A couple of questions I am frequently asked by event organizers are “How do I know when to bring a consultant/contractor in to help?” and “Isn’t it a sign of weakness if I have to go outside the company to do this?”
Both are good questions. To answer the second, I would say that, as the boss, you sometimes have situations where you wish to take advantage of an opportunity, but don’t want to hire a full-time person to do so. Or, even if you were willing, you lack the time to find the right person with the skillset you need. Neither situation indicates weakness in your organization.
In terms of the first question, here are the reasons why you should look to hire an external consultant:
- When you lack the specialized expertise. You are in a certain market, but you’ve never run an event in that market before and don’t know the ropes. Or perhaps you have tried previously and lost your shirt. You’ll want to make sure you have experts who can deliver a successful, well-regarded event that is relevant, on time and on budget.
- When you don’t have the bandwidth. You want to launch something quickly to take advantage of a market opportunity and don’t have the requisite staff to sell, market, program or execute the event. In this scenario, trying to launch the event will hurt both the launch and any existing events because your staff just can’t handle the workload.
- When you are working in a new market segment. You see a new opportunity, but need some help grasping the specifics of how to successfully establish an event. A ‘hired gun’ industry expert might either take complete responsibility or complement your existing team.
- When you need a temporary resource for a specific function for a short period. I’ve seen companies hire temporary sales, marketing, operations, or programming resources to address temporary leave situations or to staff the responsibilities of someone who has left the company, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
- When an event is in trouble and you need a fresh set of eyes for the perspective necessary to determine how to turn things around. Frequently if one is too close to a situation, it’s hard to know what to change (the “forest for the trees” syndrome.) An experienced professional often can find the cause of the problems and assist in turning things around. But I’d caution you to not wait too long to bring someone in. Delays can mean issues that are hard to fix, even with the right expertise.
The good news to know is that any of these event resources are available to you, if you are well networked. Even if you’re not, you could connect with me and I may be able to make an introduction to the right person.
Bottom line: these resources are available, usually quickly and affordably, and could make the difference between growth, stagnation or death of your event.
I wish you a healthy and happy holiday season, as well as a successful 2017. Until then!