What questions do we need to ask to hire the right business consultant?
We are looking out to hire a specialist who could help us in establishing our brand identity with digital marketing and leads generation. It will be helpful to know what factors should we consider before we finalize the decision of whom to go ahead with. We're a young start-up and need to invest carefully.
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Jan 9, 2015
Before start on ANY, know what you want first!
1. My understand from your question, you want the specialist "establishing brand identity with digital marketing + lead generation"
2. But than, by getting what you want, what is your intention to the wants?
(increase sales or increase profit or improve cash flow or increase no. of customers or test market for product development or what? ...)
3. Without knowing your intention, you can't decide which specialist you like to engage.
4. No glamorous intention/ objective or very long-term goal - just the immediate intention of the wants.
If you are young start-up, not much consideration needed - run on bootstrap - get the right people in core functions and profit share - no $ investment required. When you decided to brand yourself - it would means your business is shaping up where products & services are general accepted by market. Than I would consider you are not that startup after all.
Instead of getting a specialist to help, go and seek reputable large marketing companies who render services to SME, they have more resources and more effective to create the results you want.
My thinking is every dollar you invested will generate positive dollar, since the products and services already accepted by the market. I rather pay at premium to get real result. If you try to seek scrutinize to get a person to help you, you actually increase your risk of failure. Even you try all means to perform very careful selection, you may still miss out here and there, than why not just go for reputable large companies that render services to SME?
A prudent businessman is not trying to save every penny, he is trying to ensure every action he made can produce the expected outcome of what he wants as much as possible.
Jan 9, 2015
Jyoti.To hire the rith business makes co-workers in community same question seems to family.We can ask the question of community managment(community manager) it's can be target of what you had planed yesterday to become realised tomorrow in present.For consultant skill question of fidelity card,regular routines and fans clubs pratices http://www;rexrhax;net
Jan 8, 2015
Jyoti-
First off you need to have to be clear on what it is you are looking for, and what you hope the outcome will be in terms of service and deliverables.
For example, Business Consultants don't necessarily focus on marketing and may not be the best in creating a brand identity and lead generation strategy. But they will help you on your overall business plan.
A Marketing Consultant may be more what you are looking for. But again, know what it is you expect this person to do. For instance, my area of specialty is brand identity and marketing strategy. So while I could help in developing and overseeing brand and lead generation strategies, I wouldn't necessarily be the one implementing it (graphic design work, posting on social media, etc.).
If you have a Strategic Plan, but need a graphic designer or some other specialist, then focus on those areas.
Hamza had a good point. Be really honest. Not just with the prospective consultant but with your internal team about 1) what your needs are 2) what kind of budget you have 3) what needs to be done now as opposed to in 3+, 6+ months.
Hope that helps.
Jan 8, 2015
Richard Stern-suggest you find a Consultant with experience in your field.
Provide the candidate with a company profile. Share the problems you think you have.
Ask for a formal proposal.
Get references and check the person out.
Once you read the proposal then you have a baseline to ask questions.
Jan 8, 2015
A colleague of mine just blogged on LinkedIn on this very topic! Hope this is helpful: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-i-effectively-marketing-my-business-2015-part-3-julie-umnus
Jan 7, 2015
In 2014 my company wrote a position paper on hiring executive consultants and seven questions to ask before hiring consultants. I believe this paper will guide you in hiring any consultant. The questions to ask will guide you in the team you need around you to achieve the right list of questions. Be certain to have your board of directors and executives involved in the process.
http://business-accelerated.com/wp-content/uploads/Seven-Questions-to-Ask-Before-You-Hire-an-Executive-Management-Consultant1.pdf
Hope this helps.
Jan 8, 2015
Excellent point, David. What you describe happens too often. A very poor, unprofessional and actionable business practice. Very much like bait and switch. In my firm, the person assigned to speak with the prospect is the person who is responsible for complete delivery. It is our assurance that the person before you at the beginning is the person who will be with you through the entire process through the close of the project. That how we address that issue. Thanks for pointing this out.
