Marketing Headhunter

BIG MISTAKE: "Passing on the Right Candidate."

ATLANTA, GA - Very often I hear my clients lament that they've hired the wrong person.  Naturally, I hear this when clients call me to get a replacement for the wrong person they've hired.  Despite their best efforts, they've let the wrong person on the bus.  And now the wrong person needs to be ushered off the bus, and the right person needs to be identified, recruited, and seated [see page 8].

But here's something to consider:  What if you fail to hire the right person, even when given the opportunity?  That's what Warren Buffet calls a sin of omission, the kind that isn't picked up by conventional accounting.  It's like buyer's remorse, only the buyer is remorseful that he didn't buy.

That happened to me tonight.

My company is doing some hiring, and I just passed on a candidate who I'm sure will be incredibly successful some day.  He was right out of college, spilling into the worst job market college graduates have seen in several generations.  Was he bitter?  No.  Did he have a sense of entitlement because of his education and background?  No.  Did he have a great attitude, and was he positive outcome oriented?  Yes.

Was he humble?  Truly humble?  Yep.

It's painful to pass on a candidate that I know would serve my clients so well.  As I interviewed this young guy, I thought to myself "My clients would love this person.  This person would be so driven to succeed for my clients;  to listen to them;  to solve their problems;  to anticipate their needs;  to care for them personally and professionally."

And this person would have been driven to prospect endlessly for new people to serve ... day after day ... week after week ... month after month.

And I can tell all of this by the way this person handled my rejection.

Mostly, he wanted to make sure that his relationship with me stayed intact.  And he didn't say this in a weird, clingy, Fatal Attraction sort of way.  He was professional and thanked me for my time (which is valuable) and my interest (which was sincere).  He then asked me for my assessment of two other offers he is considering.  From the moment I finished rejecting him, the rest of our call took forty-five minutes.  We plan to have lunch again next week, and I'm proud to say I have a new friend.

I'm also sad to report that I'm a complete jackass for missing the boat on him.

One of the things I'm learning about running a service business is that if I hire recruiters who are too money motivated, they will be too transactional in their dealings with clients.  We've all had unpleasant dealings with pushy recruiters.  Great recruiters must be "other focused."

By the same token, great recruiters must be driven to prospect for new candidates and clients to serve -- often by cold calling.  I'm not ashamed to say that I am a total ninja badass when it comes to making friends on the phone, mostly because I don't hear rejection.  It's like being tone deaf or color blind.  Show me a recruiter who fears rejection and I'll show you a total failure.

This candidate had both traits.  Being a recruiter, you'd think I would have known that.

VIDEO: "How to Answer an Interview Question."

WASHINGTON, DC - Some people don't like President Obama's friend and FOX News commentator, Dana Perino.  That's a shame.  She's really smart, and she has a very teachable point of view on new media and politics.  Just because she's on the right doesn't mean she's not good at what she does.  James Carville is an example of a brilliant guy on the left.  Good people can be seen on both sides of today's political issues.

But nevermind. This post isn't about politics.  There's nothing political about what you'll see below.  This post is about job interviews.

As I was flipping around YouTube tonight, I stumbled across the following video. And I thought to myself, "What if Dana Perino were a candidate in a job interview?"

Imagine that.  Just for a couple moments, divorce yourself from any personal feelings you may have about Ms. Perino.  Now, listen to the interviewer's questions, and listen to Ms. Perino's answers.

Watch her eye contact ... Watch her breathing ... Watch how she carries her shoulders ... Listen to her logic as first she answers the interviewer's questions, and then personably volunteers her own brief perspective on each issue.  She's being helpful without being a know it all.  And the interviewer can tell that Ms. Perino has incredibly deep knowledge in the areas of online PR, media, and crisis management (which are her areas of expertise).

This, to me, is what a highly monetize-able candidate should look and sound like.  This is the ideal.  Personable, helpful, and highly expert. Strategically aware. Able to see ahead clearly, and eager to posit her vision in a helpful way.

What are YOUR areas of expertise?  Why should someone hire YOU??

Frankly, if I were a job candidate today, I would spend a great deal of time reading high-quality weblogs in my professional field.  I would also download an iPhone app with standard, open-ended job interview questions presented in the form of electronic flashcards.

Then I would rehearse ... and rehearse ... and rehearse ... and rehearse.

You can make the in-person interview your comfort zone -- but to do that, you gotta drill, drill, drill.  I used to be a professional musician.  Trust me:  An important job interview is no different than a big gig.  You gotta make being great your TOP priority right this instant.  You must decide today to become smart and fluent in your professional language.  Otherwise, you're just gonna end up with what the rest of the world wants you to have.  Which ain't much.

To get a job today, you have to know your stuff.  There's really no way around it.  There are no second place finishers in a job interview.  Dana Perino knows her stuff.  See for yourself.  Why not be this good?

Ask Harry: "Will a certificate in Internet Marketing help me get a better ecommerce job?"

QUESTION:  Hey Harry, I will be going for a certificate in Internet Marketing from University of San Francisco. In your opinion, do you feel this will help me get a better ecommerce job in the future?

ANSWER:  "It depends."  Mathematically, there are only three things that matter in ecommerce:

1. Increasing monthly unique visits;
2. Boosting an average order value; and
3. Increasing a website's conversion rate.

That's it.  Everything else is secondary (at least in my world, which is transactional ecommerce).

So the real question is: "Will your program's curriculum teach you how to do one or all of these things?"

For example, there are several ways to drive traffic, including organic search, paid search, email marketing, and affiliate marketing.  Rich content, social media, and mobile marketing may contribute to new unique visitors, but let's set aside that point for now.  What will your program teach you about driving qualified traffic?  Specifically?  You need to know.

