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"Nick Kishfy is the CEO of MojoTech, a design and development agency with offices in Providence, RI and New York, NY.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019ve ever looked for a design and development agency to build your product, you know that lack of options is not a problem in this industry.\r\n\r\nIn fact, it\u2019s quite the opposite: thousands of agencies, from one-man shops to full-scale operations, want your business.\r\n\r\nAs the buyer, it\u2019s daunting, if not downright scary. You\u2019re not shopping for new sheets; choosing the right partner to bring your vision to life can be a make-or-break decision for the success of your product.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201CDo they get what I\u2019m trying to do?\u201D\r\n\u201CHave they built anything like this before?\u201D\r\n\u201CHow do I know they\u2019re not going to screw me over?\u201D\r\n\r\nNo pressure, right?\r\n\r\nWell, as someone who has helped hundreds of folks just like you through this decision process,\u00A0I\u2019m here to tell you: it doesn\u2019t have to suck.\u00A0I\u2019ve put together the post below to guide you through the agency selection process, including prioritizing your criteria, asking the right questions and spotting the signs that your business relationship may not end on the friendliest terms.\r\n\r\nBut first, a disclaimer: Yes, I\u2019m the CEO of a design and development agency. My job is to keep our company growing,\u00A0and part of that is bringing in new clients.\r\n\r\nBut that\u2019s not what this post is for. I happen to think that MojoTech does terrific work. But we\u2019re not right for most of you. I don\u2019t want you to choose a good agency; I want you to choose the agency that\u2019s exactly the right fit for you. That could be us, but it could very well be -- and, simply by virtue of the numbers, probably is -- someone else.\r\nStep away from the Google\r\nThe screenshot at the top of this post captures a method that way too many people actually use to begin their agency search. A simple search for \u201Capp development agency\u201D turned up more than 71 million results. Unless you\u2019re on the hunt for an SEO firm, Google is a tough place to\r\nstart.\r\n\r\nTry these two ridiculously simple -- and effective -- methods to identify some good prospects:\r\n\r\nTap your network\r\n\r\nI\u2019m always surprised at how often people forget (or ignore) this tactic. Even if you\u2019re not a power networker, you\u2019ve met some folks along the way. People you\u2019ve gone to school with, worked with, had drinks with. Leverage those relationships.\r\n\r\nBy getting referred, you\u2019re already starting your search with agencies that are trusted by people you trust. Isn\u2019t that a little more comforting than betting on Google results?\r\n\r\nMaybe your contacts don\u2019t know an agency, but if they\u2019ve ever worked with talented developers\u00A0or designers, they could point you in the right direction. And if they haven\u2019t, they may know\u00A0someone who has. Your network probably runs far deeper than you think it does; all you have to\u00A0do is ask.\r\n\r\nGo to the source\r\n\r\nWhether you\u2019re looking to build a mobile or Web app, you\u2019ve probably used dozens, if not\u00A0hundreds of them. Surely, you\u2019ve used some that you love?\r\n\r\nEven if a product isn\u2019t in your space, it still may have had to solve many of the same user\u00A0experience challenges that you\u2019ll be facing. So find some products that have absolutely nailed it,\u00A0and figure out who built them.\r\n\r\nIf the answer isn\u2019t readily available after a quick search, the\u00A0easiest way to find out? Send an email. A short note telling the company that you love their app\u00A0and, asking them who built it. Sometimes, it will be an in-house team. But often, it\u2019ll be an agency. If the product company had a great working relationship with the agency, they\u2019ll be\u00A0more than happy to refer new business to them.\r\n\r\nNow that you've found three to five agencies you\u2019re interested in reviewing. How can you evaluate your\u00A0conversations with them to ensure that you make the right choice?\r\nAsk the right questions\r\nYes, you have to cover the basic points like project cost, scope and timeline, but finding the right fit goes deeper than that. Here are a few more telling questions that I\u2019m constantly hearing from successful clients, and that I\u2019d be sure to ask if I were looking for an agency myself:\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s the goal of my product?\r\n\r\nThis one sounds like the agency should be the ones asking (and they should), but the right agency will deeply understand your product, and not just on a superficial level. They\u2019ll understand the problem you\u2019re trying to solve, and the wants, fears and objections of your users.\u00A0Only then can they build a product that people will actually want to use.\r\n\r\nHow would you change my vision for the product?\r\n\r\nYou want to hire product experts, right? Do you want a robot agency that\u2019s simply going to nod their heads and do as you say, or do you want one that\u2019s going to call on their experience to help you develop and shape your vision?