Confidence in your consultants

When hiring any consultant, a portion of the price of services is due to the expertise of your consultant. So why not trust them with the project you’ve handed off?

For example, would you hire a plumber to fix your leaky sink and stand over him or her the entire time and direct their every action?

“I’m not sure you’re tightening that pipe correctly, perhaps you should use the other wrench for that…”

Can you imagine having that conversation?

Would you call your accountant and argue whether or not the return they’ve prepared for you meets certain tax laws?

The answer should be “no” if you truly trust your consultants, vendors and service providers.

The same should be applied to your marketing/advertising or graphic design firm, marketing director or anyone you’ve hired to help you with your marketing efforts. Unless you have a strong background in the field you’ve hired someone to help you with, you should remain confident in the abilities of the person you’ve enlisted to provide you with services.

Micromanaging any project (no matter what type of professionals are involved) will lead to exhaustion, frustration and a lesser outcome. It may even lead to broken relationships or a tarnished reputation and quite possibly, a hirer bill from your consultant (due to the extra effort involved just catering to your whims).

However, since marketing and advertising relate more to the image of a company, a subjective approach is understandable. This is why you should do your homework as a client before deciding on a marketing/advertising firm.

Have you seen their previous work? Does it correlate to what you’re looking to do? Do you agree with their approach to projects and clients? Do you have any reservations about your contact at the agency/company? Is it easy to communicate with your contact? Do they have the same moral platform? Can they see your company from a customer standpoint? Can you see your company from a customer’s standpoint? Are there procedures in place to show accountability and/or responsibility for the project? Have you checked references?

There are thousands more questions to ask yourself before you decide on a marketing company that could make or break the relationship, and eventually, the final project. Make sure after you’ve made the decision that you remain confident in your consultant’s or firm’s ability and enable them with support, not micromanagement.