Throwback: Building a Winning Team: The Essential Metrics for Attracting E-Commerce Talent

In this episode, the host interviews Harry Joiner, a top executive recruiter in marketing and e-commerce. Harry shares his selective approach to working with clients, emphasizing the need for clear business strategies, strong financials, and a commitment to e-commerce. He compares recruiting top talent to casting star actors, noting that A-level candidates seek companies with compelling stories and solid economics. The discussion highlights the importance of business leaders knowing their numbers, defining their vision, and welcoming candidates who ask tough questions to build high-performing teams. The episode concludes with actionable advice for attracting and retaining top talent.

Chapters:
Introduction to Harry Joiner and His Credentials (00:00:00)
Host introduces Harry Joiner, his background, and notable companies he’s worked with.

How Harry Selects Clients (00:01:04)
Harry explains his criteria for choosing which companies to work with, comparing it to Hollywood actors picking scripts.

Evaluating Client Business Fundamentals (00:02:20)
Discussion on analyzing a client’s business economics, strategy, and suitability for top-tier candidates.

Attracting Top Talent: The Hollywood Analogy (00:03:41)
Harry compares recruiting top talent to attracting star athletes or actors, emphasizing the need for a strong business foundation.

The Importance of Smart, Challenging Candidates (00:05:28)
Harry shares his preference for candidates who ask tough questions and challenge him, indicating high-caliber talent.

Recognizing Top Candidates by Their Questions (00:06:25)
Harry describes how the best candidates demonstrate their value by probing deeply into business metrics and strategy.

Hiring Lessons from Personal Experience (00:08:41)
The host reflects on his own hiring experiences, noting that the best hires are those who challenge leadership and require preparation.

Three Actionable Takeaways for Business Leaders (00:10:33)
The host summarizes three key action items: define your exit strategy, know your numbers, and cast a clear vision for recruits.

Harry’s Process and Final Advice (00:12:50)
Harry emphasizes having a simple, practical process for business planning and offers to share it with listeners.

Episode Wrap-Up and Thanks (00:15:35)
The host thanks Harry for his insights and closes the episode.

Links and Mentions:

Tools, Websites, and Links
LinkedIn

Books and Articles
Success
Wall Street Journal
Businessweek
USA Today
Internet Retailing

Videos
Shark Tank
Entourage

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm super excited to introduce you to Harry Joiner. Harry is described by Search Engine Watch as a dominant recruiter in client side multichannel, the in multi-channel e-commerce space. He is an executive recruiter for marketing and eCommerce. He has been interviewed by success magazine and he has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, marketing, Sherpas, Great Minds in Marketing series, Businessweek, USA, TODAY.com, Internet Retailer, and many more. He has closed dozens of manager, director, VP and C-level ecommerce searches for some of the following companies. A&E television. Adidas American signature brands. Ashford. Com. Backcountry. Com. Boot barn. Com Columbia Sportswear. And many, many more. So welcome to the podcast, Harry.

Harry 00:00:48  Thank you so much. Great to be here, Harry.

Josh 00:00:50  I think what's interesting there, you mentioned, you know, you have a small firm, right? You're well experienced. Your results speak for themselves. If people go check out your LinkedIn profile, there's raving reviews of people that have worked with Harry.

Josh 00:01:04  so, Harry 150, you know, companies are going to apply to kind of hire your services. What what are you looking for is you kind of determine what are the 50 you're going to work work with. What's the difference between those that you say no to versus the ones that you say yes to and why?

Harry 00:01:22  Sure. It's a great question. well, so when people pitch us on a deal, so they pitch me into Alan and it's a little bit like if you've ever seen a concept pitched on Shark Tank, it's a little bit like that. Alan and I are very particular about the deals that we take, and I think I learned this watching entourage back in the, you know, 2000, 2008 through 12 or something that in Hollywood, the richest actors aren't the richest actors because they're the best actors. They're the richest actors because they get the best scripts. It's a lot like that as an e-commerce recruiter. So we like searches that can be closed on the back of a single story, right? So the brand, the you know, the client, they know what their business is about and who their business is for and what their unique selling proposition is.

Harry 00:02:20  So why should anyone do business with them versus any option available to them? including doing nothing. we look for the underlying economics of the client's business. So do we understand how they make money? Do they understand how they make money? Do they understand how they're going to make money in the future? We tend to take a good hard look, at things like size and scope of a 12 month file. We'll look at things like average order value. We'll look at things like recurring revenue and order frequency. We'll look at, what it takes to actually bring that concept toe to life. You know, the purpose and values and viewpoint of the brand, and we'll look at a variety of different factors to try and determine whether our audience, which is the top 3% of people in the e-commerce industry. I mean, 97% of the candidates that watch this podcast aren't going to they're not we wouldn't represent them on a deal anyway because we're out there looking for load bearing walls. I mean, this sounds super salesy, but the fact of the matter is, when people come to me and Alan, they expect us to be in the organizational transformation business, right? You come to us looking for a Steph Curry, a Michael Jordan, a Tom Brady.

Harry 00:03:41  That's that. And it is like being an agent in Hollywood and the best candidates in the industry, the people who are capable of plugging and playing and being a load bearing wall in our client's business, they want to make sure that they can do reputation enhancing work. That's really what it boils down to. And that means that in terms of the search, the client has the budget, the authority, the need, the timeline and the hiring process to knock good candidates in versus knock them out. And, the business has favorable underlying economics that the client has clarity and ability and resolve, you know, commitment towards e-com. And those are the things, honestly, that you need for an a player to do reputation enhancing work in your business.

Josh 00:04:30  Yeah, I love the, the strategy that or the analogy that you made there with, you know, hiring like the Michael Jordan's or Steph Curry's right. If you think about that. You know, as a business owner. Right. If you want to attract a Michael Jordan or a Steph Curry.

Josh 00:04:46  Right. If you're an NBA owner, you've got to have a good team. Right. And you've got to have a good vision and say, hey, here's the teammates that you'd be working alongside. ...