How to (finally) Hire the Right Marketing Person

“I keep hiring marketing people who don’t get me and don’t deliver what I need!”

Have you ever said this?

From interior designers to boutique hotels to retail shops, I hear it almost every time I have a marketing consult call - I often hear it from friends over a glass of wine!

The second most common thing I hear, “Uggggg - my website designer just didn’t get it.”

Even though I am a marketing person, I have made so many mistakes myself when hiring website designers, photographers, graphic designers, etc. Some things I decided just to learn to do myself and with the others, I started listening to myself.

Here are six steps that can help you find a really good marketing consultant.

1 | Ask.

Ask your colleagues who they have used. Ask your friends. It is not always important that the consultant is in your industry, but they should at least understand your industry. I will often ask why they like to work with my industry.

If you see someone’s social media that you think is brilliant, send them a DM and ask who they use. If you see someone doing creative, wonderful promotions, see if they hired someone to help them.

2 | Find someone who fits your personality and the personality of your brand.

Forget the gurus and the big names. (unless they fit you!) Most of them are too expensive, anyway. Find a few people and do your research. Go to their websites; read their blogs; listen to their podcasts; read their social media; look at their testimonials. Ask yourself, “Do I like her/him?” “Does this feel good?”

3 | Be honest with yourself about a) your business and its current state and b) what you actually need.

Are you ready for a new website? Do you have brand clarity? Can you easily explain what makes you different - not better, but different? Most experts specialize in different things. If you don’t know what you need, it’s hard to know who to hire.

Part II of this is knowing what YOU need, not just your business. How do you like to work? Are you okay with something that is a bit formulaic? (not always a bad thing - you may not need 100% custom).

Do you need help figuring it all out, communicating better, or creating a better customer/guest/client experience?

“I think with every single one of my (favorite) clients, we have gone beyond the time limit of the free consult call? Why? Because we were having so much fun talking! That was the start of a great relationship.”

— Kimberly Sundt

4 | If you don’t know what you need, ask.

Do you have a really good friend that you don’t want to hire (you know - hiring friends and all that), but she understands marketing? Maybe casually ask her - just don’t ask her for a full report; for that, offer to pay her.

Schedule a consult call with a couple of consultants that you are considering. They may not be willing to give you all the answers, but if they won’t at least tell you their perspective on your business, walk away.

5 | During that consult call, pay attention to how much they listen to you and pay attention to the energy on the call.

Basic, right? You have so many questions during a consult, you sometimes ignore the underlying feeling.

One thing I keep finding is people have a cookie-cutter solution they give to all clients and in my personal opinion, that is not good enough. Ask yourself if you really feel heard on the call.

Ask how they like to communicate - text? email? A project management system like Asana? Does that work for you?

Ask them about their process.

Do they cut you off right at the 20-minute mark? Unless it’s a really bad fit, I never do that.

I think with every single one of my (favorite) clients, we have gone beyond the time limit of the free consult call. Why? Because we were having so much fun talking!

6 | Ask them, “when we are finished, what do you hope I say about our working together?”

I know - this one is random. But, it is a good question as it helps you see if they have empathy and if they can think for themselves. Most of the time you are hiring someone that will be working with you for several weeks or even months. This is not a quick, cheap transaction - it is a relationship.

It’s hard to hire someone in a service-focused industry. You don’t know if you really like your new doctor until you get into her/his office. You don’t know if you’ll like your colorist/stylist until after they have finished with your hair. Or more often, until you get home. (I need someone to advise me on this - I STILL don’t like my color!)

When you spend time thinking about what a good fit looks like for your business needs and your personal needs, you are already more likely to find a marketing person who is a win for you.