Books and More Books....

When you become a police recruiter, as mentioned in some of my earlier postings, you stop thinking like a police officer and start thinking more like a marketing specialist. Now this doesn’t mean you have to go out and get a degree in marketing, BUT you must take the time to learn the tricks of the trade. To do so, I have compiled a list of certain books that will help you in this endeavor along with a short description of each.

The first book that I consider the Bible of the police recruiting world is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout. This book truly changed the way I thought about recruiting and continues to be a resource for when I feel that I am starting to stray away from my mission – To recruit the best and most qualified police applicants that I can. As you read this book, you will find that Ries and Trout break down recruiting into various laws (22 as the title points out). Some of the laws can be easily applied to the law enforcement and emergency management community while others not so much. For example, the Law of the Mind, which states that it is better to be first in someone’s mind than first in the marketplace. So if we are talking about police departments and I said “to protect and serve” which agency comes to your mind? Of course LAPD! Therefore, LAPD is in the mind not just in the marketplace (although LAPD is also in the marketplace…thank you television and movies!).

The next book is Punk Marketing. Punk Marketing was written by Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons. This is a very contemporary type book which looks at branding and the use of technology. The book is a very interesting read and will keep you amused. One particular section of the book that I find fascinating is chapter 3, Brand Not Bland. This chapter looks into the reason why some brands are better than others and provides some very interesting facts on the use of branding.

The third and final book that I would suggest looking into is not a marketing book but a book on service. The book, Positively Outrageous Service by T. Scott Gross, provides several stories about various employees from different companies who go above and beyond the call of duty. This same type of service should be mirrored within a police recruiting unit. For example, if you are testing out of town applicants and you require those applicants to come to your agency for testing, try to limit the number of visits by combining testing.

These books can be purchased through Amazon.com and other internet book stores. I would also strongly suggest looking to other books on marketing. You may be surprised in the improvements that you can make and how many of these changes cost little to no money at all.