How to Find a Production Pro

1. Lay the groundwork

   Be as specific as possible to your production company partner about the meeting's goals and objectives, and provide details about your company's culture and values to ensure that the creative adheres to your brand.

2. Trust your gut

   The services you are buying are only as good as the people executing them. Have face-to-face meetings with representatives of the companies you are considering. Ask yourself if the salesperson and executive producer are interested in learning about your company and its goals or are more concerned with selling you an idea.

3. Identify your primary contact

   Identify your main contact at the production company. Will your event be his or her top priority? Ask if there is a local contact person who can be available for meetings and conference calls on short notice.

4. Send an e-mail

   This is a little trick that Deanna Wong, former executive producer for Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., likes to use to test out potential production companies. “I send the owner of the company or the executive producer an e-mail with a question,” she says. “If it takes them more than one day to get back to me, they don't get the job. You don't want someone on your team who sits on a production issue for more than one day.”

5. Check references

   Ask references about the level of service they received, budget integrity, and whether the event was executed to their specifications.

6. Keep an eye on the bottom line

   Red flag a company that comes in way above or way below budget in the proposal stage. Ask about the company's policy on services that go over budget. Schedule budget review meetings at various points prior to the event to help avoid surprises.