Jan 7, 2015
So much of this is dependant on what sort of startup you have. What time of day they post to Twitter would depend on what the target demographic of your user is, and might not even be the primary social media outlet you should be hitting, depending on your field...Different companies have different approaches and media that work best. Take a look at your competition and look at what you think they're doing right or wrong, then frame your questions for your consultant with those ideas in mind as they would effect your company.
Jan 7, 2015
First buyer beware!!!! Every week at least one lead generation company contacts me via LinkedIn and other means. I always ask the following questions:
As for lead generation companies I ask:
1. What similar firms in my geography and our size have they worked with and if they have please provide me the names of three of the companies and the power to contact them as references.
2. If they are so confident in their ability to generate leads that result to business why not take a percentage of the end sales and not get paid up front. That way they have as is said some skin in the game.
3. How long have they been in business and from where do they actually operate (i.e. the company might be in Los Angeles but the work is being done out of India).
It is interesting I have NOT ONCE gotten a reply. (I should clarify one company actually replied with a note grateful that I replied honestly.)
As for brand development I would ask number one above. Ask them for a list of 10 clients and you choose without letting them know who, you will contact. I would also visit the websites of all 10 to see if what they developed as a brand that is to your liking.
If you you are able to get invited to conferences to give case studies that is the best, not always the cheapest, way of getting names and building relationships. In the service business you are the brand and your behaviours and how you interact with customers is who you are and will be. I would suggest ask your customers for two people in business they know that could use your help and have them make in introduction. The strongest sales are referrals.
I have been doing this for 28+ years. I am still looking for someone who might positively respond to #2 above.
Jan 7, 2015
Hi David. I agreed with your first and third points as listed above. Great questions to ask. I have a suggestion regarding your second point: "If they are so confident in their ability to generate leads that result to business why not take a percentage of the end sales and not get paid up front. That way they have as is said some skin in the game."
Most consulting companies should be able to offer either recommendations, or in the case of a lead-gen company, a sample of their deliverable. They may even offer to give you a sample based on your market criteria using some of your own potentials, just to show you what they can do on a larger scale.
Jan 7, 2015
Your lack of success with these companies may come from asking them to absorb all the risk by not taking a fee up front and instead taking a percentage of the sales. Remembering that their business is lead generation and not selling your product, can you see where the apprehension may come in? Most lead gen companies revolve around off-shore call centers and large private databases, so their true deliverable is information, not so much selling your product. Selling your product is your job, using the information they provide to get you into warm markets faster.
Lastly, if you really want to test a lead-gen company, give them a short list of names you already have extensive information on. That way, you can corroborate the accuracy of the information they provide and know for certain the quality of their work and whether they are a worthwhile investment.
Jan 7, 2015
Thank you David. I agree its a challenge to find the best people whom you could work with for the marketing/sales of your services.
Jan 7, 2015
Great question Jyoti and glad you are asking it.
Certainly, you need to know their experience and successes, want testimonials, a free initial phone consult to be sure you can relate to the specialist. See what their policies are in relation to the need to change an appointment occasionally? My clients get great results because of my training and ability to connect, have fun and be tough when needed. You want that in your specialist. Let's talk!
Jan 7, 2015
I'd go with the person you trust the most. This sounds like a copout but consider this. If they answer all of your questions to your satisfaction, you believe they really get your business, they are going to be easy to work with and know what they are talking about then that's going to build the most trust. Also, see how they handle objections. What you are looking for isn't all that rare so there are lots of people out there that can do the job. You should be looking for the person that is qualified but has the personality to work with your firm - otherwise this is going to be a short engagement and it will be wasted money, regardless of their rate.
I would add an 8th question to ask the person selling the consulting services. Who will be the actual person working on the engagement? Too often what you see at the sale is not the person you get to deliver. So you build a relationship with the sales person who is often a senior consultant. After the agreement to proceed you get a much more junior less experienced person to execute the work. So ensure what you see is what you get.