The right business consultant can take a good company and make it great by implementing or suggesting various changes. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to choose the right consultant. There are certain qualities that every good business consultant should possess.
Confident
Most successful business consultants have been working in the industry for over 20 years. It is only someone with this much experience that can bring in the confidence from a number of different successful business ventures. A good business consultant is well versed because he is going to have to deal with all sorts of problems from different departments of a company. Therefore, he should have experience in all different aspects of business from management to financing to sales and marketing. Having an MBA from a top business school is nice, but good business consultants will rely more on work experience than what they learned in school. Moreover, simply appearing confident will make it a lot easier for businesses to trust consultants with help running their companies.
Concentrated
One common thread among all good business consultants is that they are not procrastinators. Time can be a huge factor when trying to run a successful company, and a good business consultant recognizes this and takes it into account. The last thing you want to hear out of someone brought in as a consultant is that they are working on solutions, but producing no results. Good business consultants have a track record of getting results in a reasonable amount of time.
Current
Consultants should be in touch with all the latest business trends. Industries are constantly changing and what worked five years ago or even five days ago might not be the most updated, efficient method. In order to stay current it is often necessary to subscribe to business magazines, trade journals, newsletters, blogs and any other articles that are associated with the particular industry they are working in. If a business consultant is not in tune with the new trends then the advice he gives could ultimately set a company back for some time. Furthermore, good business consultants should want to constantly read up on their industry because they should have a strong passion for what they are doing.
Commitment
Good business consultants thrive off of being as committed to the company as the people who run it. Once taken on, the first step for every business consultant is to learn as much as possible about the company. This includes tasks such as touring all of the company’s facilities, reading all of the company materials, meeting with all in charge of running the company as well as key employees, getting a complete understanding of the products or services that the company provides, and exploring all of the finances. Without this step it would be extremely hard to identify the problems that exist within the company, which is the next key step in the process.
Communication
Being able to communicate is key in all aspects of business, especially when dealing with consulting. Simply pointing out the obvious problems that a company is facing is not going to get the job done. After ascertaining the problems, good business consultants identify opportunities within those problems and then provide proper analysis. It’s one thing to know that management in one department is poor, but it’s another to fully understand why in very specific terms.
Capability
At the end of the day, good business consultants deliver results that justify them being brought on in the first place. There will most likely be a number of adjustments that need to be made throughout the process. Therefore, consultants have to be able to adjust and keep the long-term goals in mind. Not only should certain problems in a business be fixed as a result of a consult, but there should be new opportunities to exploit that were previously unseen. Overall, there should be mass changes to a company after a business consultant’s strategy is put into place that increase profitability for a long time.
