Secrets of Marketing - #1 part II

Last week we started talking about secrets of marketing. This week we continue discussing what I consider the first secret of marketing - Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.

• The second thing to look for is Servitude.
This can show itself in many ways. Does this person participate in the community? Does she volunteer her time anywhere? Does he use his talents to help others? Does this person like to help others? Ask questions to draw this out. Does this person plan on offering such services? Knowing how they feel about service will tell you all you need to know about how they will work with others, especially your customers.

“Show me someone who things he is too important to serve, and I’ll show you someone who is basically insecure. How we treat others is really a reflection of how we think about ourselves.” - John C. Maxwell

“The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbors as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant of others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

This is a vital step in the hiring process. You must find those who are secure with who (or know who) they are and are willing to go on from there.

More next week.

Secrets of Marketing - #1

The old rules of marketing are as dead as the once great societies of Greece and Rome. The consumer has stolen them from you. They wield the power now, you have seen it too, know it or not. You can choose to ignore the future and do the same old things or look into why things aren't working so well.

To sell more stuff to more people more often for higher profits you must apply the marketing secrets ignored by all but the most savvy business owner. Which are you?

1. The First secret of marketing is Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.
A great employee is worth 1,000 times more to your businesses success than an average employee! Invest the time necessary to get the right employees the first time.

Few employers take the time necessary to weed out employees that do more damage to their organization that help. The most important thing to do when hiring is to find people who have the right attitude!

What To Look For:
• The first thing to look for in an employee is Teachability.
Is he willing to do what is required of him? Will she accept advice from peers? Will he find out the answer to a question he doesn’t know or just give up? Will she seek advice from you or others when needed?

You can teach the skills that are particular to your business, but you cannot easily motivate the unmotivated! “It’s easier to teach data than to change personalities.”1

Focus your attention more on this and the following unseen skill-set. These unseen skills affect your bottom line more than any other decision you make.

Consider this, the average consumer has a circle of influence of 52 people. One poor experience with your staff can have devastating repercussions to your business. If that one person tells 52 people never to do business with you again and each of those tell 52 in no time 2,704 people have the message that you are not the place to take your business. Compound that with a blog and one poor staff experience can turn into a disaster.

More on this next week.

Hiring is Marketing - What skills should you be looking for?

Spend a little bit of time contemplating the many skills an employee needs to be successful at your business. You should keep a list of the skills you feel are most relevant to the position you are trying to fill.

Then when you write your ads describe the person you need to fill the position. Don’t waste your time listing the skills you think you need in your ad. You need people with strong character traits! Such a person can quickly and easily learn a certain program or procedure.

Nadji Tehrani wrote an excellent article called Effective Hiring And Keeping “The Right People”—44 Characteristics Of “The Right People.” In it you will find what he considers to be the 44 most important characteristics of “the right person.” (Find the article on www.tmcnet.com)

The most interesting thing about this list is that the majority of these characteristics I consider to be basic human decency. But since he found a need to write them down they are no longer the basics you get from your talent pool. Making it all the more important to the success of your marketing plan to find people with strong character traits.

Hire Brighter!

Are you hiring the brightest people you can find? Or are you worried that they will replace you and don't hire them? Successful leaders don't let their fears stop them! They are brave, optimistic and full of positive beliefs. They know what David Ogilvy knew and hired the best.

*Each of the 217 times David Ogilvy opened a new office for Ogilvy & Mather he’d leave a set of Russian nesting dolls on the desk of the incoming manager. When the manager removed the top half from the largest of these bowling pin-shaped dolls, he or she would find a slightly smaller doll inside. This would continue until the manager came to the tiniest doll and retrieved from its interior what looked to be the note from a fortune cookie: “If each of us hires people smaller than ourselves, we shall become a company of midgets. But if each of us hires people bigger than ourselves, we shall become a company of giants." — David Ogilvy.

Better advice could not be written. This shows vision and strength of character and will help you grow like no other thing you can do. Good luck this year.

*Found on The Monday Morning Memo for Nov. 5, 2007 - Ronald, Bill and You