I’ve hired hundreds of people in my career (law and business). I’ve looked at thousands of resumes and conducted more interviews than I can count. One thing I’ve learned is that while resumes and interviews and checking references help, you really don’t know how someone will do until you give them a try.
Some people look good on paper but aren’t right for the job. Some don’t present well in an interview but turn out to be great at doing the work.
You make an educated guess, but you don’t know until you hire them.
This is also true in the world of marketing. You don’t know how something will work out for you until you try it.
If you don’t have a blog, how do you know it’s too much work or won’t be worth the effort?
If you’ve never tried advertising, or only advertised (unsuccessfully) in the yellow pages, how do you know it’s not for you?
If you tried networking once or twice and hated it, how do you know you won’t love it if you find the right crowd?
You don’t. Because you don’t know what you don’t know.
Just as you have to hire a lot of people to find the ones who work out and stay with you long term, you have to try out lots of marketing techniques to find the ones that are the right fit. If something doesn’t work out, fine. But before you “fire” that activity, you might want to give it a second chance.
With a little time and a little coaching, it might turn out to be an amazing addition to your team.
