Oh Those Service Providers...What to Do?!?

Well, another day when I'm looking for a service provider to help out.  A service provider is aka as a consultant...someone who can "do" something that either I can't as in, it's not my skill set OR that I simply just don't have time to learn and/or do.

Seeking out help for 2 specific tasks, I found 2 people to help out.  The business of these people is what I need; they are the experts, claim to be the experts, claim to have the experience, and we have a lovely hour conversation where we both ask a lot of questions to determine potential and fit.  I feel great getting off the phone thinking "Hey, these people can really help me out...I just don't have the time and would love to check this off my list."

One of the providers follow up with an email asking me to "do" a list of things.  After looking at the list, my immediate reaction and thought was, "Well, if I do all of this stuff then what do I need you for?"  My second thought was, "Who was on that call?  Did I talk to someone else because these to-do items do not reflect what I clearly communicated as my needs but rather what everyone else is doing."  Alright.  Take a deep breath, right?  It's possible there could have been some miscommunication so I send a follow up email to summarize our conversation.  And what do I get back in return?  Asking me for the to-do list?! Really???
I remember back in the day (early in my career) a manager signing me up for listening skills training.  At the time, I thought it was lame but now can clearly see the value in what "Pat" was doing for me.  Long live 1993 and the value of active listening!

The second provider.  Several days passed, including their "I'll send a proposal to you by the end of the week." So, I followed up asking about the information.  I got the proposal.  Everything looked really good; very professional, in a packet, organized, and then I got to reading the specific proposal details; the scope of the project - this person and company completely missed the mark about Messy Face.  What did they miss? The product, the company, our vision, mission, goals not to mention mom-invented, award-winning, and patent plus the trademark.  So, I re-read the information from the beginning thinking again that maybe I missed something.  Nope.  Did I follow up with this person?  No, I did not. Instead, I went to the gym and ran!

I have a lot of questions for people out there trying to earn business from new clients.  What would you do if I missed over promised and under delivered?  What would you do if I missed your product/service...would you do business with me?  Would you even want to do business with me? How is it possible to say you're a professional and expert in your industry when not understanding the client's need, company and product, and deliver an off-mark scope of services?

Seems like common sense to me. But then again, maybe it's not obvious to the provider.

So, what to do?  I always believe that an opportunity for learning is an outcome of stuff like this...one thing is for me to blog and share.  Why? Because I'm a big supporter of sharing knowledge with others so they can avoid making similar mistakes.  And in this case it's "What to do from What not to do."

Second, the added-value question in the next discussion with a provider: "Share with me in detail how you would propose to meet the scope/needs." "How will the proposal reflect our conversation?" "Send me a summary of what I'm asking for...This will help make sure we are on the same page and have a clear understanding of what I'm asking for."

Third, I did not communicate my expectations for time management. For example, if someone says "I'll deliver the proposal by Thursday" but the day comes, passes, and now a week goes by - the likelihood of me following up is close to not and moving on to contact their competitor. So, service provider - if you miss the timeline or agreed "anything" buck up, own it, and be accountable!  Don't ignore it or passively make a joke of it.  Business is not a joke. It's a serious commitment.

The main lesson is that there are a lot of people and providers out there looking for new business and can deliver on their promises.  I'm off to find 2....