Callahan & Toolen Digital Services

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m running my own campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Callahan & Toolen?

I needed an online presence that included a website, search engine optimization, and social media integration. I also needed graphic design assistance. The challenge was to communicate a message to an audience in a brief moment.

People driving on the highway will likely notice a sign, but they’re not really going to stop and see what it says, therefore we needed to be able to communicate something visually and have people understand what that graphic is saying to them in just a few seconds.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since I don't have any graphic design abilities, I needed someone that I could lean on and trust to understand what I was communicating. Graphic design is very important for a campaign, especially for a smaller down-ballot seat. People don't tend to know much about the big races; what they’re most familiar with is your graphic design.

So, I described what I wanted the message to convey and Alexis [CEO, Callahan & Toolen] worked with me to figure out the best color scheme, fonts, and all the graphics from scratch whereas I produced all the text.

Even though I have some skills in web development, as a candidate, I needed to spend my time talking to voters, raising money, and making calls. I needed someone to develop the website and micromanage the content while dealing with the hectic schedule that we have. Alexis was constantly reminding me of what to fill in on the web page, which was great. She took ownership of that aspect and really pushed me to meet the deadlines while making sure we were within the confines of website’s design.

What is the team dynamic?

We mostly just interfaced with Alexis. Another team member gave input and was supportive when we needed to formulate ideas at the ground level and really helped shape the color schemes, but Alexis was certainly the main driver of things.

How did you come to work with Callahan & Toolen?

I initially worked with James [Co-Founder, Callahan & Toolen]—we were former co-workers and he lived down the street from me. I met Alexis that way and spoke to both of them about my upcoming campaign. I sent out a request for proposal to 3 different people to see what kind of prices and services I could get, but I ended up choosing Callahan & Toolen.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $5,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I've been working with them since March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

My overall sense of excitement over potential voters and supporters has certainly been solidified. Having a real digital presence, graphic design, and being able to present myself in the way that Alexis helped me do, really instills confidence in the people I'm trying to reach. If you're out there trying to have people vote for you and your website is just a bunch of text, it doesn’t look good. Nobody's going to vote for you because it doesn't work that way. As soon as I got the website out, my fundraising drastically increased.

How did Callahan & Toolen perform from a project management standpoint?

It's been one of the strongest aspects of working with them. Alexis was able to take ownership of things and set realistic deadlines. For me, it's really important that they can handle the “hurry up and wait” nature of developing a campaign. For project status and communication, we had a Google spreadsheet set up where I listed all the different tasks for her to do. She then puts the status, comments, and questions for me to respond.

Alexis certainly had her hands wrapped around everything that I need her to do, which is great because I can’t keep track of all the different tasks. This has allowed me to work on speeches and put together meetings with people. It’s super helpful to know that I can just call Alexis to ask what I need to give her next.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really excel in project management and in their sense of ownership for a project. Alexis’ graphic design ability was spot on for what I needed and I am very happy with what I've gotten so far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Auditor’s Express is a family run company which has been in business since the 1970s. It’s managed by my father and myself.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Callahan & Toolen?

Our original website was done on GoDaddy’s automatic builder and was long overdue for an overhaul.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They build the site in WordPress. They also provided us with images that we could use across social media. My father doesn’t have much of a Facebook presence, but I wanted it to match the website. Alexis [CEO] tweaked the logo a little bit and made us a high-resolution version as we didn’t have the original file.

What is the team dynamic? 

I spoke a little with James [Co-Founder], but for the most part, I spoke to Alexis. She was really great.

How did you come to work with Callahan & Toolen?

I have a lot of friends on Facebook because I’m trying to promote my father’s business and another side business of mine. When I asked if anyone was willing to take on this project, Alexis replied. We set up a time to talk. She told me about what she was doing now, and that she had started this company with a few others. She gave me a quote, I talked to my father, and he gave me the approval to go ahead.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them June 2017. I want to continue using them and will discuss it with my father. We want to talk about how they might help us boost posts on social media. Alexis has recommended a few things we can do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve been getting more people filling out our questionnaire on the website. Some are inquiries that don't pan out to anything, but since 2008, we hadn’t gotten any emails at all, so the fact that we’re getting inquiries is good.

How did Callahan & Toolen perform from a project management standpoint?

That was good right from the beginning. They helped with many issues. There was a lot of back and forth from my father and Alexis was very patient in taking his feedback and didn’t charge us for a lot of the revisions. She had a really personal approach, which I appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The personal approach really made a difference. We didn’t have to meet in person, but Alexis was willing to come and meet with my father which was nice. I was able to get everything done over the phone. I didn’t want to send her the passwords for the site, so we also met informally to pass those on. Everything was really great.

I would recommend her to anybody. I know she’s worked with some smaller businesses in the area, and she’s invited me to meet with them to see how we can coordinate. She’s very knowledgeable about the local community outreach. I’m hoping we can partner up more in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The proposal was really good, but maybe breaking down the additional services would be good. It scared my father at first, but now he understands. 

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

Going through a network of people you can trust and have a good reputation is good. If they have a strong web presence themselves, that’s also a positive sign. There were some people that reached out to me and said they could help me, but they didn’t even have a website. Being able to see previous work is important.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of an online women’s clothing retailer. We also have online stores as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Callahan & Toolen?

We were trying to expand our social media campaigns, get more followers, and expand our company awareness throughout the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Callahan & Toolen came up with a strategy for our social media campaigns including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. They were able to expand our following and spread awareness about our company. They also created some content with producing four or five newsletters, which helped out with creating awareness.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked directly with Alexis Callahan, the CEO.

How did you come to work with Callahan & Toolen?

Callahan & Toolen were recommended to me by one of the companies Alexis had previously worked for. We started working from there and have been for the past 1.5 years.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent approximately $12,000—$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Callahan & Toolen in July 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We gained an increase in followers through our social media campaigns.

How did Callahan & Toolen perform from a project management standpoint?

Alexis was great; we were in contact on a weekly basis either on the phone, and in-person as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The proximity of their location to us was very helpful, and it was easy to reach out to Alexis. Anytime I reached out, she responded quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing as of right now.

Do you have advice for people looking to hire a client in this field?

The only advice I have for someone looking for similar services is that it’s not easy due to the competitive market. You have to find the right people to help.