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Outsourcing and Accountability
Holding professional resources accountable is critical – in fact, this
is a fast growing area for training consultants. Actually, it is a lot
simpler than you might be led to believe. If you retain the right
consultant to help you find, contract, and manage the professional
resource, you can save a lot more than the “extra” consultant ever costs
you.
This
“professional services” issue deserves serious consideration. On any
given day you could invest in increased marketing, improved customer
service, lean production….the list goes on. The professionals you are
talking to may legitimately believe that you need what they offer, or
they may simply want a new “gig” to help pay for that sports car….either
way, there is a bias that makes their persuasive presentation somewhat
suspect. It would be helpful to have someone who has a broad base of
experience in professional services and a thorough understanding of your
business to help you evaluate your options and establish some
priorities.
For
example, let’s say you have established those priorities and decided on
a massive marketing program, with extensive market research and a big
advertising budget. You could listen to pitches from several
advertising agencies and pick the one that sounds best to you, but how
do you know if you made your decision on the right criteria, and how do
you know if you paid too much?
An
alternative is to hire a marketing consultant who is assured up front
that there is no way he/she will ever get the marketing project – but
you do want them to help you choose who does! The consultant knows all
of the games the other agencies might play, knows how to get the best
price for the work, and can suggest things the agencies are unlikely to
mention such as splitting the market research away from the advertising
agency and having it done independently. It’s always better to have an
insider on your team….
This
is not the normal way these things are approached, but, you aren’t
interested in business as usual, you are interested in winning! Your
outside resource will help you hold the professional provider
accountable, working with you and the professionals to determine the
best way to measure the professional’s performance – how to hold them
accountable.
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