At some point, every web-based business will need to retain a consultant. Consultants are the “hired guns” of the Web industry that eliminate an endless number of problems in a timely and cost effective manner due to the wealth of related experience that they bring to the table.
Your specific talent needs may be for a website architect, a web designer, a web developer, a marketing expert, a planning consultant, a security expert, or some other form of technical assistance. Formalizing an effective selection process is key to obtaining the best services for your needs.
As part of the process of sorting out your expectations and selecting your consultant, write a summary of your project and objectives. Include a concise description of your website (either as it exists, or as you anticipate it to be). This summary can be a handy reference tool when contacting prospective consultants.
To begin, assess the project’s specific requirements, review your objectives to ensure they are well-defined, then determine what your staff can handle and what you need to outsource by asking yourself and your staff:
After the project’s objectives have been determined and prioritized you then need to compare those objectives to the types of services consultants offer. Including:
Consultants can help improve your website’s operations and productivity, but don’t forget that you and your staff are the experts in the operation of your web-based business; a consultant should enhance that expertise, not substitute for it. Do not depend on a consultant for decision-making — including purchasing decisions. Not uncommonly, consultants sometimes receive a commission when you (as their client) buy one of their recommended products or hire someone the consultant recommended.
After deciding to take advantage of a consultant’s service, begin the process of identifying the type of consultant that will best meet the needs of your project. To find the right consultant:
When checking a consultant’s references and previous clients, find out whether the consultant has worked on projects similar in size and nature to the proposed project; has met the stated work and project deadlines; and he/she has been responsive, available and trustworthy.
On a more personal level ask:
Once you have narrowed your selection down to three to five perspective consultants, prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP). A RFP is a formal request to the consultant describing everything you want the consultant to accomplish and requesting the consultant to write a proposal outlining how he/she would go about meeting your demands and the costs thereof. The RFP can be as informal as an email or a telephone call, but it is best presented as a formal written document. The more information it conveys, and the more specific your requests, the more the RFP enhances the consultant’s ability to draft a relevant proposal.
There are basically two types of RFPs. A defined, rigid proposal wherein is laid out, step-by-step, your goals and requirements and a more informed, creative proposal, a three to four page document simply setting out what the job will entail. The defined, rigid-style RFP allows for an easy comparison of costs, approaches and other criteria submitted by the consultant during the selection process. A creative proposal gives the consultant less structure thereby allowing for a greater diversity in response, but this approach can make the proposals more difficult to compare. Still, the creative proposal allows you to observe how the experience and knowledge of the consultant can be creatively applied to provide an exciting and unique approach to the project.
After compiling a list of consultants whose skills fulfill your requirements, invite each consultant in for an interview. Be sure to:
If the meeting appears to be successful, take the next step — provide a Request for Proposal (RFP) as discussed above and obtain the information necessary for you to do your due diligence. Such as:
In any communications thereafter, provide a written answer to additional information requests by the consultant — clear communication is important, and it ensures that you get the results you want.
Review the proposals received from each consultant and compare them to your established selection criteria to determine whether: