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| Spending a Little Time Selecting a Vendor Can Save You Months of Headaches Later |
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| Outsource Like a Pro |
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No matter what internal resources your association has, you will occasionally have a project that requires you to look outside your organization for assistance. Depending on your choice of vendors, you will either be a hero for completing the project on time and within budget or you will mopping up a mess for months.
When selecting a vendor for a long term relationship recently, we created an in-depth web survey that included over 20 questions. You can see the survey at www.takesurvey.com/flash. We invited selected vendors to complete the survey and then we reviewed the results in Excel. You can quickly sort on any criteria and do a filter on one or more fields to narrow your selection of vendors suitable for a specific project. The following questions may help you select the best vendor for your project.
"Who have you done work for and what are your specialties?" While many projects don't require an in-depth understanding of your industry, it certainly helps to be very familiar with the world of associations and the exact type of work you need done. Ask for names of people in your industry that have worked with the vendor.
"How long have you been in business and are you licensed ?" If in doubt, check it out.
"When can I reach you?" When you want to speak to your vendor, you don't want to talk to an answering machine. Get a commitment of what days/times they will be available to talk on the phone.
"How would you solve my needs? When you first meet, do they listen more than they talk? For any project over $1,000 a vendor should be willing to meet with you face to face and help you focus your statement of work.
"What marketing framework do you use?" While designers love to tweak the colors for your design projects, you want a vendor that looks at your project from a marketing perspective first. You're not spending money to have fun making something pretty.
"Can I see past samples to evaluate creativity?" Since you will likely have an opinion on what you like to see visually, review past work to see if there is a match in the ability of the vendor and your personal taste. Of course, leaving some creative decisions to a trained expert can be beneficial.
"Can I see past jobs that used the same technology?" If the project is technical (e.g. multimedia or web) review past jobs so you know that they can deliver on what they promise. Inquire about how many jobs they have completed and how long they have been in the field.
"Who is on your team?" While a freelancer is very appropriate for some projects (e.g. a copy writer or designer) consider a team when your project consists of more parts. A left-brain / right-brain team can help insure that a more complex project both looks good and works technically.
How do you insure strong project management?" It is likely that you will become busy (this is probably why you decided to outsource in the first place) so you want to work with someone who knows how to actively manage a project and will pester you at the appropriate time when you need to give feedback or provide other input.
"What are your payment terms?" Paying a small deposit is appropriate for many jobs, but always withhold some payment until final delivery and consider project/payment milestones.
When could you complete my job" Make sure they are available now to handle your project and can easily meet your deadlines.
"What is your warranty" For technical jobs, you want to know that they will take care of any problems for a period of time.
"How can I get a discount?" After you obtain a written proposal showing the estimate, inquire about discounts. This could include payment terms, signing right away, or some minor modification in the project scope.
While you may be tempted to ask a potential vendor to complete mock ups or do other creative and marketing strategy thinking as part of a proposal, this is generally not appropriate for smaller jobs. Since this is a part of the deliverable, many vendors will offer to get a jump start for a small fee (to see if you are serious) and then will offer an exit point if you do not think you two are on the same page. This try before you buy the whole project is a good way to protect yourself and to preview what you can expect. |
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