79-what-most-fund-managers-overlook-when-hiring-marketing-pros-story-snacks-series
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[00:00:00] Craving more knowledge, but don't always have time to sit down for a five course meal. Take a quick snack break with StorySnacks. Bite sized content to feed your funnel. Each short episode features Stacey digging into one question. This series has her talking stories, sales, and so much more. Oh yeah, it's time for StorySnacks.
[00:00:28] What are the most effective strategies for boutique investment firms when hiring marketing professionals? And how do you determine the need to transition from outsourcing to adding in house support that goes beyond the sounder? Okay. The first thing in general I would say, a common mistake that I've seen managers make is we find this fantastic candidate, sales or marketing, and they just wow [00:01:00] us on all the levels.
[00:01:02] and they've got the stats and they've got the personality and they're great cultural fit and everything and we hire them and we forget to check one important thing. What size, flash, what stage was their previous firm where they had all this success? What size or stage was that firm at? And does it match where you are now?
[00:01:27] So one of the things that I've seen totally bomb out Is when a startup, and oh, by the way, I've seen this bomb out because it's happened to me, so let me just raise my hand on this one. I've seen this bomb out, and when a startup or early stage firm hires a really experienced industry vet with all the stats, but they were at a big, it's a huge problem because the sales process is entirely different.
[00:01:59] It's huge. [00:02:00] The prospects are entirely different. The skill set is potentially entirely different. So that's the big sort of red flag or mistake that I see a lot of asset managers make when they are hiring somebody from a different stage firm. Like really that might be one of the most important things.
[00:02:21] The second thing I want to say is a cautionary red flag waving. happening here. And I say this with peace and love because I am this. Beware of the 20 year industry veteran with the golden Rolodex. Again, I say this with peace and love. I am a 20 year industry veteran. I do have a very good Rolodex. The problem with It's not a problem.
[00:02:52] I don't want to say that. It's the challenge with people who are at that level in their career. [00:03:00] They've already done the hard work, right? They already hustled and got on the planes at 3 a. m. and weren't home for weeks on end and woke up in hotel rooms and didn't have any idea what city they were in, okay?
[00:03:14] I've been there. I've done that. I don't really want to do that anymore. And so while there's a whole cadre of us who have these great Rolodexes, making sure you put that industry vet in the right type of role is important. If you hire them with the expectation that they're going to fly all over, you know, the green earth meeting with all the prospects and never be home, you really want to make sure that that's what that person wants to do.
[00:03:48] So it's a very broad generalization and certainly there are some 20 year industry vets with golden Rolodexes who are hungry and have the hustle and would happily fly all over the place, but the [00:04:00] odds are that that person's been there, done that, and maybe doesn't want to do it again. You really need someone that's willing to grind if that's the role you're hiring for.
[00:04:11] The one about transitioning from founder led to making a hire, there's so much nuance to this, and I'm going to have my friend Amy Volis come on the podcast, hopefully soon, to talk about this transition process and the hiring process in this. What I will say, the first thing as the founder, you need to be ready and willing.
[00:04:34] To let go, really let that sink in, cause you've been doing the thing and you might think you want to pass it off, but I really want you to think about this, honestly, are you ready to do that? Now, that's not to say that the person's going to start and you're going to be like, here's a phone and a laptop, bye, see you later.
[00:04:53] You're still going to have to be with them in a lot of meetings, but I really want us to all be clear before we [00:05:00] delegate that we are ready to delegate. Okay. If the answer to that is yes, like you just don't have time to do all the things, then it's a great idea to start thinking about that transition plan.
[00:05:13] The next piece of advice I would have for you is, are your stories and process and kind of the magic that you share with prospects and in meetings, do you have that in a format that can be passed on? A lot of times with founders, and again, I'm raising my hand. All the magic is in their heads, it's in our heads.
[00:05:37] We know what we do in a meeting, we know what we say, we think everybody else knows, but they don't because it's written in our brains, our hearts, our souls, and not on a piece of paper. So it's very difficult to pass that to somebody to say, here's how the thing is done. So that would be a piece of homework or preparation that you could do ahead of time.
[00:05:58] Start recording some of your [00:06:00] calls or meetings, or just be ready to work on that with the person that you hire. Hope that helps.
[00:06:08] Are you an investment boutique looking to grow your business and need a little help? If you feel like you're fighting for the spotlight, and well, still stuck in the shadows of the bigs, join us in the Boutique Investment Collective, Havener's new membership community dedicated to the specialist in the investment industry.
[00:06:24] In the collective, we'll guide you through the billion dollar blueprint we've used to help boutiques add over 30 billion in AUM. You'll refine your story, Focus on your ideal target market and practice your pitch. You'll rethink your marketing materials, rewrite your emails, and refresh your differentiators.
[00:06:41] We'll even help you step up your LinkedIn game and give your profile a makeover. You want to grow your biz, we've got your back. Learn more about The Collective, the curriculum, and the amazing coaches who will help you on your journey. Visit havenercapital. com slash collective. High five! Hope to see you in a coaching session [00:07:00] soon.
[00:07:06] This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. The information is not an offer, solicitation, or recommendation of any of the funds, services, or products, or to adopt any investment strategy. Investment values may fluctuate and past performance is not a guide to future performance.
[00:07:25] All opinions expressed by guests on the show are solely their own opinion and do not necessarily reflect those at their firm. Manager's appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement by Stacey Havener or Havener Capital Partners.