The Essence of a Marketing Manager in a Home Improvement Company

So you want to hire a Marketing Manager. Someone suggests you go to a headhunter or a dot com site. You get inundated with resumes from those with degrees in marketing or those with marketing backgrounds in major corporations - ad nauseam. Unfortunately, most of these applicants cannot fill the job.

The most appropriate applicant as a Marketing Manager for a lead based home improvement company has usually worked for a company with "in home" salespeople. They have a feel for what will pull leads in various advertising mediums; they understand the kind and quality of leads the company needs, as well as the kind and styles of the salespeople who will be issued the lead. A Marketing Manager in the home improvement business has the responsibility of keeping the lead pipeline full.

The ideal Marketing Manager will have to understand budget limitations, lead issuance and control factors and, above all, that leads are a precious commodity. Most leads are obtained expensively, and once acquired remain viable until your company or a competitor sells the product of interest to the prospect. Your Marketing Manager has to understand database management, confirmation and rehash scripting, how to negotiate with the media, event sources and S.F.I. relationships with big box and other similar "brand" sources. If a call center is involved, the ability to hire, train and supervise others is a necessity.

None of the above obviates the possibility that you won't find "a diamond" without the experience defined. However, prepare yourself for training and control in the early stages because Marketing Managers in home improvement organizations are still an enigma.

Cues: Write the job description before you hire. Detail issues such as: what performance is expected, what budget to maintain (including the cost of the marketing manager) along with territory and product limitations. Compensate with a base salary and incentives for meeting budget requirements. Finally, evaluate these 3 considerations regarding the applicant: Can they do the job? Will they do the job? Do they fit?