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- This isn’t a comprehensive list, but good questions to keep in mind to get started. [01:27]
- “What’s your biggest win?” This is a question I always ask whether you’re looking for a growth hacker or SEO specialist. This will give you insight to how they think and what they think is impressive. [01:41]
- When asking this question, some candidates will say they ranked the word “shoes” as #1 over 10 years ago. This was obviously before SEO was even difficult and it shows how little your skills have grown. [02:20]
- You need more metrics and details and how it affected the bottom line. [03:05]
- Once they give you some feedback, you can ask more about what was involved and the metrics chosen. [04:08]
- You can also tell by their demeanor if they’re shy about it or not. If they’re reserved by it, they’re probably not that impressed by it themselves. [04:43]
- Don’t hire people that don’t impress you. Hire people smarter than you. [05:07]
- “What’s your favorite Internet marketing blog?” This tells me where they’re searching or I might discover a blog I’ve never heard of. [05:24]
- The worst answer they can give is that they’re not sure or there’s too many to pick from. [05:50]
- You’ll be surprised how many people stumble over this question. [06:21]
- “What’s the last book you read?” It could be fiction or non-fiction, and I can find out how the book affected them. [06:46]
- Sometimes the answer I get is they haven’t read in over 6-months. One of our core values is continuing to learn. So while it’s fine if they haven’t read, it’s not a good fit for us. [07:23]
- “Imagine a funnel showing 10k visitors, 5 of your leads, 50 opportunities and 10 new customers. What would you do as a marketer to improve this funnel?” Ultimately you want someone who can target part of the funnel to improve conversion rates. [08:00]
- There’s no wrong answer, but you want to find out how people think, and whether they’re a good fit and can impress you. [09:05]
- “For our product or service, what do you think our low hanging fruit is?” Ask them to develop a 90 day plan or marketing powerpoint presentation to see how they think. [9:24]
- Figure out if this person can create a marketing plan without hand-holding. Ask if it’s impressive. [10:05]
Selected Links from this Episode:
- How to Hire Effective Marketers
- My interview with John Levisay from Craftsy on hiring people smarter than you are
Selected questions to ask a growth hacker or Internet marketer:
1) “What’s your biggest win?”
2) “What’s your favorite Internet marketing blog?”
3) “What’s the last book you read?”
4) “Imagine a funnel showing 10k visitors, 5 of your leads, 50 opportunities and 10 new customers. What would you do as a marketer to improve this funnel?”
5) “For our product or service, what do you think our low hanging fruit is?”
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