Most owners hire outside help the same way. Search, click the first few names, call whoever answers. Sometimes it works. Often it’s a guess dressed up as a decision. There’s a simpler way that takes about an hour and saves a lot of regret.
Page one of a search is not a shortlist
Search results reward visibility. Some of that visibility is earned and some of it is bought, and from the outside you can’t always tell which. Treat the first page as a list of names to check, not a list of the best options. Start with three to five candidates and expect to cross a few off.
Read reviews the way the FTC suggests
Reviews help, but only if you read them with some care. The Federal Trade Commission’s guide to online reviews offers habits worth borrowing:
- Compare more than one source, including independent ones.
- Check the dates. A sudden burst of reviews in a short stretch deserves a second look.
- Look at the reviewer. An account that exists to post a single review is weak evidence.
- Don’t assume you can spot a fake by its tone. Some are written to sound believable.
In my experience, the middle-of-the-road reviews are often the most useful. They tend to show how a business handles a problem, which is what you really want to know.
Ask three questions before the first call ends
- Who will actually do the work? The person selling to you isn’t always the person delivering.
- What does “done” look like, in writing? A clear finish line protects both sides.
- How will we both know it worked? Agree on the measure before the work starts, not after.
Pay attention to how they answer, not just what they say. Good providers are comfortable with specifics. Vague answers early usually mean vague work later.
Judge the person, not the pitch
A polished website and a confident sales call tell you someone is good at selling. They don’t tell you how the owner runs things when a deadline slips or a client is unhappy. Ask about the last project that went sideways and what they did about it. Ask for a reference from a client who has stayed with them for a while. Those answers say more than any brochure.
A one-hour checklist
- Pick three to five names from more than one source.
- Read reviews for patterns, not star averages.
- Ask the three questions above.
- Call one reference.
- Choose the provider whose answers were clearest, not loudest.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, How To Evaluate Online Reviews
At Ask The Consultants™, we believe the person behind a business matters as much as the service it sells.