Hiring external professionals to help with sales and marketing isn’t just a shortcut—it’s a strategic play. The right consultant, agency, or freelancer can bring in fresh ideas, fill skill gaps, and help scale efforts in ways your internal team simply can’t. But finding the right fit? That’s where things get tricky. If you’ve ever wasted money on a marketing firm that didn’t understand your business or a sales consultant who promised the moon but delivered a handful of stardust, you know the stakes are high. So how do you make sure you’re hiring external help that actually helps? It starts with knowing what you need, who to trust, and how to set them up for success.
Forget the Rock Stars—Look for the Right Players
It’s tempting to chase after the big-name consultant or the agency with the flashiest portfolio. But just because they’re great at promoting themselves doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for you. Instead of searching for a “rock star,” look for professionals who specialize in solving the kinds of problems you actually have. A boutique agency that understands your industry might outperform a giant firm that treats you like a small fish. The best experts aren’t necessarily the loudest ones—they’re the ones who know your challenges inside and out.
Define Success Before You Hire
If you don’t know what you want, you’ll never know if you got it. Before bringing in outside help, define exactly what success looks like. Do you need more inbound leads? A stronger brand presence? A sales process that doesn’t rely on sheer luck? The clearer you are about your goals, the easier it is to find the right expert. And when they do come on board, they’ll know exactly what’s expected—no guesswork, no crossed wires, just results.
Vet for Experience, Not Just Buzzwords
Marketing and sales professionals love their buzzwords—growth hacking, omnichannel, conversion optimization. But flashy language doesn’t equal real results. When evaluating candidates, don’t just listen to what they say—dig into what they’ve done. Ask about actual case studies, real-world successes, and how they’ve handled challenges similar to yours. If all they have is jargon and vague promises, keep looking.
Share Documents with External Teams
When collaborating with outside professionals, ensuring smooth document sharing is key to maintaining efficiency. PDFs are especially useful in this process since they preserve the original formatting of a document, no matter what system is being used. As projects evolve, changes will be inevitable, and if you ever need to remove outdated or irrelevant content, you can use a tool to delete PDF pages, streamlining the document for clarity and relevance. Keeping files organized and accessible allows external workers to stay aligned with your business goals without unnecessary confusion.
Test Before You Commit
A long-term contract with the wrong agency or consultant can drain your budget and momentum. Instead of diving in headfirst, start small. A test project, like a single campaign or a short-term engagement, gives you a low-risk way to see if they deliver. Do they communicate well? Do they meet deadlines? Most importantly, do they actually move the needle? If the answer is yes, then you’ve got someone worth keeping around.
Make Sure They Fit Your Culture
Skills matter, but so does chemistry. Your external marketing or sales help will be working closely with your team, so they need to fit your company’s culture and work style. A high-energy, aggressive sales consultant might be great on paper but could clash with a collaborative, data-driven team. The best hires don’t just bring expertise—they blend in seamlessly with how your business operates.
Hold Them Accountable—But Give Them Room to Work
Hiring an expert doesn’t mean you get to check out entirely. You need to track progress, review performance, and make sure your investment is paying off. That said, micromanaging an outside professional is a recipe for frustration on both sides. Set clear expectations, establish regular check-ins, and then let them do what they do best. The right external help won’t just execute tasks—they’ll push your business forward in ways you hadn’t considered.
Bringing in external professionals for sales and marketing isn’t about handing off responsibilities—it’s about enhancing what your company is already doing. When you find the right people, you gain more than just expertise—you gain momentum. The key is being intentional about who you hire, how you work with them, and what you expect. Do that well, and you won’t just get results—you’ll build partnerships that help your business grow for years to come.
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