8 Steps to Hiring Your Marketing Expediter

1. Determine your marketing needs. What marketing channels do you need managed and driven? What has worked in the past?

1. Managing Internal Marketing/Customer Service
2. Physician Relations
3. Community Relations and Business to Business Marketing
4. Social Media
5. Content/Collateral Development
6. Public Relations and Advertising

2. Develop your job description.

1. Create a brief position description based on how you see the allocation of time and responsibilities.
2. Outline the essential functions and key accountabilities.
3. dentify minimum qualifications.
1. Education
2. Experience
3. Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
4. Key Working Relationships
5. Physical Requirements of Job

3. Develop the compensation and incentive package. Individuals hired to drive sales/business to your practice should have at least a percentage of their compensation based on actual referrals/revenue!

1. Build your budget based on revenue per referral generated. Figure out how many referrals you need to break even on the hire and then build incentives to grow beyond that number.
1. Look at your cost per visit and resulting profit per visit.
2. Look at the number of visits and referrals.
2. Create a lower but reasonable base salary with added incentives.

4. Find the best candidates for the position.

1. Look within your team: Have anyone who is a good fit with some training and support?
2. Ask your key staff to recommend friends, business associates, or colleagues from other jobs.
3. Think about if you have any past patients who are raving fans who also have a background in sales and/or customer service.
4. Consider reaching out to local university marketing and communications programs for new professionals, if you have the time to develop them!
5. Advertise in local papers/e-news that are well consumed (some are dying and just not worth it!).
6. Try www.CraigsList.org. Believe it or not, this site is widely used. You get what you pay for—no frills—but it is very affordable and has become legitimate. Look at other sites for more robust examples of ads, but don’t dismiss CraigsList.
7. Look to www.Indeed.com for a paid advertisement. Then on to the “big” career sites such as www.Monster.com and www.CareerBuilder.com.

5. Pre-Interview qualified candidates.

1. Ask for and review their résumés.
2. Perform a phone-screening interview.
3. Give an assignment before the interview.
1. Ask the candidate to review your website and visit your clinic before the interview meeting. Then ask for the candidate’s observations at the interview.
2. Ask them to describe how they feel they might fit in and bring something to your organization.
3. Ask them to choose one or two specialty services you offer and come prepared to “sell that service to you” in three minutes.
4. Ask for one or two ideas for improvements/enhancements.
4. What is a great pre-interview assignment for your practice?

6. Interview the candidates who have passed the pre-interview.

1. Identify the most important knowledge areas, skills, and abilities the ideal candidate should possess.
2. Create the same specific questions that you will ask of all candidates that will clearly and behaviorally demonstrate to you that they have these critical factors.
3. Include a role play.
4. Involve one or two other interviewers in this process.
5. Make sure you know enough about a candidate before you hire that person, and never, ever hire even a moderately qualified person just because you need someone right now.

7. Verify their credentials and fit for your practice.

1. Check references!
2. Create the same specific questions that you will ask of all candidates that will clearly and behaviorally demonstrate to you that they have these critical factors.
3. Include a role play.
4. Involve one or two other interviewers in this process.
5. Make sure you know enough about a candidate before you hire that person, and never, ever hire even a moderately qualified person just because you need someone right now.

8. Hire new employees and set them up for success.

1. Hire slowly . . . Fire quickly!
2. Hire people who are better/smarter than you are!
3. Share your culture and your mission/vision from Day #1!
4. Offer an initial onboarding process to set the stage for success!
5. Communicate expectations clearly and often.
6. Ask a lot of questions. Listen carefully to the answers.
7. Give ongoing feedback both positive and constructive!
8. Look for ongoing opportunities for training and development!
9. Check in on accountabilities!