Know-How Exchange : Strategy

While I lean more toward the "learn the business" side, I suspect the people who are hiring you will want to hear about your action orientation. They also think the website is almost ready to launch, so if you don't launch it you'll be seen as an obstructionist.

Net: You need to show both sides of yourself -- thoughtful and action oriented. And they're both high priority. You do one of them in the morning and the other in the afternoon. And if you learn things about the website that are not working well for the company, you deal with them as they arise. Don't wait until you've learned everything there is to learn about the business.

Hi, Pamela.

You’re right; you don’t have a choice. Here are some thoughts to consider for your 100-day plan.

1. Set expectations. Make sure the company owners know that they can’t have “everything” in 100 days; what they get is your nearly exclusive attention to one or two top priorities. That means other things will stay in a dormant state until those first priorities become established realities during the hundred days.

2. Whatever your plan, your success will be determined almost entirely by consumer acceptance and demand. The first thing you must do is meet with, and get to know, those targeted consumers and find out what will make them buy your product in an awkward economy. Complete this within the first 20-30 days and amend what happens over the following 70-80 days accordingly.

3. You will also be judged by the success of the website – a site you did not direct or orchestrate. So, install a site review mid-way through your 100 days allowing you time to add solutions and eliminate/minimize problems. Make sure you get the authority to do so before accepting the job.

4. Don’t feel that the entire 100-day plan should be your idea. During your interview, ask the owners/principals directly: What specific marketing results do you want most to be delivered in 100 days, in 300 days, and in 500 days? Ask probing questions about their answers – why are those items important, and how do they benefit the company? If they list a litany of desired results, engage them in setting priorities right there, during the interview.

5. If possible, build a plan of modules. Be prepared to shift them around during the interview. If you have four modules and can only realize two in the time frame, then show them how you would move past the 100 days into the next set of goals/modules. And if 100 days is not the right time-frame for your plan, then take charge and amend the rules. (“It’s a two-part plan, the first taking 30 days and the balance requiring 120 days.”) Don’t do this to buy yourself time gratuitously, but justify it according to the business needs. (“It doesn’t make sense to end the marketing plan before the holiday selling season,” etc.).

Hope this is helpful to you and perhaps inspires some ideas for your interview. Good luck to you.