Marketing Wisdom

Let’s refresh everyones thinking on managing your direct reports.

1) Anyone can manage others. Through fear, through intimidation, through reward, through favoritism, or, the best way, through leadership.

2) You are not the only one who manages your team. Every individual that they come in contact with affects their performance, their judgment, and their desire to finish/accomplish their (and your) goal.

3) Leadership by example will drive your staff forward. Do as I say AND as I do is the best way to manage – through example.

4) It is not necessary to have the largest or most direct reports to get a promotion. Promotions come with delivery – on time and on cost.

5) Surrounding yourself with a staff that “fills” your weakness’ is the smartest and fastest way to get a job done. Of course, learn from what they can teach you – knowledge is a strength, not a weakness.

6) Include them in as many decision making process’ as possible; not necessarily making a decision, but, seeing how it is done, what the end goals are, and what objectives and dates are important. If everyone buys in to the decision AND the goal, you are half way there to accomplishing it.

I’m sure there are more that you can add. Please fill free.

I believe that I have spoken about this previously, but, here is a little more info to help you.

Do you need to have a Scope of Work document to give to an agency (or RFD, etc.). Yes and no, depending on where you are in the process.

I am going to assume that you have not done this before and this will be the first time that your company has asked an Agency to “bid” for your business.

1.) Sit with your CEO, CMO, VP of Marketing and decide/determine what you want an agency to accomplish for you in the first six months and one year from date of hire.

This should be a simple statement (almost a mission statement) that address’ what you want – some want brand building, some want product awareness, some want damage control, etc.

2.) Write each of them an email and asked if they were interested – it gives great insight into how they react to the unexpected (and of course, if it took a week to answer, they don’t make the cut).

3) Have a conference call with them and lay out what you are looking for; this should be 10-20 minutes of you talking about what your want the END RESULT to be (one year from now). Then do 10-20 minutes of Q&A

4) Based on that discussion, THEN put together a scope of work and mail to them. The first page should state again your mission and what was already said in conference call; pages 2 & 3 are all the questions that they need to answer within “x” amount of time (I usually give 14 days business days). Questions should be like:

a. Who would manage the account (who, amount of time, what/who else do they manage on a daily basis)

b. How would they spend the $100,000 budget (example) (page one talks about what you want – so, say to them, “if you only had $100,000, how would you use that to accomplish our goals?”

c. What’s the reporting structure? Who calls whom when?

d. Who are some of their elite media contacts that could help you gain market awareness? (or share?)

You get the idea.

One last point – do NOT hire an agency until you and management have decided on the mission and what you want to accomplish. It is a waste of money to do anything else.