do \u2013 or not do \u2013 to achieve marketing success. most marketing activities, particularly as prescribed by good marketers, might not be within your experience. but they should be within your marketer\u2019s experience. again, either trust your marketer or get a new one.<\/li>\n
  8. understand that it\u2019s a distinctive quality of professional services marketing that it can\u2019t be done without the full participation of the professional.<\/li>\n
  9. listen to what your marketer has to say. listen carefully. if you can\u2019t live with what\u2019s being said, either don\u2019t hire that person, or forget about marketing. you\u2019ll waste your money and the marketer\u2019s time.<\/li>\n
  10. if you don\u2019t know how to hire a marketer \u2013 and if you\u2019ve never worked with one before, why should you? \u2013 then learn. there are good books. there are articles. you can speak to marketing professionals in other firms that have successful marketing programs. there are the marketer\u2019s associations \u2013 association of accounting marketers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    it sometimes helps to judge a prospective marketer\u2019s experience by the questions he or she asks you in an interview.<\/p>\n

    a good marketer should ask:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. how many practice areas do you serve?<\/li>\n
    2. is there a marketing committee? how often does it meet?<\/li>\n
    3. which are your strongest practices? which are your weakest?<\/li>\n
    4. to whom will i report?<\/li>\n
    5. how many partners are sympathetic to marketing and supportive of the marketing operation?<\/li>\n
    6. how strong are your cross-selling activities? (this will tell whether the partners cooperate with one another, or whether the firm is a collection of individuals who think of themselves first and the firm second.)<\/li>\n
    7. what are the industries you\u2019re strongest in, and which are your weakest?<\/li>\n
    8. do you use client service teams? how many? which practices? how are they organized and how are they monitored?<\/li>\n
    9. will i be able to regularly attend practice group meetings?<\/li>\n
    10. how large is the marketing department?<\/li>\n
    11. how large is the marketing budget?<\/li>\n
    12. how will marketing success or failure be judged?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      any marketing applicant who doesn\u2019t ask these questions \u2013 or questions like these \u2013 is going to be gone in 18 months or less. don\u2019t waste your time or the applicant\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

      at the same time, it helps to hire the best marketers if you consider:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. whether the applicant asks the foregoing questions.<\/li>\n
      2. the resume is only the tip of the iceberg. if it merely lists jobs, ask what responsibilities each job actually entailed, how they did it, and with what success.<\/li>\n
      3. get an assessment of how much they actually know about your profession. it may or may not be much, but the longer the experience the greater the knowledge.<\/li>\n
      4. successful marketing requires a great many different skills \u2013 writing for many different kinds of media, from brochures to press releases; networking; strategy; media relations; planning and running seminars; list management; and many more. ask which skills the interviewee has, and in which he or she is the strongest. don\u2019t ask about weaknesses and expect a straight answer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        thinking in terms of the foregoing, and not what you think you know about marketing but probably don\u2019t, will more likely get you an effective marketing operation \u2013 and knowledgeable marketers as well.<\/p>\n

        \"click<\/a>
        click to buy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        bruce w. marcus is a pioneer in professional services marketing and coauthor of “client at the core.” this is adapted from his new book, “professional services marketing 3.0,” available for purchase here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

        copyright. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n