Have you ever been incredibly excited while hiring that new talented employee, the highly recommended consultant, or been absolutely thrilled while installing the latest, greatest service or product? We all have the tendency to buy something or bring on a new team member based on how we think we will feel once we have taken that step. Slowly and painfully I have learned that 90% of us buy based on the imagination of how we will feel when we’ve completed the purchase. Basically, we buy the feeling we envision our purchase will give us, not the actual person, product, or service.
At a basic level trying to buy that elusive feeling is completely acceptable as long as there are actually real services or concrete value behind our decision. If we fail to clarify the details of what we are purchasing then we may find that once our buyers euphoria wears off we are left with a big box of hot air that leaves us feeling very empty. Personally to ensure that I actually get something of substance out of my purchase I try to make a habit of asking the following questions before I get married into the latest and greatest deal or individual.
These are the questions I will actually ask a consultant, or I will rhetorically ask myself about a product if there is not a directly involved individual representing the product or service. The example below outlines how I went about purchasing a one year marketing plan from an outside agency. Having selected a reliable partner, my questions were thoroughly answered by Jacob Andrew Consulting who now handles ZigZap’s PR work.
My Questions:
Month 1 & 2:
- How many media contacts will you be personally communicating with?
- Will ZigZap receive copies of contact information and communications as they occur?
- How many press releases do you plan to send out?
Months 3-5:
- What measurable results are we aiming for here?
- What kind of growth, meetings, or opportunities are we going to measure our success by?
Months 6-11:
- Again, what measurable results are we looking for in this phase?
Month 12+:
- What will be kept current?
- Should we expect publication of articles about ZigZap by this point?
- How many publications by the end of 12 months should we expect?
Fees:
- Are you proposing monthly fees, total cost annually, or what kind of structure are you looking for?
- What’s your skin in the game (meaning, if we don’t achieve the results that you are saying we can, then does your fee to ZigZap go down)?
- Based on what you are looking for we’ll need to have clear definable deliverables so I can measure the value of our investment together
Exit Strategy:
I believe that a successful business partnership has a clear definition of each stage of it’s existence. So with that in mind I always like to clarify the following few items:
- How do we enter into and begin a new contractual relationship together?
- What is the planned duration of the initial contract? (this allows for us to renew after the initial period and make any necessary adjustments instead of just assuming a perpetual initial contract)
- In addition what is the plan for completion when all objectives are met, or in the unfortunate case where objectives are not met and the relationship needs to change how do we amicably exit our business relationship?
Although this post mirrors some of what I wrote about in Clear Definition Of Business Relationships Always Equal Success I felt it necessary to bring up with more detail because too often I find we all rush into things and do not understand what they bought. When we don’t bother to be thorough in our purchase we are left with at best an empty feeling and at worse a giant mess.
Looking for help with any area of your business? Follow Jacob, contact ZigZap, or Contact me directly. I am always happy to offer my advice and assistance.
