A business consultant is a professional who leverages his experience to advise the decision-makers in a company. They analyze a business its operations and recommend ways of improvement. Strategic planning can also guide your operations toward new goals and prepare your team to manage the change effectively. To accomplish this, you need to identify the right business planning consultant. Below are several attributes to look for in a consultant and tips when choosing your strategic business planning partner.
When interviewing potential candidates, it’s essential to understand their process and strategies and how they intend to engage you and other stakeholders. This should go beyond the transactional mindset common in business management to include how they plan to gather diverse points of view from your stakeholders to inform strategic discussions. Engaging stakeholders early and during the entire planning process strengthens your strategic approach to issues. It also helps bring all stakeholders on board when implementing the consultant’s recommendations. Therefore, the consultant you choose should be experienced in managing multiple stakeholders.
The planning consultant must have proven experience in your specific area of operation or industry. Remember that certifications may not always be proof of competence. Look at the consultant’s success stories or case studies and critically verify the consultant’s bio and team members' bio. Check whether they have any publications or public speeches as those could be good indicators of their professional competence. The consultant must know the “ins and outs” of your niche market to add value to your processes or operations. In addition, they should be well-versed in the current terminology and language used in your business or industry.
Your consultant must have a strong understanding not just of your industry but competitors and the national or global economic trends that affect the markets you operate in. The ideal strategic business planning consultant should be a thorough professional with extensive work and research in your sector, with proven results in similar businesses like yours. Ask them about prior consulting engagements similar to yours to gauge this aspect. This will help you decide whether their line of experience aligns with your needs, size, nature of business, and strategic goals.
Remember that no one size fits all. Look for a consultant interested in the issues you face today, where your business stands, and future opportunities and not one that is just keen on closing a deal with your company. Study their website and screen for any bias in approach. For example, if the planning consultant only focuses on one or two basic approaches for every situation, you can be sure that this will also be the approach you use.
It’s essential to consider whether you can implement or operationalize the advice or recommendations made by the business planning consultant on your own once the professional has received their last check. There is no point in hiring a consultant that will force you to seek help to understand the report or recommendations. A good consultant should be capable of clearly conveying ideas to the client, condensing views into digestible, actionable insights either orally or in written form. Avoid a prospective consultant who loves communicating in technical jargon, clichés, and buzzwords.
