The Definitive Guide To Hiring an Expert Microsoft Excel Consultant.
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Here are the steps to hire the right Microsoft Excel consultant or programer
The Definitive Guide
How to Hire a Microsoft Certified Excel Consultant – The Definitive Guide, Successfully hiring a Microsoft expert for your project.
We Recommend: Hiring a Microsoft Certified Excel Consultancy (Microsoft Certified Partner), hiring a Microsoft Certified Excel Consultant, (Microsoft Excel MVP), even hire a firm Microsoft hires; where Microsoft is a repeat-client.
Whatever you do, hire a Microsoft Certified Excel expert, us or them; Microsoft Certification is critical to the success of your project.
Give this the once over, then you can decide if you should Hire Us, a similar firm, an after-hours freelancer (individual), someone with just 2-3 years of daily Excel programming experience, or a team of Microsoft Certified Excel MVP’s at a firm that has been in business for 25+ years.
For the Excel or Access work you need help with, what skill level are you looking to hire? How important is the project, the work?
1-Star, Experience – Beginner
2-Stars, Experience – Office Guru
3-Stars, Experience – Intermediate
4-Stars, Experience – Advanced
5-Stars, Experience – Subject Matter Expert
Where the programmers have been programming in Microsoft Excel as far back as 1985, Excel for the Mac. Excel MVP’s going back to the first year and every year of the MS Excel MVP program, since 1993. Microsoft Certified since 1994.
So many things to take note of. You want to get this right, this guide should help you to hire the right Excel consultant for your organization’s needs.,
If in doubt, look at the reviews and the firms posting those reviews, even to see as far as how many of those that post the reviews are repeat clients, that post multiple reviews over a series of years. If they are not a Google Business Review 5-Star firm, move on until you find one.
Microsoft Certification & 5-Star Google Business Reviews Matter
The Output - What Do You Need The Application To Do
Mission Critical, get this wrong and it may cost you dearly, so take the time to fully understand your needs and take as much time as needed to fully think it through. And it is okay to have the Excel consultant to do a paid deep dive analysis to help you with this effort.
Think in terms of what you “need” in the Excel application versus what you “want” in the application.
Before you speak with anyone take the time to sit down with your staff and discuss your needs. Make sure to include the users of the system. Know what would be nice and what is required, and what can wait for phase two.
Can You Go To Their Office To Work With Them
Surprisingly the majority of people in this space work out of their home and do not have an office. Look for those firms that do have an office (See our office), one you can visit. The longer they have done so tells you that the company is legit.
Are They A Fully Staffed Corporation
Their team page will tell you a lot about them. Do they have a team page? Is so, how many people are on it? For the people on it, what do they do and how long have they been doing it? Are they the top experts in the field? Has Microsoft certified them? Do they have a page on the Microsoft website?
If not, you may question if they are a legitimate company or are they a single person doing freelance work out of their home in the evenings and over the weekend. You want to hire a fully staffed company, not a freelancer.
Do They Have Many Big Name Clients
Do you recognize the names of their clients? If so, are there just a few known names or are there dozens and dozens? This is very telling.
Testimonials Tell You Something
Read the testimonials on their website and on LinkedIn.com. How many do they have, what do they say, who wrote them.
For example, if Red Bull was a client, did Red Bull write a testimonial? Is there a case study on the Red Bull project? All of this tells you much.
Microsoft Certifid Partner, Microsoft MVP, Experts-Exchange, etc
Are they certified by Microsoft? Being so is huge.
Ignore things such as the Better Business Bureau, Norton, etc. You want to see certifications from Microsoft. Even better, you want to hire a firm that Microsoft has hired. And if Microsoft hired them more than once, that is even better. Think about it, if Microsoft Certifies them and if Microsoft hires them repeatedly, that tells you that the firm delivers.
Are any of their experts certified by Experts-Exchange.Com? If so, how high are they ranked? Being so means they are an expert in the application(s), such as Helen Feddema being ranked as #2 in Access development.
Do their trainers have training videos on Lynda.Com? If so how many. Dennis Taylor has over 55 and he is one of their topped ranked experts, and he is our senior Excel trainer.
What Else Sets Them Appart
Do they own and operate one of the top Microsoft help forums? We do, look at VBAExpress.com.
When we say we wrote the book on it, we mane it, literally. Several of our programmers and trainers have written books on the applications they work in. Often our competitors read those books to learn Excel, Access, Word or Outlook.
Contact The Top Ranked Company
Now you have the names of the top companies, it is time to reach out to contact them to see if they are the Excel consultant that you want to hire.
You Want To Discuss Your Needs In Detail
Does the company offer free consultations to gain an understanding of your needs and their ability to assist you? Why should you pay for this? If the company wants to work with you, this should be offered.
If your needs are extensive, then we recommend that the company should offer a paid deep-dive to fully spec out the work. These can be offered either onsite (At our office or yours), or remotely, which is the norm.
An on site discovery meeting is very similar to an off site consultation. But onsite involves visiting your office in-person to gain a better understanding of your current capabilities and workflow so that we can help you enhance your performance.
Get An Estimate InTerms of Time, Money and Opportunity Costs
Get in writing what the project will cost, both in terms of time and money. Is it fixed-bid or by the hour?
What is their pricing policy?
There are four costs to any project. Two you are already aware of, and two you may not be. Here they are.
Those 4 items make up the cost of your project. You will want to know what they are.