Worthless Expert Interviews: What Can You Do?
By Michael Stelzner
Have you ever set aside time to interview an expert for a project, only to realize that the person you are speaking with knows absolutely nothing?
I was recently on a call with one of my clients for a white paper project.
An outside “expert” was brought onto the call.
I began asking my questions.
“Joe, thanks so much for agreeing to be on this call. Let’s start with your opinions on the future of social networking? Where do you see things going?”
Joe says a lot about nothing. He talks about people he knows and mentions things I already know, like “It’s gonna be big.”
However, poor old Joe really knows little about the topic and is really the wrong expert for this call.
What makes matters worse is that the client is on the call as well, telling Joe how grateful we are that he has provided such valuable information.
How would you handle this situation?
Do you:
- Tell the client that their expert was a dunce
- Act like all is well and proceed down a slippery slope to failure
I’d like to hear your thoughts?
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March 13th, 2007 at 7:53 am
I would (in your most diplomatic way) explain to the client the type of information that is needed to produce the paper, and that the information provided by the “expert” isn’t sufficient. Give a example of the kind of informatoin that is needed.
If they balk at your advice, I would resign from the project, and return their advance, telling them that to continue will only result in a poor white paper and a bad image for your company.
Sometimes we have to fire a client and walk away from the business to preserve our mental stability. In the long run it’s just not worth it.
March 13th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Michael,
I’d ask a few more questions to see whether or not this “expert” is of any help. If he falls flat and offers up no more insight than your average Joe sitting on a barstool, then I’d politely thank them and end the call.
Then go through my own Rolodex and try to identify someone else who could provide the information needed to finish the project. If that cannot be done, then brutal honesty with the client who commissioned the paper is required.
Good luck!
Linda
March 13th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Hi Jonathan and Linda;
I knew this guy was not right after about 5 minutes.
However, I think may client paid to have an hour with this guy, so I was forced to ask questions.
Have either of you dealt with this before?
I finally said, “I have no further questions.”
Then the context expert asked, “Was the information I provided helpful?”
Doh!!!
March 13th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
If you ask an expert on a topic.. what they think.. you might often get a “it’s gonna be big” because in my experience ..an expert does not talk indepth about topics unless that expert is sure his audience understands the basics. Often people are impressed by that assuredness they hear in a speakers voice. Confidence goes a long way in impressing a person with no knowledge in a topic.
If you let the “expert” know you can understand more then the hype.. you might get more information then you think.
Plus a few “hit” questions might stir things up.
Example:
You say big.. how big.. Google big..? and what sites do you think will be in the forefront of this big?
You what to talk social bookmarking ..then ask for secrets to his success.
Something that he would share with the people that undertand the basic..
If he does not seem to be an expert after leading questions.. then try the question “Tell us what you have done to get expert status” This is not an insult.. not if you are truly interested. And you might find that he is an expert only in tag and ping or only in one social bookmarking site.
I often think that the right questions will save a situation from anything.
March 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
This has never happened to me, because in most circumstances some high ranking manager, executive, or principal within the organization acts as one of the SMEs.
I think the first clue that something was wrong was when they decided to pick an “outsider” as their sole SME. Maybe something to learn as a result of this is to insist that at least one person from inside the company attend these content interview sessions and provide their input. Then during the interview sessions you can defer to that company representative and say, “Do you agree with this perspective?”
If they say yes, then write the paper with the content provided. If they have a problem later on you can say that company employee agreed with each of the points in the paper.
March 13th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
My favorite “expert” interview occurred while I worked at an ad agency; we were pitching a networking products client, yet our “expert” didn’t even know the difference between a router and a switch. Rack mounted components? RAID? Firewall?
Don’t ask. He couldn’t tell.
I think diplomacy is called for, but I would let the client know “more depth is needed” rather than move forward with a dud expert.
March 13th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Corena, Jonathan and Tom;
Thanks for stopping by.
In this case, I did ask the right questions.
And the CEO was on the call.
The issue was that the topic was rather new to the business and they were seeking exert comments from the outside.
I have found this to be successful in the past. Along the lines of inviting a customer on a call to understand their pains.
Tom, I happen to know a little about RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks) - Hows that eh :).
It is pretty sad when the expert is clearly NOT an expert.
Mike
March 15th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Ok folks;
Here’s how I dealt with this situation.
Immediately after the call, I contacted my primary contact at the client.
I explained that although the call may have useful in their eyes, it was worthless in mine.
I told them straight up that this guy did not know anything about what we needed to know.
I suggested that we redo the call with just people inside their company and skip an outside expert.
It ended up forcing a re-examination of the outline AND created a few extra calls.
However, in the end, the result was much better.
Mike
March 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am
This is a tough one if it is a new client for you. But then being honest with them may go a long way. Perhaps the client realizes the “expert” is not so good and wants to see what YOU have to say. If you go along with the “expert” the client will see you as just being an apple polisher and no use to them. After all, you were hired to provide YOUR expertise.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Once it becomes apparent that the “expert” is not, I would suggest that the interview be terminated so that evaluation of what has come to light can be made. Wasting everybody’s time because you have paid for an hour is just silly.
Once off-line, point out why you believe the “expert” is not the right person (you took notes or recorded the interview, didn’t you? :-)).
Suggest that a workshop with in-house people and perhaps one outside consultant who you KNOW is good might be better. If you really don’t know anyone who can contribute effectively, then do it with in-house people. Make sure that you have a clear agenda and goals for the workshop and allow a specific amount of time to discuss each point and allow time for other points that may arise during discussion.
This approach ensures that your white paper will cover what is of interest to the people who will use it.
A group of interested parties all asking questions, can often achieve more than a single expert who doesn’t understand the corporate culture and is blinkered by expertise in one area, and “we’ve always done it this way”.
Honesty is fundamental, but it can be tempered with tact.
“I feel that Joe may not understand some of the specific issues we have here, as demonstrated by his response to …”
Rather than…
“Joe is an idiot and we’re wasting our time with him.”
(Joe might be married to the CEO’s daughter for all you know, and even if he isn’t, you should discuss him like he is… :-))
Respect. Even for idiots, but don’t let them waste your time.
Pete.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Don and Pete - Thanks for your excellent commentary! - Mike
March 15th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
My suggestion: Place ‘ice-melt” and coarse sand on the slippery slope to avoid slipping.
Thanks for letting me contribute.
Regards,
Johan
March 15th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
When interviewing any expert, you start with minor pleasantries and one or two brief general questions. This will give you a sense of your subject and the direction you should take. Then start honing in on specifics and don’t let up. Each answer should lead to a deeper and increasingly specific question or another cogent avenue of discussion. If it doesn’t and the subject starts hafumphing and talking in circles, it will quickly become apparent to both you and your client that this person isn’t the right guy. You can always thank him and say, goodbye. Or you can say something like, “You know, I’m really not very knowledgeable about (one narrow aspect of) this subject. I think I probably need to speak with someone who can really bring me up to speed on this. Can you recommend someone I might speak with?” People always know other people in their field and he may be glad to be rid of you.