Marketing for "Human Capital": It's Not Staffing, It's Marketing

by Terri Robinson (c)2000

With a shortage of qualified candidates, it takes strategic planning and more than a little targeted marketing to find great hires. Youhave to "sell" your company to the person you want to hire - but first, you have to find the best person for the job!

How important is your management team when you are trying to find funding?

The Profit Dynamics Inc. 1999 Venture Capital Survey asked over 450 venture capitalists what they looked for when choosing companies toinvest in. In answer to the question "How do you define quality management? " 83% of the Venture Capitalists include successfulexperience or proven track record in their response. One respondent says "Without an experienced CEO, they should lower the price theyexpect for their stock, because the venture capitalist views the risk as higher."

At a recent AZIPA meeting, a panel of Venture capitalists, angel investors, and other experts involved in the VC world answeredquestions about what they look at when deciding what companies to invest in. One expert said that his company considers themanagement team 80% of the determining factor in whether to invest in a company!

So, how do you go about finding your management team? You can advertise in the local newspapers, but be prepared for the fact thatthe best person for the job is probably "not" actively looking for a new job.

If you decide to hire a third party to be your partner in your search, you should understand the difference between staffing agencies who"have candidate databases and 'sell' those to you" and recruiters/headhunters that "analyze YOUR needs, conduct a personalsearch based on those needs, pre-screens and sends only the most qualified few candidates to you for approval, and helps you negotiatethe best deal with the person."

Your company's success depends on who you hire!

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Terri Robinson, President - Robinson & Associates, a woman-owned recruiting company that specializes in sales and marketingprofessionals. Terri has been published in Arizona Women's News, Arizona Reporter Online News, and MediaPeak News. Surf tohttp://www.recruit2hire.com call 602-233-8410, or e-mailterri-robinson@recruit2hire.com

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