For a diary shop-o-need cycle, a small investment to ‘try’ the new and be in ‘trend’ is perfect. But what about the increasingly important decisions for your office or which blinds to invest in when renovating a house or which agency to trust in your SEO campaign or which chat software to install for your clients or which builder will give you a space dreamlike? Large investments require a trusted partner, and here we share the top things to consider before making a decision.
1. How big is the team? – Let’s keep working with the previous examples if you are looking to get a Hanas Blind installed, a small team is fine, but to buy a story or two in a commercial building, trust a builder with a larger team. Your need should define the size of the team. Why? A bigger team means more people, more ideas, and a better managed team at both the micro and macro levels. But, in rare cases, a bigger team can mean more chaos.
two. What are the skill sets? – Again, this is a basic requirement: the company or team you want to hire must have the necessary capacity to comply. If you are looking for someone to boost your digital marketing campaign, knowledge of online marketing tools is a must, even if you are a startup. A person starting a business can meet the demands of the profession, while the creativity of an established player has been tested over and over again, and can be driven by results based on requirements.
3. What kind of experience do they have? – TO imitator contractor You may not have the experience, but your creativity may not match the experienced players. Again, it all comes down to what you need! Creativity in decorating your home is welcome, but requires an experienced player who knows the ins and outs of building ordinances when building a commercial space. However, keep in mind that there is always an overlap between real life knowledge and bending the rules to be above the head and shoulders of others.
Four. Have they worked for your industry before? – This question may not apply to personal purchases, but to recruitment agencies and staff chosen for a job. Industry knowledge easily translates to a team well versed with the challenges and benefits to focus on your industry. Feel free to ask for references from former clients or clients and, if possible, check out the work they have done previously. However, they should not compromise the value that you and your company represent.
5. Are they open to communication? – Communication is not just about talking, it is also about listening. It is a two-way street: you have to articulate your ideas and dreams clearly. And then you must keep an open mind to the suggestions of the agency you want to hire. In initial talks, you can gauge how attentive they are when they listen and how clearly they express their ideas to you. A good agency or company will judge you based on these parameters.
6. Are you discussing achievable deliverables? – Once again, the line between the two is so thin that it is very possible that you are fooling yourself. When you talk about deliverables, let’s say increased traffic from an SEO campaign, are you simply saying, “Trust us, we will increase traffic”? Or are they concentrating on telling you that 1x growth is possible in the next six months if these steps are implemented? The latter can come back and say that no results were achieved due to lack of support, but then they will have to back up each piece with tests that will give you an unbeatable experience for the future.
7. What do people say about them? – This is why word of mouth referrals and online reviews are so important. These are genuine experiences of people who have partnered with the company and are overwhelmed or filled with anger. The fact is, most agencies and salespeople you work with can deliver good to excellent results. But there will always be those who did not meet expectations: people made mistakes, planning was not correct, communication stalled, etc., etc. Talk to as many people as you can to assess the average rate of success and failure.
8. What is their behavior? – Do they smile often while talking to you, even while introducing you? Are they relaxed while communicating or are they all tense? Share wrong information or demand an outdated process, do you agree while rolling your eyes? Or do they stand up and correct you, sharing with you the reasons why your ideas should be abandoned? Any smart person knows they need a person who is smiling, relaxed, and unwilling to scold their customers in a reasonable way. You may have heard of arrogant geniuses, with no manners, but those men and women are few and far between, and if you are working with one of them, then you should get rid of this article and take the time to benefit.
9. What are the services included? – Take in writing the services included and not included. If you are planning an SEO campaign for the first time, you should study the industry, ask questions of the experts, even the dumbest ones, and get a consistent and comprehensive answer. These should be discussed before finalizing or signing the agreement. As mentioned above, there can be no compromise in communication between you and the person you are dealing with.
10. What is the proposed budget? – This has been saved for last, for the simple reason that you know that the heart of a purchase is based on cost. You may be a person with pockets as deep as the Pacific Ocean, but even you won’t want to spend your money on things that don’t add value, in terms of beauty or functionality, to your home or office. Ask about the costs to be incurred and opt for a smaller or cheaper option, if you have questions about the payment.
In conclusion, hiring an agency or company may be part of the shop-o-system, but that system rests on the shoulders of responsible salespeople, account managers, and clients. Yes, you should be careful when choosing a company, but your contribution is equally responsible for the ultimate success.