Next, what will the program teach you about boosting an average order value?  What will you know about cross-selling and up selling after you graduate?  How will you be able to better merchandise an ecommerce website?  What will you know about promotional calendaring that you do not already know?

What about boosting the conversion rate?  What will you know about UX and UI issues that you do not already know?

The University of Abstraction

Knowing exactly what you want out of a continuing ed program will keep you from getting mired in the abstractions that seem to pervade in academia.  You have heard the joke "Those who can't do, teach."  There's some truth to that -- although I can't be too hard on the process of getting an advanced degree.  I have an iMBA, and I'm so glad I do, even though much of what I learned in B-school in the 1990s was either irrelevant then or is obsolete now.

HOWEVER: It was in B-school that I learned how to consume, synthesize, and prioritize huge volumes of course material.  I use that skill every single day.  Plus, I became financially literate at grad school, and that information is priceless.  Having an analytical bias is, in my opinion, essential to success in online marketing.  Will your intended program give you such a bias?  Ask.

How to get an "A" in my book:

Not too long ago I was interviewed by Internet Retailer magazine about this very issue.  Like you, IR wanted to know if there are any university programs for ecommerce that I have found to be particularly differentiating for candidates.  My answer was no.

If I were designing a university level ecommerce course, I would center the entire curriculum around researching a rabid market or subculture, buying a keyword rich domain, locating drop-ship suppliers of relevant products, and wire framing / launching a real website on an inexpensive platform like MonsterCommerce.com.

The balance of the course would involve driving traffic to the student's site through organic search (although it can take months for a site to get indexed), paid search, email marketing, display ads, and possibly affiliate marketing.  Any student who sells something gets an "A" for the course.  Hey, you can't get any more "real world" than to sell something!  Just ask any entrepreneur who has actually built a business.

Naturally, there are less involved ways to structure this type of project, such as launching an "A-store" through Amazon.com.  But the reality is that students learn best by doing.

As info, this is what I intend to do with my own kids when they get older.  I own hundreds of domain names, including OddPuzzles.com, TeasOfTheWorld.com, BBQLand.com, iLoveBaking.com, and BornSalesman.com for just this purpose.

More than anything, I want my kids to be self-sufficient. Today's world demands that.  If your course at USF helps you become more self-sufficient, then go for it.

iPhone Theater: "Organize Your Thoughts for Your Job Interview"

HOLLYWOOD, CA - Here's something I've never done in my five years of blogging:  A video!  But you know what?  Sometimes, when I'm out running errands, I have "bloggable thoughts" and nothing handy but my kids and an iPhone.  So there you have it.  Hopefully, the video format will compensate for the fact that my schedule is ten pounds of stuff in a five pound bag.  If you like it, I'll do these more often.

In this first episode of iPhone Theater, I have decided to explain a marketing model that I encourage all of my candidates to use as they prepare for their ecommerce interviews.  It's called the Ansoff "Product-Market Growth Matrix" and it has proven to be highly effective in helping ecommerce job candidates figure out exactly how their functional skills (SEO, SEM, email marketing, social media, etc.) will apply in a client's business.

Models have their limits, but this one has worked many times in live interviews.

That's because models are designed to simplify complex things, and if an ecommerce candidate can simplify big issues without dumbing them down too much -- then the hiring committee will usually assume that the candidate has a knack for thinking and communicating clearly.  Good communication leads to more closed searches than any other candidate attribute.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the video and the content.  Is this helpful?  Should I do more of these?  I already know I need a better camera ...

Should airlines PAY you to check your bags?

ATLANTA - Today I subscribed to the WSJ "Pro" online edition.  At $50/month, it's like a super search engine for company and executive intel.  (A must for recruiters.)  To test it out, I searched for my brother, Eric Joiner, and learned why his blog got a bazillion hits last month.  Turns out that one of his blog posts got picked up first by Reuters ... then by NPR.

Great analysis re: why airlines should PAY you to check your bags.  Seriously.

APRIL FOOLS: Lowe's New "Swipe per Wipe" Initiative is a Total Joke.

MOORESVILLE, NC - A friend of a friend of a friend sent me the following email, which was routed internally at Lowe's as an April Fool's prank.  I'm so happy to see a Fortune 500 company with an industrial-strength sense of humor!  Evidently, a lot of Lowe's workers took this story seriously, and earlier today, Lowe's management had to put a lid on it.

From: Internal Communications
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 5:05 PM
Subject: Lowe's New Corporate Responsibility & Cost Reduction Initiative

Have you ever wondered how much paper waste the Mooresville Customer Support Center generates?  On any given month the Mooresville campus consumes enough linear feet of toilet paper that it would reach Atlanta and back!

In Lowe’s continued efforts to minimizing operational expenses while being a steward of the environment, a new “Swipe per Wipe” initiative will begin May 1, 2010.  The “Swipe per Wipe” initiative will require all Lowe’s employees and contractors to swipe their ID Badge to gain entry into each restroom stall in the building.  By swiping your Lowe’s employee badge across the lock of each restroom stall prior to entering, the toilet paper dispenser will be unlocked for use as well.  All hand towel dispensers will also function in the same fashion.

Simply swipe your Lowe’s badge in front of the paper dispenser each time you wish to advance the paper. Installation of the badge readers are scheduled to be completed the week of April 12th.

If you have any questions regarding the use of the facilities or what swipe information will be shared with your manager, the full details of the “Swipe & Wipe” initiative can be found on Lowesnet.  Together, we can make Lowe’s an even stronger partner in reducing our environmental impact while also impacting our bottom line.

Is that awesome, or what?  Bravo, Lowe's!

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