At CampaignPros.com, we do campaign materials.  Our staff has over 20 combined years of experience designing, selling, consulting on and printing campaign supplies.  Some would say we are experts.  On a daily basis, we talk to both political candidates and campaign consultants who are hired to work out the details of a campaign.

Generally, we prefer to work with consultants.  In many cases, a candidate has little time to spend working out details about their yard signs, palm cards, banners, etc.  This is what the consultant is hired to do.  A campaign consultant can significantly lighten the burden of a candidate by setting appointments, coordinating events, rounding up volunteers and lining up a candidate’s printed materials.

However, there is one thing any budget-minded candidate must have faith in…that his consultant is getting the best deals on the campaign supplies.

Too often we have conversations with candidates that go like this:  “We hired this consultant to purchase all of our campaign signs and we ended up spending $9,500.00.  It looks like I could have gotten the same thing from you for $4,000.00.”

The fact is consultants need to consult, too.  There are experts, like CampaignPros.com, who know what a campaign needs.  We have designers to do the graphics and sales people to get you the most for your money.  Stretching your campaign dollars is extremely important to a candidate.  Look into getting campaign packages, which include discounts.

So, one thing to ask your consultant, before hiring him or her, is “Do you know where to get the cheapest campaign supplies?”  He may not know right off, but it is important that he spends significant time talking with someone in the printing industry.  Considering that half, if not more, of a campaign budget will go toward printed materials, this is an important task.

Simply put, make sure your consultant’s priorities are yours.  Make sure you have the best people working for you.