What to look for when hiring an agency or independent consultant

Illustration by Flore Thevoux

First of all, congratulations. It takes quite a bit of courage, faith and persistent work to get to this point. Realizing you need help, and actively looking for the best solution is not for the faint of heart!

When it comes to design, strategy, marketing, and any other B2B growth services that involve creative thinking, the market contains truly phenomenal options, mediocre ones, and outright horror stories masquerading as opportunities.

The sheer number of options out there can be really overwhelming, so knowing how to differentiate between the “real deal” and posers is going to save your wellbeing, time, and hard earned cash.

While outsourcing the work you are looking for to the growing list of AI tools is an option, the right human guidance can orient, calibrate, and restructure not just your business’s trajectory, but your heart, mind, and spirit.

Here are the 3 key aspects you should pay attention to and be aware of before contracting long-term support for your business:

1. Experience & Follow-Through

Check their experience. The more lives a person has lived, the more likely they are to understand the nuances of your problem(s) and how to solve it. Make sure their process is solid (i.e. proven by at least a handful of people in a situation similar to yours). Also, investigate their customer support and what kind of security they can offer you with your investment. This will be essential when you hit inevitable bumps in the road. You want someone that will be by your side through sunny and stormy weather. If sh*t hits the fan, they are there to help you clean up and readjust your processes. Can you ensure you’re supported the entire way until your goal is reached?

2. Social Proof

Social proof is soooo important. Do they maintain ties with past clients? Look at how other people’s businesses are doing after working with them. This will show you the strength, quality, and longevity of the solutions they provide. Read all of the testimonials and reach out to people to hear their experiences. How flexible and knowledgeable are they with the type of work they do? Someone who can live in multiple worlds will have much deeper insights on your specific situation.

3. Character & Shared Values

Can you trust this person? You are not just hiring somebody’s skills, you are hiring their character. Who are they as people? Are they candid and straightforward about their intentions? What do they care about? The right alignment here will work wonders for your project’s success. Multiple minds focused towards a similar vision creates a much stronger catalyst for change.

4. A willingness to ask the right questions

Will they go deep with you and ask the necessary questions that will touch your core and help you reevaluate the areas you’ve been stuck in? Until a strong enough, polarizing perspective is presented, you cannot see the trap you’ve woven with your own language.  

We limit our own growth with the filters of the preconceptions, judgements, fears our past experiences have taught us. Who you’ve been, your pains and heart aches, play a large role in the experiences you are willing to receive.  

It’s hard to see what’s holding you back on your own. You are so much more than what you’ve lived and been told about yourself. To actualize the latent potential you hold inside, having someone who sees and believes in that larger, brighter version of yourself is invaluable.

I hope these observations are helpful for you in your journey! We are here to help each other grow.

All the best,

Flore

Brand Designer, Illustrator, Artist & Founder of Jegayo

here to help you tell your lore