Three Tools to Minimize the Risk of Poor Expert Network Performance

When your company invests in interviewing subject-matter experts who can provide valuable insights into challenging decisions, it is important to get the most out of the conversation as well as out of your time and effort. The knowledge and perspectives obtained from industry luminaries and key opinion leaders, which you can use to influence your decision-making process before taking specific steps, are invaluable in the fields of consulting and market research.

But sometimes, conversations become complicated, things are lost in translation, and time is wasted on the wrong questions—all because the vendor (that is, the Expert Network) that your organization has contracted failed to do its job properly. Have you ever participated in a discussion that seemed to lack focus or maybe more organization should have been applied to the research process? You are not alone in feeling this way. Check out the following suggestions that can improve the effectiveness of your primary research projects:

1. Budget Control

When a project first starts, there may be concerns regarding the selection of a vendor that will fit within the budget. Prioritizing vendors with whom you have pre-paid subscriptions may seem natural as you can try to optimize the return on your prior investment. However, this might not be the best course of action.

These kinds of models may unintentionally restrict you to a particular provider and make it more difficult to explore a wider range of potential respondents.

Using a pay-as-you-go model without a subscription not only offers the autonomy to collaborate with your preferred vendors but also inherently motivates the Expert Network to provide the most suitable expert in the fastest time possible.

In addition, such a model gives you the option to bargain for expert fees which encourages competition within Expert Networks. The ultimate benefit? Finding the best expert, obtaining invaluable insights, and making sure your project budget is used wisely.

Conclusion: explore the possibility of switching your focus from the vendor you have pre-paid to an entity that best suits your current needs.

2. Use special tools

Amid long or medium-term projects, it is not unusual for important emails to be lost in your inbox, for important transcripts to disappear into a jumble of files, or for the tedious process of combining multiple invoices for accounts payable to feel like a different project entirely.

It is a difficult task in and of itself to make sure that billing, documentation, and communication remain efficiently on track.

This does not even take into account the complexities of coordinating interview schedules.

Expert Network Calls (ENC) is a specialized platform designed to mitigate these disruptions. All the administrative burdens mentioned above can be greatly reduced with a well-thought-out digital solution such as ENC.

Regardless of the platforms or tools you use, there’s a need for a unified and easy-to-use system like ENC that can reduce the possibility of mistakes, improve organizational effectiveness, and make compiling deliverables easier.

3. Combine Vendors

If we revisit the complicated issue of vendor selection, it's important to note that each vendor has a unique methodology when formulating fees for their experts. Variables such as geographical location, industry specialization, accumulated experience, and specific professional certifications can significantly influence these fee structures. As many professionals will attest, fees can show vast differences.

Interestingly, vendors fall into two main groups: specialists and generalists.

• Generalists offer a wide range of services across several industries and geographical areas
• Specialists focus on certain niches and remain firmly aligned with their core competencies

Building relationships with both categories would be a clever tactic that, among other benefits, would grant you a panoramic view of the fee landscape.

It is worth noting that, even with deep-rooted expertise in a specific industry, a specialized vendor may unintentionally miss an expert that a generalist has previously worked with due to their large network. Maintaining a balanced portfolio of vendors ensures both maximum financial efficiency and comprehensive access to quality services.

As a wrap-up, the vendor selected to initiate expert interviews in the long term should always be kept in contact with. However, budget control, efficient monitoring processes, and a combination of two or three Expert Network platforms are three elements that will ensure sufficient control and minimize the risks of missing out on important experts and their valuable insights.