With the budget pressures on today’s communications departments, the daily challenge for many communications leaders is how to create the greatest value in return for their organization’s budget dollar. If you have room in your communications budget for support from an outside consultancy, consider yourself lucky—and also consider how you can work with your consulting partner in a way that delivers an ROI (return on investment) that keeps the budget gods in your company satisfied.
Here are three ways you can make the most of those precious budget dollars when partnering with a communications consultant or consulting firm:
Selecting a partner with a proven track record is a must; don’t be shy about asking for references and case studies to ensure that the firm can deliver high value for your budget dollar. Also look for a provider with a broad range of services. That way, you’ll have a single source for many different types of project—from PowerPoint to portal projects and everything in between—without the costly learning curve of bringing a new firm up to speed every time.
Keep these guidelines in mind, and you just might find that a consulting partnership is a whole new way to add value to your career and your business.
Author: Kate Tomasco.