Know-How Exchange : Strategy

I'm going to kick this off with a look at what people want when they come to a race meeting. Bear in mind the last time I was at Ascot was when I was at uni. I'm not sure but I think the horse I bet on ran backwards, whatever happened, it didn't win.

So my advice in all matters where such puzzles as yours are concerned is to look at the establishment from the point of view of your customers - race-goers in this instance. In my experience, such dizziness as you're experiencing is soon quietened when you change the focus of your imagination. Have a look at the sporting mags, get a feel for what other places are doing. A lot of it will be hospitality - which you're already good at.

Then look at things from the point of view of the people you're talking to. Not all businesses like to concentrate on their customers, preferring to establish their brand before risking their customers' opprobrium. That is certainly the case here in NL. Customers come a poor third place in the queue if they're lucky, and they aren't given umbrellas either.

Matching those two should help you sort out a small presentation. To my mind, the skill will be in presenting a thoroughly coherent statement in so short a time! Don't forget to read it out loud to some friends so that they can critique your style, tell you if you're being true to yourself and all that.

What media will you be allowed to take in with you?

Good luck with the interview, and remember they're human just like you.

Do bear in mind that they will already have something like this in place, so a good look at what they're already doing might be a good idea. Can you visit them sometime between now and the interview to get a better feel for what's going on? What have they done in the past, what worked and what didn't?

Using that as a base would be much better than starting from scratch, and it would show that you're willing to get involved in the company too. You can also check them out online to see what they're up to there.

You can't offer advice unless you understand their needs, plans, resources, and history. So, if you can, spend the time to interview the decision makers (or do the research using publicly available resources) in the organization to better understand the "geography". In your first 100 days, you're best off listening to others, discovering the political landscape, find out who the true decision-makers are, and network within the company strongly. You should also research what their competition's needs, plans, resources, and history are as well - and perform a SWOT analysis. That'll show that you're thinking wide and deep, and are open-minded to find the best ways to help the company succeed.

Perhaps tell them that you'll divide the 100 days into 3 phases. Phase I will be to listen and learn, ask a lot of questions ... get to know the history and assess the situation. Phase II will be to analyze what you've learned in Phase I and determine what the path forward ought to be. Then Phase III will be to lay out a formal plan (with specific objectives and metrics) and begin to execute against it.

Auto or horse racing? Ticket sales? Corporate ticket sales? Advertising sales? Offline and/or online? If online sales, how sophisticated are they now?

Do some research (acting as a customer) and write down your experiences. You will see problems with the process. Take notes and research some possible solutions. This knowledge gained should give you more confidence and help you in the interview, both in the presentation and in the follow-up Q & A.

Backing up what Mr. Goodman has said "Phase I will be to listen and learn, ask a lot of questions ... get to know the history and assess the situation" - if you do a little of that now, you can demonstrate that without having to take so much time in telling them. After all, you only have eight minutes. They'll still get the message.

For this type of thing, they often look as much at how well you understand the current business model as with what you would change. So make sure you research what they are doing - as Jay has suggested above.

With that, you can get a feel for what areas you think they are doing well, and what areas you think they can improve on. This is what you would report on in the 8 minutes. For changes, best if you can talk about how similar changes worked at other companies (whether from your past experience or in other companies that you found through research).

Keep in mind, the people who are interviewing you may also be the people who put in place the current activities, so be careful when you talk about what they are currently doing. Whole sale changes to what they are doing may not be the best plan. And don;t say that anything they are doing is bad, just not as effective as it perhaps could be.

What I think you should do: you've shown your enthusiasm, demonstrated it. Take KSA and Mr. Goodman's advice and study it carefully.

You need to cover two main issues: (1) How you are going to work with what's already in place so as not to rock their boat and (2) How you can use your enthusiasm to make their sales/marketing better within that structure.

On your handout you could have a background as a horserace in progress (thinking of a large galloping horse coming towards you with others in the background - emphasizing your position ahead of the rest). Images are great at getting messages across very quickly - and you only need one. You've only got eight minutes! You could structure everything around the theme "winning horses". What do you think?

Have you been able to visit their offices, get a feel for the place yet?

Other than your enthusiasm for the position what makes you the best choice for this job? WHY is this your dream job?

I can understand your enthusiasm - but please remember that some of the decision makers may not share that. For some, horse-racing is a business; and a very serious one. They aren't going to employ you if you're enthusiastic, they'll employ you because you're a professional. Someone who can deliver results.

Put that first and allow your enthusiasm and understanding shine through from behind. Your blend of traditional/digital skills should be clearly presented as part of your robust, professional image.

Remember too that some marketers are not at all sure of their profession. Being calm and at ease in your interview will tell them more than just about anything else they see ... speak to them as if you've already landed it! You'll come across a lot better that way.

I wish you the very best.

A lot of the advice here has a marketing focus. You said the job was mainly sales. Most sales people are expected to hit the ground running. And a sales manager is expected to sell what they have, not to attempt to change things - at least not in the short term.

So maybe approach it with who the key audiences are and how are you going to build a sales pipeline for each - starting with getting familiar with and developing existing key accounts, and secondly where you can bring existing contacts and clients to the business. Business accounts may be hold more sway than consumers (eg if you want to run more races).

Owners (and jockeys)
Corporate accounts
Sponsors
Bookies
TV and Media
Events and event management
Consumers

How do you see yourself growing sales in each of these streams?