Guide to Hiring a Small Business Consultant
Are you considering hiring a consultant for your small business?
Having a business consultant should be an important part of every business owner’s game plan. A consultant will be there to give you support and to push you to achieve more. Whether it’s helping on a new project, online SEO efforts, financial concerns, etc. your consultant can help to lessen or even remove the stress.
Initially, it might seem tough to hire a consultant since you also need to consider several things. But, even if you don’t have the biggest budget, that doesn’t mean that your business deserves anything less than a top-notch consultant.
Some of you might have these questions in your mind too:
- “What should I look for?”
- “How do I know which consultant to hire?”
- “Who would be the right one for my business?”
Don’t worry; here are a few pointers to consider when choosing the right consultant for your business:
1. Hands-on-experience
It’s always a great idea to keep an eye on a consultant who is also or has been a business owner. Since they’ve been there, you can surely learn from their experiences, strategies, recommendations and even mistakes.
When talking to a consultant, consider asking the question – “What was your business before working as a consultant?”
2. Subject matter expertise
Is the consultant known as an expert in their field? It is important to know the areas of expertise of a consultant to align it with what your business needs. If you need help in your sales or marketing projects, then hire a consultant that is an expert in sales and marketing or strategic planning, and not one that is skilled in financial planning.
One of the biggest benefit of having a consultant is having an expert on matters not readily available in your business. Most consultants have well-defined clients but they are not an expert on everything. See what a consultant specializes in so you’ll both be on the same page.
3. Check testimonials
Know the quality of work that the consultant has provided for others in the past. Check the consultant’s website, recommendations on LinkedIn or simply do a Google search. Happy customers are more likely to share the success they received working with a business consultant. Also, check if the consultant’s other clients are in the industry you are in.
4. Availability
There are consultants who only have daytime hours, while others work with their clients during night-time and weekends.
Find out the schedule of your consultant and see what their current workload looks like. It may not be the right fit if a consultant is spreading himself too thin because he’s handling several clients, which may leave you with only getting to meet once every two weeks.
- Will the consultant be available to work with you whenever you want?
- Can you reach your consultant via call or email in-between scheduled sessions?
5. Program fees and rates
Before hiring a consultant, make sure that you understand the charges involved and the rate for the work being completed. Consulting fees can be hourly or on a per-project basis. Good consultants discuss their fees clearly.
Per-hour rates may seem to cost more than a fixed price. But, if you have to stay within budget, it can be cost-effective since you’ll only get billed for the hours they worked.
Also check the rate and charges of other consultants to be certain that you’re getting a fair price.
6. Who you’ll work with
It is important to know exactly who the consultant you’ll be working with is so you don’t end up with someone whom you haven’t spoken to. If they’re a team of consultants, check if you’ll be working directly with the main consultant throughout the entire project.
The secret to hiring the right consultant for your business is finding one whom you can communicate with and reach easily; connect with on most points and whose expertise has been proven successfully.
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Great insight – I’ll definitely use this when I’m ready to make my move and hire a business consultant. It’s so true though, it’s definitely not a “one size fits all” kind of decision.
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