What to consider when hiring a vendor?

One of the most difficult issues that faces corporations is what measurement criteria to use when hiring a vendor. A lot of it leans toward such "soft" measurements as if there is chemistry between the two while a good deal of it is more focused on how well they understand what you are trying to do or, in the case of a PR or ad firm, know your industry.

Considering the importance of hiring someone to help you represent your brand, these are not easy questions to answer. I have to say that I believe them to be imperfect matches and you try and find the one that is the least imperfect. That being said, there are several criteria I would recommend considering when hiring a vendor.

1) Expertise-This one may seem obvious but more often than not expertise is over looked in favor of costs, the glamor of the presentation or even worse, the basic name of the company. Just because XYZ is the biggest firm in the field is not an indication they are the best! Awards are nice, but did they help sell the company or more exactly how did they help the company they won the award for reach its own goals?

2) Cost-Let's be honest, we live in a world where ROI is essential to the success of the organization. If two companies are nearly identical but company A charges $1 and company B charges $1.50 then you go with company A. While cost should be a deciding factor it should not be THE deciding factor. There are many times when it is better to spend a little bit more and get better service. Some scoff at paying $5 extra on new tires for the patching service but when you have a flat and you have to pay $30 to have the tire fixed the $2o back when you bought them doesn't seem so silly.

3) Synergy-While this is the type of touchy, feely thing I tend to abhor, there is a certain amount of truth behind it. You need to be with someone who you think you can work with and who you believe you can trust. Many vendors, especially the larger ones are fans of the "pitch and ditch" style of meeting whereby you meet an "A" list of people who are all impressive and know how to impress. Once you sign on the dotted line they disappear and you are left with the person they just hired and four kids out of college. I believe you need to feel you can trust your vendor.

4) Honesty-This is a second cousin of synergy but it is critical none the less. You need to establish that a vendor is being honest with you and representing the true and complete nature of their work. During a presentation you are likely to hear all about a vendor's skills and successes and how perfect they are for you and how much they want to be your vendor. Quite obviously you will only hear the good so one question I always ask is "tell me about your greatest failure in regards to a client?" Believe me that no vendor EVER has the answer to that one!

5) References-This is a key aspect of dealing with a vendor and any one worth their salt can give you quite a few. But it is important that you as the hiring person do some checking on your own. Yes follow up with their references but find someone else in the field, actually I would recommend letting vendors know who they are competing against and find out what they think about them. An intelligent vendor will give an element of praise but then explain weaknesses by demonstrating how much stronger they are. In essence it is a back door way to find out the relative strengths and weaknesses of your vendor reviews.

Hiring a vendor is not an easy chore but if handled properly it can be done quickly and effectively. The one great thing to avoid is the fear of making the wrong choice. If you over think this task you are almost sure to make that mistake. Trust yourself and your intelligence, gather information and intelligence and you should be in a very strong position to make the right call!