What is the role of a business consultant?

�A business consultant is an expert in all aspects of business management.  Their role is to use accomplished business skills to offer expert advice and guidance to businesses and organisations, to improve business performance. Having identified strengths and weaknesses, they focus on how a company can resolve issues, maximise strategy, add value and increase profits. They work across a wide range of specific areas which include Team Structure, Financial Performance, Staff Retention, Succession Planning, Marketing, Leadership, Business Goals, Delegation and Training and Development.

Why hire a business consultant?

�A business consultant will hold an objective stance as they are not emotionally invested in your business. This enables them to distance themselves from business operations and strategies on a personal level, to more easily identify and address challenges and to offer ‘outside advice’. Finally, they will devise solutions for implementation, to help your business operate more efficiently.

How do I know if I need a business consultant?

Take a business health check. This will help to identify areas of strengths and areas of weaknesses. Does the score of your health check align with achieving your long-term goals? Are you on a successful journey towards meeting your end of goal vision? If you have fractures and gaps in your business’s performance, a business consultant will assist and lead you through the challenging pathway towards managing your business successfully.

How do I prepare for a first meeting with a business consultant?

Have your business health check at hand and make pre-prepared notes on what you think the scope of your problems are. ‘Mind map’ any ideas that you already have which could improve your situation.

What should I do during the first meeting with a business consultant?

Be transparent. Be honest. Be an active participant. Talk about the scope of your problems and highlight areas of success. The meeting will be totally confidential. The more that you can tell the consultant, the easier it will be for them to objectively identify with your problems, diagnose them specifically, and discuss remedial options to optimise and develop core processes. Ask questions and make notes so that you fully understand the course of the meeting and can reflect upon advice that is given.

What are the key stages of a business consultant’s process?

In general terms there are five stages to a business consultant’s process: discovery, current assessment, evaluation, improvement strategies and implementation.

How do I measure the success of using a business consultant?

There is no widely accepted methodology for the objective measurement of a consultant’s performance. However, at the outset of working with a consultant you can mutually establish clear objectives for short-, mid- and long-term success.

How will my outlined action plan be implemented?�

It is the consultant’s job to create an action plan. However, you (and your team) are responsible for creating the necessary changes and for implementing the recommendations.

How much does a business consultant charge?

This is variable and dependent upon your wants, needs, scope, project size and time scale.