Something is not working. Sales may have stalled. Margins may be under pressure. Growth may have exposed weaknesses in your systems or management team. Perhaps there is an opportunity you cannot pursue with the resources you have.
At some point, someone says: “I think we need some outside help.”
Recognising that you need help is relatively easy. Working out what kind of help you need – and who should provide it – is harder. The biggest mistake is to start by searching for a consultant.
Define the business problem before choosing an adviser
Before searching Google, asking your network or contacting someone who has been recommended, ask one simple question: What are we actually trying to achieve?
Businesses sometimes appoint advisers before they have properly defined the problem.That can lead to wasted time, wasted money and activity that never addresses the real issue.
Try writing a short brief. It does not need to be complicated.
Ask:
- What problem are we trying to solve?
- What outcome do we want?
- What expertise do we lack internally?
- Do we need advice, challenge, extra capacity or help implementing change?
- What would success look like in six or twelve months?
If you cannot explain what you want from an adviser, it becomes much harder for the adviser to deliver it.
Look for someone who diagnoses before they prescribe
This is one of the best tests of a potential adviser. Do they immediately start telling you what they can do? Or do they first try to understand what is really happening in your business?
The problem you describe may not be the real problem.
- You may think you need more marketing when the issue is weak sales follow-up.
- You may think you need finance when poor margins are causing the cash problem.
- You may think you need new software when the real issue is an unclear process.
A good adviser should ask questions before suggesting solutions.
Recommendations help, but they are not enough
Personal recommendations are useful. If somebody whose judgement you trust has successfully worked with an adviser, that is a good starting point. But it should not automatically be the finishing point.
An adviser who was excellent for somebody else may not be right for your business.
Ask:
- What did they actually do?
- What sort of problem were they solving?
- What changed as a result?
- Would they be equally relevant to your situation?
Where practical, consider more than one person. A recommendation should open the door. It should not make the decision for you.
Relevant experience matters more than impressive labels
One useful question is: “Tell me about something similar you have done before.”
General experience is valuable. Relevant experience can be much more useful.
If you are preparing for growth, restructuring, acquisition, succession or exit, has the adviser helped another business through something similar? If the challenge is operational, financial or strategic, have they dealt with that problem before?
And do not be seduced by job titles. Almost anybody can describe themselves as a consultant, strategist, mentor or business coach. The title tells you very little. Ask about practical experience, results and lessons learned.
Someone who has been around long enough to have made a few mistakes and learned from them can sometimes be far more useful than someone with an immaculate presentation.
Bigger is not always better
Large consultancies can offer specialist expertise, deep resources and access to a wide range of knowledge. Sometimes that is exactly what you need.But not always. Ask who will actually do the work. The impressive person leading the first meeting may not be the person you see once the engagement starts.
Smaller consultancies and independent advisers can often offer greater flexibility, direct access to senior people and substantial practical experience.
There is also another option. Sometimes the best answer is an experienced lead adviser who understands your business and can bring in specialist expertise when it is needed.
That can give you the continuity of a trusted relationship without expecting one person to know everything.
Chemistry matters – but do not choose the person you like most
Advisory work is professional, but it is also personal. An adviser may need to work closely with the owner, board, leadership team and employees.
If people cannot work together, even the technically best-qualified adviser may struggle. So yes, chemistry matters. But there is a trap.
The adviser you like most is not necessarily the adviser you need most. A good adviser should not spend their time telling you how wonderful you are. They should be prepared to challenge assumptions, ask awkward questions and occasionally tell you something you would rather not hear.
You are paying for independent thinking, not another member of the fan club.
Ask what happens after the advice
This is particularly important. Advisers can produce excellent reports and recommendations.
But what happens next?
Before making an appointment, ask:
- What will change as a result of this work?
- Who will make that change happen?
- How will we know whether it has worked?
The objective is not to buy consultancy. It is to achieve an outcome. A good adviser should understand that.
Think about the real cost of getting it wrong
The consultant’s fee is not the only cost of a poor appointment.
A bad decision can mean:
- months spent pursuing the wrong solution
- management time lost
- disruption to employees
- systems introduced that nobody uses
- opportunities missed
- loss of confidence in outside advice.
That is why getting the brief right at the beginning matters so much.
Do not be afraid to change course
Even after careful selection, not every appointment will work. Give the adviser a fair opportunity. Make sure the problem is not a lack of internal support or engagement.
But if the relationship is genuinely not delivering, deal with it. Do not continue spending money simply because you have already spent money.
There is, however, an important distinction between an adviser who is not performing and one who is telling you uncomfortable truths. Before ending the relationship, make sure you know which one you are dealing with.
Start with the outcome you want
Choosing a business adviser should not begin with: “Who do we know?” It should begin with: “What are we trying to achieve?”
Define the problem. Decide what good looks like. Look for relevant experience. Choose somebody who listens before prescribing.
Make sure there is enough chemistry to work well together, but enough independence to challenge you. Then be clear about what happens next.
Get those things right and a good adviser can bring experience, perspective and challenge that would be difficult to create internally. Get them wrong and you may end up with a very expensive report gathering dust on a shelf.
Not sure what sort of outside help your business needs?
UK Business Advisors can help you define the problem, identify the expertise required and connect you with an experienced adviser who is right for your situation.