When buying a product, people value different aspects, but fundamentally the price, quality, and the opinions of others, are the most important criteria that help us make a decision.
In the case of services, and specifically in consulting services, it is somewhat more difficult to assess aspects such as quality, let alone find opinions from other clients.
Como calidad y opiniones, resultan difíciles de encontrar, al final, el único criterio que le queda al comprador es el precio. As quality and opinions are difficult to find, in the end, the only criteria left to the buyer is the price. And for that reason, many problems arise.
The reason for not finding is that there are no places to search. There is no tripadvisor for companies, where you can inquire about the quality of the work carried out by one consultancy or another, or where you can gather opinions from other clients.
In many cases, the only reference available to the buyer is through the company’s sites or social networks or the information provided by the commercials they deal with, which logically only provide them with biased views of reality. Or is it that someone publishes the “failure cases” of their projects on their website?
As a Sales Director, I have had to answer questions on many occasions such as: Why should we choose you? What makes you the most appropriate option for us? How do you differ from your competition? And my answer is always the same, “I’m not the right person to give you that answer.”
Although the information provided by a company through its site, its social networks or its commercials, is valid to assess the characteristics or details of a solution, I have never trusted these same means, to achieve the credibility that I seek when hiring a service to a company.
Criteria for choosing a consultant
Here are some criteria that you should assess before hiring:
- Experienced profiles.
If, for example, you are looking for a company that automates your invoices, find out if it has senior profiles that have reached a sufficient level of experience and knowledge in the specific task for which they will provide you with service. For this, LinkedIn is a fundamental tool. - Customer Opinions.
Consult the lists of clients with whom they claim to have worked, and if you have any contact, speak directly with them. Also, it is very useful to go to events, fairs or congresses where companies that have been implemented by that provider participate and ask them. - Reputation.
It is important to research the reputation of the service provider and read reviews. You can do this by doing a Google search and seeing what information comes up about the business, or looking for reviews on sites like Yelp or Trustpilot. Also, news reports or articles in newspapers or magazines. Another good idea, finally, is to ask the associations to which it belongs. - Methodology and approach in the Technical Proposal.
Make sure that the company you hire has a clear and effective approach and methodology to address your problems and needs. The quality of the technical proposal is essential. - Adhoc Solutions.
The existence of personalized solutions is synonymous with innovation and knowledge in the field. It indicates development capacity in a company and flexibility when adapting to new scenarios. Look, therefore, if the provider has its own developments in the matter that interests you. - Manufacturer Certifications.
Having manufacturer certifications indicates that a provider has a direct relationship with the Software developer, which allows them to access privileged information and have direct contact with the development team. - Quality certifications.
Having quality certifications implies that a company has reviewed and improved its business processes to meet the required quality standards. This speaks of efficiency and effectiveness of the company.
In our case, we provide you with our consultants’ profile so that you can learn about their experience and trajectory. We are characterized by closeness. Do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to greet you and guide you in your needs as best we can.
