1. SOLVING FOR THE
INBOUND TALENT GAP
how to attract the best talent, develop
true expertise, and keep them around
eric pratt
managing partner, revenue river

2. BACKGROUND
AND AGENDA
our story
our decisions
what we will talk about
what we won’t talk about

3. don’t exist
the experienced marketers you’re looking for

4. o target a specific type of young talent
o develop structure around personal development
o make it a lot of fun to come to work
o celebrate even the small victories
o reward competency and achievement
we decided to attract and develop our own

5. DEFINING YOURSELF AND YOUR FUTURE

6. o define yourself and who you’re looking for
o it’s important to articulate out who you want to be if who you are isn’t that great
o “we’re a high growth agency on the cutting edge of technology and we’re looking
for hungry, young talent looking to make a difference and build their future with us.”
o where are you going?
o it’s important to understand where you’re planning to go if you want to sell them
on why they should join and help you get there
o “we’re looking for people to help us grow from $500,000 to $3,000,000 by 2020.”
who are you and who do you want to be?
*Secret sauce: people get excited about being part of the big picture

7. DEFINING THE TYPE OF TALENT YOU WANT

8. 1. high character
2. under 5 years work experience
3. willing to embrace entry position and wages
4. digital natives with the right motivators
5. demonstrate initiative
THE IDEAL HIRE FOR THE JOB

9. ADJUST YOUR
GAME
overhaul your interview process
test candidates at every step
evaluate against that process

10. FIGURING OUT TYPE OF HIRE & TIMING

11. o prioritize for fulfillment above acquisition
o if you can’t sell, you better learn
o look for experience within technical skills
o writing, seo, design, development
o don’t overvalue or over pay for anything else
o marketing automation can be taught
o account management can be taught
how to prioritize which roles to fill ‘next’

12. o projections & capacity
o enter 2017 with a hiring plan
o adjust as the numbers dictate
o you have to hire ahead if you want to grow
o balance capacity, overhead, onboarding timeline, and profitability
when should you hire?
*Secret sauce: we run 1.5 hires ahead to ensure expert production capacity

13. ATTRACTING THE RIGHT TALENT

14. o we don’t look for talent, talent looks for us
o it’s not push, it’s pull
o execute inbound for yourself
o core skills not resumes
attracting talent isn’t done on monster.com
*Secret sauce: the best candidates are currently employed

15. 1) build your brand, frequency, and reach
1) join every applicable directory
2) play the social game
3) write about your agency, team, and accomplishments
2) address the persona on your website
1) consider user experience
2) form fields
3) nurturing
ways to attract the right talent

16. IDENTIFYING AND HIRING TALENT

17. everyone applies through web
lead with team & culture, proud of who
we are, not for everyone just like client fit
broad online presence for entry
google, builtincolorado, clutch, hubspot,
denver egotist, linkedin
identifying need
team allocation, capacity planning,
honest evaluation, insourcing
our approach to hiring
interview process tests everything
I do first interviews
profile & assignments
team does second interview
I break the tie
we profile like crazy
pdp works, ideal profile, motivators
what we don’t do
recruiters, inbound.org, monster, colleges

18. 1) set the stage
2) state intent
3) set agenda
4) confirm buy-in
how we frame an interview
• who we are and what we’re looking for
• what we’re hiring for and determining fit
• 10 minutes for me, 10 for you
• how’s that sound?
*Secret sauce: remember, everything is a test

19. • what would you do if you were struggling after 30 days?
• why have you struggled to find a place and stick?
• why is this position the right direction for your career?
• how do you plan your week?
• that’s impressive, what do you owe that success to?
coachability
transparency
desire
organization
humility
how we question and evaluate candidates
*Secret sauce: understand the character element behind the questions

20. o dominance
o take charge trait
o extroversion
o the people trait
insights our profiling tools give us
o pace
o the patience trait
o conformity
o the systems trait
*Secret sauce: it’s about how they’ll fit with others

21. • how they function without pressures
• how they adjust to matters of importance
• how they come across to others
• natural styles for daily interactions
• what motivates and demotivates
natural self
priority environment
outward self
operational styles
motivators
what profiling allows us to manage to
*Secret sauce: evaluate against ideal employee profile

22. DEVELOPING YOUR TALENT

23. CASTING THE
VISION
where we are
where we’re going
clarify the purpose
cement the culture
unleash talent

24. o standardized new hire onboarding and training
o dedicated mentor program
o established growth milestones
o documented processes and procedures
o structure requires creative thinking & collaboration
how we turn talent into marketing experts
*Secret sauce: we use methodologee as a toolset

25. o process-driven approach with heavy structure
o onboarding is about developing production capacity
o ongoing is about master and advancement
training for expertise
*Secret sauce: we give a detailed roadmap for their advancement

26. RETAINING THE TALENT YOU DEVELOP

27. 1. they hate their boss
2. they hate their co-workers
3. they don’t like what they do
4. they don’t like where they do it
WHY PEOPLE LEAVE THEIR JOBS

28. o continual review process
o what I like
o what needs improvement
o a challenge
o asking them to define their ideal role
o allow them to demonstrate their skills and desires
o organization, communication, mastery of concepts, client knowledge
provide advancement opportunities

29. o start small
o increase early
o increase often
o mastery & promotion
compensation should align and motivate
*Secret sauce: three tiers
for every position allows
room for growth within job
roles.
Entry level hires make:
$30,000 – $42,000

30. o live up to expectations
o establish a culture code on character
o lead by example in everything you do
o build a great working environment
o extend trust where others won’t
o praise, celebrate, and reward achievement
the best ways to retain your talent

31. APPLICATION FOR
IMPROVEMENT
what you can take away and implement next week

32. 1) define your ideal candidate
2) overhaul your interview process
3) beef up your online presence
4) define your rehire points
5) take advantage of what’s available
what you can do to improve

33. THANK YOU.
eric pratt – revenue river web me revenueriver.co
linkedin me /in/ericepratt
tweet me @eric_pratt
I’m more approachable than anyone in this industry