s release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out ev

During one interview at a Milwaukee-area construction company, I was asked “What’s the deal with marketing people anyways? Why can’t they keep a job for more than a year?”

Well they can, of course, keep jobs for lengthy periods of time, but the fact remains that many marketing people do not stay very long at the same firm. While every situation is different, two popular reasons for this are that the marketing person gets frustrated and leaves or the firm gets frustrated with marketing and/or sales and lets the staff go. Either way, these issues are a cost to companies in training and recruiting, not to mention the hit their marketing plan takes every time someone new needs to resurrect it.

So how do you hire a great marketing person that will want to stay at your company for the long haul? Here are some tips.

1. If you currently do not have a marketing person at your company, first determine what level of marketing you need. Do you need consultants to fill in from time to time, or a full-time staff person? Does this person need to be well-versed in marketing and direct the effort, or is the marketing and brand so well established they only need to take direction? Be cautious in what you decide here and take an honest look at your organization. Many owners think marketing runs itself, and they only find out otherwise when they lose a great marketing person and have to replace them.

2. Develop a marketing plan so you know exactly what direction you want your marketing staff to take. A marketing plan is not the same as your business plan. It’s definitely not your sales plan. A true marketing plan not only maps out where you expect to go but how you’ll get there. Without it, you are sailing across an endless sea without a sail, map, or guide. You are lost. And what’s worse, you probably don’t even know it.

3. Define the types of skills you want your marketing person to have. If they need to write press releases and proposals, make sure they know how to do it. Interview them at length, ask for samples of previous work, and test them during the interview. It’s not unreasonable to ask someone to write a mock press release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out eve

these issues are a cost to companies in training and recruiting, not to mention the hit their marketing plan takes every time someone new needs to resurrect it.

So how do you hire a great marketing person that will want to stay at your company for the long haul? Here are some tips.

1. If you currently do not have a marketing person at your company, first determine what level of marketing you need. Do you need consultants to fill in from time to time, or a full-time staff person? Does this person need to be well-versed in marketing and direct the effort, or is the marketing and brand so well established they only need to take direction? Be cautious in what you decide here and take an honest look at your organization. Many owners think marketing runs itself, and they only find out otherwise when they lose a great marketing person and have to replace them.

2. Develop a marketing plan so you know exactly what direction you want your marketing staff to take. A marketing plan is not the same as your business plan. It’s definitely not your sales plan. A true marketing plan not only maps out where you expect to go but how you’ll get there. Without it, you are sailing across an endless sea without a sail, map, or guide. You are lost. And what’s worse, you probably don’t even know it.

3. Define the types of skills you want your marketing person to have. If they need to write press releases and proposals, make sure they know how to do it. Interview them at length, ask for samples of previous work, and test them during the interview. It’s not unreasonable to ask someone to write a mock press release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out ev

ing and direct the effort, or is the marketing and brand so well established they only need to take direction? Be cautious in what you decide here and take an honest look at your organization. Many owners think marketing runs itself, and they only find out otherwise when they lose a great marketing person and have to replace them.

2. Develop a marketing plan so you know exactly what direction you want your marketing staff to take. A marketing plan is not the same as your business plan. It’s definitely not your sales plan. A true marketing plan not only maps out where you expect to go but how you’ll get there. Without it, you are sailing across an endless sea without a sail, map, or guide. You are lost. And what’s worse, you probably don’t even know it.

3. Define the types of skills you want your marketing person to have. If they need to write press releases and proposals, make sure they know how to do it. Interview them at length, ask for samples of previous work, and test them during the interview. It’s not unreasonable to ask someone to write a mock press release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out ev

arketing plan not only maps out where you expect to go but how you’ll get there. Without it, you are sailing across an endless sea without a sail, map, or guide. You are lost. And what’s worse, you probably don’t even know it.

3. Define the types of skills you want your marketing person to have. If they need to write press releases and proposals, make sure they know how to do it. Interview them at length, ask for samples of previous work, and test them during the interview. It’s not unreasonable to ask someone to write a mock press release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out ev

s release, for example, during their interview.

4. Be absolutely clear in developing your marketing person’s job description. One of the biggest reasons great marketing people leave is because they end up doing work that was never even talked about in the interview. Don’t make assumptions that your marketing person will just know everything you want them to do because it’s different from organization to organization. (Not every marketing person plans the company picnic or orders letterhead, for example. Nor should they.) Lay out even the smallest of duties in the job description and make sure all expectations are understood from the beginning.

5. Meet with your marketing person frequently and gage their happiness quotient. You’ll know when you’re happy or dissatisfied with your marketing person’s performance, but unless you speak with them directly about how their position is progressing or how happy they are with your firm you won’t know whether or not they’re ready to leave. If your marketing person talks to you, listen. It might make the difference between keeping a great marketing person or having to go through the process of recruiting a new one... again.