If you're contemplating hiring a public relations consultant, you may wonder where to start. How can you find and screen candidates, and then identify the best one for you. I recently posed this and other questions to three prominent public relations professionals in the New York metro area. Joan Capelin, President of Capelin Communications and author of Principles for Principals, published by the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS); David Grant, President of LVM Group; and Axel Bang, President of Axel F. Bang PR & Marketing. Their responses may serve as a roadmap in your decision making process.

Finding Candidates

For help in locating consultants Capelin and Bang recommend contacting professional associations, such as SMPS, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Other firms in your industry are also good referral sources. To smaller firms, Bang offers this tip: “Don't be shy about targeting a larger A/E firm whose PR you admire and simply asking them if they know of a PR person or firm...they may have already gone through the screening process for you.” Grant also suggests doing your own online research.

The Interview Process

All agree that phone or e-mail interviews alone are not sufficient, “in person is hugely important,” says Grant. He adds that the process can take days or weeks, or even months. But if it's taking months, he believes, “it doesn't augur well for the future relationship.” According to Bang, this usually translates into one to three meetings, depending on the firm, time priorities, and scope of work.

What to Ask

Perhaps more telling than the questions firms typically ask are the questions that firms should (but often don't) ask. Capelin proposes these useful queries:

• Do you have the availability and capacity to do this for us?
• What support will you need from us? And how much time should we be allotting at the partner level?
• Is the budget sufficient to achieve what we want? If we were to do this program in stages, what would that be?
• How often can we meet? Will that be in person or by phone?
• To what organizations do you belong: SMPS? PRSA? AIA? And more importantly, at what level are you involved in their activities?

Grant's advice is to find out who at the firm will be handling the account. He also suggests asking for references from other firms served.

And Bang recommends reviewing several in-depth case studies. He also thinks it's best to ask consultants to go over the PR process and how it differs from project to project. “Make sure the consultant has the experience to adapt and shift strategies to meet your needs,” says Bang.

What to Look For

Since each firm's needs are unique, there's no single fool-proof formula for choosing the ideal consultant. However, the following qualities mentioned by Grant, Bang, and Capelin may help you develop your own wish list:

• Credentials you admire
• Understanding of public relations
• Ability to relate well to the media
• Ability to work with project managers and principals
• Enthusiasm and knowledge about the profession/industry in question
• Writing/communications skills
• Organizational skills
• Internet/computer skills
• Ability to tactfully keep things moving
• Passion, persistence, smarts, sense of humor, and other positive character traits
• Compatibility of values and work styles
• Interest in a partnership of equals
• Personal chemistry

Finally, A Few Words on Cost

The consensus is, although important, cost is best saved for later in the selection process and not used as your main criterion. Capelin stresses that if the fee is too low, “everyone will be unhappy with the result.” She adds that, “The more we work with our clients, the more valuable we are to them...The best day is when they ask us for an increased scope/level of service.”

Madeleine Hope is a marketing communications consultant and president of Wordspark (Union City, NJ). She is also a longtime active member of SMPS.