10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Microsoft Excel Programming Consultancy, for Best Results
Question #1: Does your company want you to hire a Proven High Quality Excel consultancy, for optimal results.
For over 25+ years we have prided ourselves on hiring the best Microsoft Excel, Access, SQL Programmers, Trainers and Subject Matter Experts available, the top 1% experts
We pride ourselves on hiring the best Microsoft application talent available, and that is why we are able to provide “Smarter Microsoft Solutions” to our clients. That is why we only hire the top 1 % of the best Excel subject matter experts, usually Microsoft Excel MVP’s, to work with our clients, here at our firm.
We already hired the best professional Microsoft Excel, Access, SQL Server, and Azure programming talent, and non of them are freelancers; we have hired professional programmers and trainers, career programmers and trainers, careers with large recognizable companies, to work here at our firm, to ultimately work with you and your firm.
You are hiring us, not them, WE support your project at the CORPORATE level. We are responsible for the success of your project. Freelance sites do not do the same. They take the money, but not the responsibility, you are on your own when it comes to dealing with the discount freelancer, and the quality of work, the customer service, etc.
We however are here to make sure we always deliver 5-Star service, and solutions. We call it a Smarter Microsoft Solution, the 5-Star Advantage program. Call for details 877-392-35389. Hire the best, forget the rest.
Why hire an Excel programmer?
Businesses find that an effective way to streamline services results in a better overall experience for both customers and employees. For many years now, companies have relied on Microsoft Office’s suite of programs for this purpose. There are a number of ways to utilize Microsoft programs such as Excel in the workplace, such as maintaining financial data, employee data, data analysis, and much more.
While your business might be using Excel, there are probably many features of this software that you are not fully taking advantage of. In order to further organize and automate processes, you may choose to hire an expert Excel programmer, preferably a Microsoft Certified Excel MVP or Microsoft Certified Partner, or BOTH. How can you ensure that the person or company that you’re hiring is the right one for the job.
Before you hire the Excel programming company, first sit down and think through your needs. What type of relationship do you want? What type of results are you expecting and what work are you willing to accept.
- It really comes down to what type of firm do you want to work with, what level of experience and client service do you want?
- Do you want a firm that always answers their phones when you have a an urgent need, when you need help right away? Is that important to you?
- Do you want a product that is supported by a company, one that has a team of top experts to help you, one that is not going anywhere, one where client service is key?
- Do you want the results to exceed your expectations, not just meet them?
- Do you want to pay a fair rate for expert level work, performed on a timely basis?
- How important is the application you are having someone work on?
- Are you with a company or are you an individual looking for expert Excel help?
- Do you want to work with a firm or an individual – it starts there.
- This is the most critical moment of your project.
A fair rate for expert level work, performed on a timely basis, with a client service representative managing your project the entire way.
1. Does your company want you to hire a proven high quality Excel consultancy, for optimal results?
Does the level of client service matter? If so, what level of client service is your company looking for? Are you expecting someone to answer the phone live, when you call, to answer your emails right away, to be able to jump into a Zoom call on the fly, etc.?
How about what hours of the day do you work, do you work over the weekends, select holidays, etc, because if you do, we do, we work when you work. Can you reach the client service representative right away when you call?
Do these matter to you and to the company you work for? If so, they may determine the type of firm you work with, a new firm, or one that has been around for over 25 years, or even an discount offshore freelancer.
This is where you start, you start by looking at the level of quality you expect to receive.
2. Microsoft Certification – What type of Microsoft Consultancy should I hire?
There are all sorts of firms out there, at all sorts of levels of experience. Fact is, anyone can open an online excel consultancy, expert or not. Pay $9 for the URL, open a GoDaddy website and you too are instantly an expert, because you wrote it, and you are in business.
Anyone can place an ad on Google, FaceBook, or register for a freelancer website. But few are proven data visualization experts at the expert level. Most are far from being considered a Microsoft Excel subject matter expert, those are the Microsoft certified experts. Microsoft Partner and MVP certification matters, they are hard to get. Only the best get them. Only 130 Excel MVP’s in the world.