\r\n\r\nIf it\u2019s the latter, they should be able to give you\u00A0insightful feedback on how they might do things a bit differently; even if you don\u2019t agree, you\u2019ll get a glimpse of how they approach product development and problem-solving, which will tell you a lot about the people who you\u2019re trusting with your baby.\r\n\r\nWho, specifically, is going to be working on my product?\r\n\r\nLots of agencies are run by talented, decorated people with killer track records. Don\u2019t worry, they\u2019ll be sure to tell you about it.\r\n\r\nBut when it comes time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), who\u2019s actually going to be building your app? Is it a developer who has solved complex challenges, just like the ones you\u2019re facing? A designer who understands how to build interaction flows that engage users? Or a pixel-pusher working for a few bucks an hour from halfway across the world, and reporting to the sharp exec that won your business?\r\n\r\nThere are good agencies using both models (and if budget is your number one priority, you\u2019ll likely be speaking with shops that outsource), but you deserve to know who\u2019s going to be touching your product, and what you can expect from your relationship with the agency.\r\n\r\nWhat results have your clients achieved?\r\n\r\nPortfolios are nice, but they only tell a small part of the story. The agency may have built some beautiful apps, but that\u2019s not your ultimate goal, right? At the end of the day, you want users, revenue, funding...something tangible and measurable, and not just pretty.\r\n\r\nAn agency that knows how to achieve those results, and has helped its clients do so, will be more than happy to share those successes with you. This will tell you a whole lot more about the potential return on your investment than how many awards the agency has won.\r\nKnow what to listen for\r\nAs you interview agencies, you\u2019ll be having a lot of conversations. And that\u2019s a good thing, since you\u2019re making a big investment. Knowing the right questions to ask is super important, but so is knowing how to evaluate what each agency is telling you -- not only in the answers they give, but in everything they tell you.\r\n\r\nIs it about you, or them?\r\n\r\nIn your conversations, is the agency spending the overwhelming majority of your time talking about themselves? If so, be careful.\r\n\r\nThe right development partner will focus on you. Even when they talk about themselves, it will be in the context of why they might be the right fit for your product.\r\n\r\nFor example, which of these statements tells you more about what you might expect from working with this agency?\r\n\r\n\u201CWe\u2019ve done work with Acme Co, Wayne Enterprises and Vendelay Industries. Check it out, isn\u2019t it great?\u201D or\u00A0\u201CIt looks like one of your biggest challenges will be getting users to act on notifications, which we helped Wayne Enterprises solve by building a really simple but engaging notification tool.\u201D\r\n\r\nThe same concept goes for references: an agency should want you to speak to other clients, and they should offer you phone numbers and email addresses before you even ask. But even more tellingly, are they giving you the same references they give everyone else? Or are they\u00A0giving you references that they chose specifically for you, because those clients will have insight on how the agency tackled the same goals and problems that you\u2019ll have?\r\nMake the right call\r\nThe advice above should get you most of the way there. But if you really want to be a savvy buyer and truly set yourself up with the best possible chance for success, then there\u2019s one thing left for you to do: get a developer second opinion.\r\n\r\nEven if you feel comfortable with the agency you\u2019re talking to, you don\u2019t have to trust everything they say. In fact, for your own protection, you shouldn\u2019t.\r\n\r\nChances are, somewhere in your network (yep, back to that again), there\u2019s someone who knows a hell of a lot about product development. They might have a title like \u201CChief Product Officer,\u201D or they might be a very senior project manager who has worked with enough \u00A0successful teams to know how to evaluate a proposal. If you don\u2019t know any of these folks, find them on LinkedIn.\r\n\r\nThen, ask them what they think about the proposal you\u2019re considering. Most of them will be more than happy to consult with you, especially if it\u2019s for a fee. The few hundred bucks that an hour of their time will cost is one of the best investments you can make in vetting the project\u00A0you\u2019re about to pay a whole lot more money for.\r\nNow You\u2019re Ready\r\nIf you\u2019ve done your research, asked the right questions and taken the right steps to evaluate the proposals you\u2019ve received, you should have a very good idea of which agency will be the right fit to turn your vision into a product, and help that product win.\r\n\r\nImage credit:\u00A0adrian_ilie825/Shutterstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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