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Building
Your Dream Marketing Team
By Greg
Quigley
The
Fantasy: Your marketing budget is packed to the brim with
money to help build your dream marketing team. You hire nothing
short of the best and life is good.
The
Reality: Your staff is overworked, your budget’s
tight and you complete about half of the projects on your to-do
list.
This reality
is what many marketing mangers and small businesses face on a daily
basis. Even so, you’re still expected to consistently produce
better results – and the bar keeps on rising while you keep
losing resources. It’s situations like these that call for
the outsourced consultants and freelancers of the world to help
turn your fantasy marketing team into a reality.
What
can you outsource?
You can outsource just about anything. With the layoffs and budget
cuts that plague marketing departments and agencies, there are a
ton of freelancers out there ready and willing to take on your projects.
Everyone from designers, to copywriters, to project mangers can
be brought in to help with any number of marketing communications
tasks. Many times, you can find a team of freelancers that regularly
work together. Look for freelancers by doing a Web search, browsing
the yellow pages or by referrals from colleagues.
Wanted:
good copywriting and design
If marketing communications were a building, copywriting and graphic
design would be the support beams. Without these critical components,
you really don’t have a chance of communicating your message,
making a sale or building your brand. Some of the best marketing
communications pieces can come from a copywriter/design team, and
most freelance copywriters and designers have a colleague they will
refer to you.
A good copywriter/designer
team should be able to understand your project quickly and get to
work on it right away. In addition, they should be willing to work
with you, your staff and any other creative partners you need involved
in the project. However, don’t assume that any freelancer
will be able to effectively work with your staff - make sure they
have the people skills to do so by interviewing them and checking
their references. Often in the freelance industry, you can run across
so called “hermits” that enjoy working by themselves
and don’t do well working with others. Not good if your project
requires a lot of teamwork.
Thinking
outside the box (or outside of your office)
One of the biggest benefits of working with a freelancer is getting
their perspective on your projects. If they are a seasoned pro,
they are used to giving advice to clients and should be more than
happy to do so. Since you are so close with your industry and work
with the same colleagues every day, your perspective can become
skewed. Many “insiders” adopt their company’s
perspective rather than their customer’s. A good freelancer
can help you avoid this by asking questions and suggesting ideas
that you might not have thought about.
No more drained resources
Your full-time employees generally have a full-time workload. Even
if you have writers and designers on staff, adding more duties to
their already overflowing to-do lists can cause burnout and make
your department fall behind on important projects. Bringing in a
freelancer can help even things out and give your staff some breathing
room.
A dedicated
worker whenever you need them and never when you don’t
When you hire a full-time employee, it is a big investment. A salary,
training, insurance and office supplies are all part of the costs.
When you hire a freelancer you pay them only for the project and
nothing else. It’s like having a full-time professional on
call 365 days a year.
You’ve
made the decision, now it’s time to hire
When hiring freelancers, don’t just look for the best price
and quickest turnaround times, look for someone that will be there
for the long term and will become more of a partner to your company.
Follow these steps and you should be on the right track to building
your dream marketing team:
- First, you
need to find a freelancer. Some of the best work will come from
referrals – ask colleagues and other creative partners for
referrals. You can also do a Web search, browse the yellow pages
and check with local business organizations such as the chamber
of commerce.
- Interview
the freelancer and view samples of their work. This will help
you determine if they do quality work, and if they will fit in
with your company and projects.
- Request references
from previous clients. When checking the references, try and get
a feel for their timeliness, teamwork and professionalism.
- Develop a
contract or a letter of agreement that details the scope of the
project, due dates and payment terms. This will help keep everyone
on the same page, and protect both you and the freelancer.
Most companies
are looking for ways to reduce costs and keep their staff happy,
while building their brand and increasing sales. Hiring a freelancer
to help out with your marketing workload can help to accomplish
this. You’ll put your company on the right track to success
and put you on the right track to having your dream marketing team.
So what are you waiting for? Start building your dream marketing
team with freelancers today.
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR:
Greg Quigley is a professional business writer and owner of Q-Com
Business Writing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He can be reached at 414-347-0660
or via his Web site at www.qcomnet.com.
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