Guru or Ninja: Which One Are You?

A friend of mine is reviewing resumes for an open social media manager position within the marketing department of her company.  She told me about some of the language applicants were using to describe themselves, such as social media “gurus” and “ninjas,” with nothing substantial to back it up – which caused us both to laugh.

I told her that if she received a resume from a candidate describing him or herself as a “creepy internet junkie with no friends” to hire that one – at least he/she is honest.

All joking aside, potential employee candidates are in the same boat as marketing agencies.  In a pool of hundreds of possible selections, how do you stand out in the crowd?

Especially when, like employee candidates, you often have just a few seconds to make an impression.

Clever terms like guru and ninja are great if you’re a comic book character; but if you’re trying to appeal to a CMO, you have to be able to back that up with RESULTS.  Being creative is only half the battle, the other half is leveraging that creativity to create impactful campaigns that help your clients significantly improve their bottom lines.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when positioning your agency:

Ninjas kill people – are your clients slaying their competition? That’s what a CMO wants to hear about – the specific ways your agency is uniquely qualified to lead his/her brand into battle and come out on top.

Talk about your success with other similar clients or clients who might be in a different sector but faced a similar challenge.  Whenever possible, use tangible numbers such as “Our branding campaign increased awareness by 67% with Moms between the ages of 30 – 45.”

Gurus are best known for sitting alone on top of a mountain, pondering the differences between individual snowflakes.  You want to demonstrate your knowledge of the client’s sector, their company, their competition, their concerns and your solutions to taking them to the next level.

You need to know that company and marketplace as well if not better than that CMO.  Too much talking about your process or other far out ideals can make you sound a little flakey.  CMOs want to know that you feel their pain.  You’ve been in the trenches  and your experience will allow you to quickly address their needs. Because of this knowledge, you can address and resolve their pain points.

Be an artist and paint a picture. A picture says a thousand words.  You’ve done some fabulous work for your clients – don’t be afraid to show your prospect your great work.  Create an e-portfolio that prospects can easily find on your website.

Put up quotes from your satisfied clients.  When you complete a successful campaign for a client, create a quick case study – including results – and put it online.  Your work will say more about your process than a 10 minute dissertation.

Like these young candidates applying for the social media position at my friend’s company, one clear way you can position your agency to stand out from the hundreds of other agencies out there is your ability to clearly show your knowledge and understanding of the prospect’s business.

The resumes my friend reviewed failed to show her that any of these candidates had the ability to do the job.   So before you call yourself a ninja or a guru – back it up with results and make sure that’s what your prospect needs.