As some clients know, I am not a big fan of hiring consultants. My reasons are many but the tip two or three will say it all. Most consultants charge a fee that is virtually disconnected from any actual quantified result. The $200-400 per hour range is common and many consulting companies utilize the nebulous monthly fee which can and does get into the $1000. These consultants all tell glorious stories and about their clients and often have promotional campaigns touting success using shills. Rarely can you speak directly to these "successes" and other than the BBB or a few other sites can you check into their reliability. But the key here is the quantification of a measurable metric that shows the result promised. The most basic and perhaps most important metric is the proverbial bottom line. Yes, as the saying goes, "keep it simple stupid". If the consulting can be measured in improvements to the bottom line I can easily monitor that and so can you. If the on the other hand the consultation is just a bunch of critical observations that result in projects, more work or focused attention on some long term result like "feeling better or having less stress", the money would be better spent on a good Therapist or more massages. So the first item on this short list of why I don't favor hiring consultants is the visible results to the bottom line are rare.
Another pet peeve is that the firm or company consulting groups hire sales people not experts in whatever industry they profess. Some of these groups do have an experienced person at the helm but usually titular as a figure head and not the actual consultant. The big kahuna might give seminars or lectures etc.,and even be somewhat endearing, but the actual person providing the consulting can be quite a novice and is most likely trained in the art of up selling. The BIGGEST problem is this up selling is very similar to going to the Dentist. Admittedly, we seem to go to the Dentist only when we're in pain. Because we are there suffering the modern Dentist gets to know our suffering/pain and therein lays a golden opportunity to sell relief. Then the longer term solutions come and before you know it yes the pain may have temporarily improved but the financial pain takes over on $2000 crowns or $3500 implants, root canals or a $35000 full restorations. Same goes for consultants and this is either suriously clever or diabolically deceitful. When you lodge complaints etc. to a consultant you are telling them about your pain thus opening the door to their “recommendations”. They then make their way into your books and records and know even more which they can quickly use to sell you more “recommendations” seminars, courses, hours upon hours...classic up selling. The more they know about you the more they can and will offer. There really is no end because selling hours on the clock so to speak has no limits and seminars seem to be a favorite sales because they are so efficient delivering to 10s or 100s at a time. I never want any 3rd party looking into client books. That is private information. sensitive and could be used by unscrupulous people to bring harm or blackmail. Terrible stuff but it happens. So this second reason is that the consultant you get in front of you is heavily involved in sales and has but little real expertise depending the companies platens, workbooks or other canned materials to look wise.
Continuing my reasoning is that even when some expertise exists and gets used, the consultant is not providing actual work but rather issuing orders and projects that the business owner or manager must carry out. This is hardly across the board because there are some consultants usually of technical nature that will do actual work. Architects, Engineers computer people can do work that solves problems so I am not lumping all into the same box. But the general or even specific industry business consultants rarely do any work that is directly attached to a result. This makes the consulting nebulous and places the burden back on the owner who seeks help onlt to find he’s busier than ever.
By and large a business owner would be smart to take a few course often free at their local community college. Learned information lasts a lifetime and though still requiring to put in the time it is a much cheaper way to go and can bring many good skills to the table. If you already have hired a consultant you can protect your cash by demanding results that are quantifiable and made visible in some statistic. I like the bottom line but there are others. This is very prominent in the retail industry that abounds with consultants. But implementation will either show up in the sales receipts or not and the consultants who know their subjects may well be worth their fees.
So Caveat Emptor...buyer beware. Consultants get paid out of your money...profits and gpd forbid credit cards. The initial result will be to decrease your bottom line by adding a new expense. This expense is very likely to rise as the consultant learns more and more about your pain. And when you hire consultants, be aware that your workload will increase on various and often dubious projects. This busy work might make you feel like you're getting somewhere but make it quantifiable in some measurable statistic. If the results don’t come then unplug fast and save the never ending sales pressure and your hard earned cash.
One small thing you can do is to agree only to small packages of hours or better yet agree only to hour by hour consulting. Use your accountant and lawyer as double checks on results and apply the executive maxim LOOK DON’T LISTEN applies when it comes to results. Consultants can talk a good story but the real story is always reflected somewhere in the numbers as indicators of improvement.
Full Disclosure: I am a reformed consultant and confess to all of the above, well not really but I know the game.. I sold my Physician Practice consulting company in 1993 and gained much relief in getting away from these industry practices. But like the recovering addict I can speak knowledgeably and authoritatively about consultants. Find a good one that brings about measurable results and you'll benefit. There are a few out there. Find a shyster or company that is more sell than anything and you'll be in for a long time with nothing to show for it but the increased expenses.. It's like the stock trader who is in a bad/losing trade...they stay in just foolishly trying to prove how right they are while all the while losing their cash. Oh, and the comnpanies like Tony Robbins or others actually religions in disgiuse operate like cults. They make you feel good and included as a special person then sneeak their hands into your wallet validating you all the way for finally taking responsibility, and this goes round and round and never ends. Attend a free or low cost seminar and then get sld a $10,000 package. People get trapped in cults, lose their loved ones, families and posessions. Yep, all that can happen when captrued by a greedy consultant program. Provacy is a wonderful thing. Keep your affairs private and when using a consultant be leary about how much you let them have access to. Once the barn door is open it’s hard to shut it again and the herd has already bolted. Yeeha!