The challenge for you is to safely find your way through that mine field. To hire the right firm, to get a 5-Star solution, one that your company is so happy to have and so happy to use, day after day, with ease, at a very fair rate, for work performed at the expert level.
This article along with common sense will guide you on your way, and we are confident you too can receive a 5-Star solution for your Excel programming project.
This is where you find a proven Excel programmer, you start by looking at the level of talent at the firm you hire, Microsoft Certified or not.
A Microsoft Certified Partner and Application Developer, one employing top Microsoft Certified Excel MVP’s as their top Excel programmers and Excel trainers are the best firms to hire. The Microsoft Certified, Microsoft Excel Subject Matter Experts
3. How Do I Search for the Right Excel programming firm? One word – Google
Google Search Phrase: “Excel MVP firm“
Look at Organic Google rankings for Google’s Recommendations on firms to look at; avoid paid ads; anyone can place an ad.
Finding the right company can seem difficult when there are a number of Excel consulting companies to choose from. One of the best ways to ensure you choose a reputable, knowledgeable, and qualified company is by searching on Google. You can browse through several of the top results and compare the credentials on their websites. Google is your friend if you want to find a reputable firm. Google Reviews matter.
4. How many 5-Star Google Business Reviews does the Excel consultancy have?
Why does it matter what clients write on Google? Because that cannot be faked, they took their time to tell the tale of the firm you are looking at, they took the time for a reason, they either loved them or they hated them, period. Is there a common theme amongst their testimonials?
According to Google, Google business reviews are a great way to judge whether or not a company has merit. The reviews you read can tell you a lot about the company, and it is one of the most natural ways to gain insight into how other clients view them.
5. Do they have local offices, or are they only email based, possibly zoom, usually out of country?
Can you meet them face-to-face at their office, your office, or Starbucks?
In this tech-heavy world, sometimes a little human contact is necessary — especially when you’re working closely with a local company. If this aspect is essential for you, consider hiring an Excel consulting firm that has a physical office that you can visit. Knowing the professionals you’re working with have an established office ensures a sense of credibility, rather than them working out of their home.
6. Do they have an extensive client list of well known Companies, Colleges, Government Agencies, and Non-profits that you recognize?
Most consulting companies will have compiled a list of their clients on their website. A great way to get a taste of a company’s expertise is by simply viewing this list. If there are reputable names on there that immediately catch your attention, you can believe that is a good sign.
Microsoft, IBM, Morgan Stanley, USC, Harvard, US Navy, US Army, British Red Cross, Channel 4 TV UK, YMCA are a few examples of organizations that hire us.
Are there case-studies, LinkedIn.Com Testimonials and Google Business Reviews from these known clients? Are there multiple testimonials from the same firm, for different projects over multiple years?
7. Do they have testimonials from well known organizations posted on LinkedIn & Google Business?
Browse their website and other social media platforms (Google Business, LinkedIn) to read testimonials and related case studies. This will allow you to review a client’s experience with the company’s products and services and give you insight into how using an Excel programmer was able to improve their processes.
8. How RESPONSIVE are they when you call?
When it comes to programming and software applications, there are a number of hiccups that can occur. What’s important is knowing you have a team that is readily available to help you in your time of need. If a company is not very responsive, this can significantly affect their satisfaction rating. As you know, it’s essential that you hire an Excel consulting company that reads contact forms, responds to emails, and returns phone calls in a timely manner.
9. Can you talk to them on the phone during normal business hours, no appointment needed?
Are they always available to speak with you about your project?
When you are stuck, and you really need to speak live with the Excel consultancy you hired, will they answer the phone? Is that important to you? What level of client service do you think are you paying for? What is important to the organization you work for?
Does client service matter?
10. How does hiring this particular company fit into my budget?
It always comes down to this, as it should.
Get a Fixed-Bid quote, know the full cost upfront. You will then know, is it in your budget or not. Simple.
