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Subject:Re: Questions To Ask Of Tech Writing Firms From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 10 May 2004 09:05:31 -0700 (PDT)
"Weber, Dianne" <> wrote
>
> A month ago my department was eliminated to outsource technical
> publications. As a result I have been charged with selecting a local
> technical writing firm to create our tech pubs. To start this selection
> process, I requested information from various companies and now have invited
> them to come in and make a "sales pitch" to a team from my company.
Don't do sales pitches. You'll just get a lot of song and dance.
Make them write a proposal. Give them the basics of the job, then have them
write up a proposal complete with plans, references, and costs. A decent
business with good writers should be able to produce a decent proposal. A
proposal will tell you a lot more about the company and the people that work
there than a sales pitch. It also forces those companies to prove themselves
right up front. If they can't produce a decent proposal, then you can reliably
trust that they cannot produce decent documentation.
Also, demand that the company be an incorporated company with insurance.
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