Get a fixed-bid quote from the company you are possibly interested in hiring, to determine whether taking on their services fits into your budget. If you’ve concluded that the company is qualified, reputable, and adept in Excel, it may be in the best interest of your company to hire them. Remember, you get what you pay for — the cheapest option may not always be the best, same goes for the most expensive. Get a solid application at a fair price for the level of work performed.
Companies provide a fixed-bid quote when the client needs to know the total cost of the project, before the project is agreed to. If you go the hourly rate route, the project cost will ultimately be the total number of hours worked, unknown, by the rate, so the cost of the project is unknown and can climb and climb. Fixed-bid quotes eliminate that risk.
Example Scenarios to Consider:
Example #1: Freelancer gone MIA, mid project!
Over the years we have had a lot of individuals and small mom and pop businesses reach out to hire us AFTER they went the way of hiring a discount Excel freelancer to do some custom Excel programming for them. More often than not, it does not go as they had planned.
Why do you think they are a freelancer in the first place? Why are they not doing this fulltime for a reputable firm? Anyhow, the freelancer was unable to perform the work requested, and/or the freelancer went MIA to never be heard from again. You often get what you pay for; if you order off of the 99 cent menu, do not expect a quality burger, what are you thinking?
So many times people reach out, desperate to get help, they are already behind, and the freelancer they hired failed to complete the project. Often the work they deliver does not in fact work.
BUT WE CAN STILL HELP YOU! If your freelancer went MIA we are here to assist, today, we are quickly able to determine your needs, we will provide a fixed-bid quote, and we are able to provide your solution in short order, at the expert level, with top tier client service.
Should I hire an India based freelancer or a US based, international corporation?
Unlike a freelancer, a reputable company has a team of knowledgeable professionals from various departments that can help carry out your needs. Larger companies are higher in demand; therefore, they are constantly evolving and remain cognizant of new developments and updates.
This is not to scare you, this is just reality. You get what you pay for. Should you make the same mistake, we are here happy to help you and your organization with all of your Microsoft application needs.
Example #2: Why do our friendly competitors and other Excel and Access MVP’s hire us?
Why is it that so many Microsoft Excel consultants and vba programmers actually hire our firm to help them and their clients with their work?
Why do our friendly competitors hire us? Why do our friendly clients write testimonials on our work for them? Why do so many top Excel programmers that are past capacity, why do they send their clients to work with us? Simple, we are that good and that affordable. We are the experts the experts go to when they are stuck, the best of the best.
We are the top 1% of Microsoft Excel data visualization experts.
Example #3: My Excel programmer is on Vacation! But my files are not working and I need help!
Programmers go on vacation, they get new jobs, they become impossible to reach, life happens, they are freelancers for a reason.
When you hire a fully staffed corporation you do not run into that problem. We have a team of Excel and Access experts and we can switch experts on a dime. We do it all the time, we never leave our clients waiting for a reply or a file, or just wondering, did my programmer go MIA?
Hire a firm with a team of Excel and Access experts to help you, when you need help. Hire a party of one, and well, that can go all sorts of ways.
Example #4: Hire the firms Microsoft Hires?
Why would you not hire the same firms Microsoft hires when they need expert Excel programming help? If Microsoft hires a firm to work in Microsoft Excel, what does that tell you about the firm? It tells you that we are the Microsoft Excel Subject Matter Experts, according to Microsoft.
Get a Smarter Microsoft Solution, hire a firm Microsoft hires when they need advanced data visualization programming work in Microsoft Excel and Power BI. That is what we do, that is who hires us and that is what they say about our work. Nothing else to say.
In conclusion, after determining that you will require assistance within your Excel applications, it’s essential to choose the right team of experts for the job.
At Excel & Access, our team members’ extensive knowledge with Microsoft software is backed up by their years of experience in the industry. Whether you need a professional consultation, Microsoft programming, or training services, we offer a variety of solutions to increase efficiency and productivity within your business.
A fully staffed firm, always ready to jump in and to help you out.
For more information, please call us at 877.392.3539.
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