Every once-in-a-while I am asked What a consultant does. And it's a fair question, but one that is sometimes difficult to answer because a consultant does different things for different people.
Everyone needs help from time-to-time, and that's one of the functions a consultant serves: Highly specialized temporary help.
If you need a secretary you go to a temporary service, but what if you need assistance with a Public Relations disaster? You call a consultant. You bring them on for a limited time to see to it that the press gets as positive a spin on the situation as possible.
Don't believe that old "Any publicity is good publicity" saying—bad publicity is not good for any company.
Bad publicity is exactly that: Bad.
Let's say you are starting an on-line business and want to know the best way to get it going.
You would call me, or someone like me, and we would look at the various options available and tell you the best way to market this new business, (budget considerations not withstanding).
While you can do it by purchasing Google ad words, there are other, and probably more effective ways to get people to your web site. That's where a Consultant can help you.
Often consultants are called in as a fresh pair of eyes to view the situation.
You've heard the old saying "Can't see the forest for the trees". Meaning you are too close to the situation to see it clearly.
Consultants come in without any pre-conceived perceptions or ideas, and review the situation and tell you how they see it. Usually including recommended changes.
That fresh perspective can be very enlightening to management, because the consultant will see issues that management has gotten so used to that they go unseen and unresolved.
The consultants report and recommendations gives management a polite kick in the seat of the pants to get them focused on problems.
Sometimes a consultant is brought in to fire one or more individuals. This keeps management looking like the good guy, and the termination is all the consultant's fault.
There are times a consultant is brought into a company's marketing efforts to review what is being done and what could be done better. Be the review of the entire marketing campaign, or just one ad, or series of ads.
There are even consultants who analyze your accounting practices and make recommendations for improvement.
Some consultants only help specific types of businesses or industries.
There are consultants for a whole range of different needs and situations.
Your specific needs may require different consultants for different projects.
Hopefully, that has given you some insight into the things that consultants like myself do. If you have any questions about this or any of the articles I've written, Please send me a note, I'm happy to answer any business or marketing question.
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Marketing and Business 101
Non-FictionI have been involved in some form of marketing in one form or another almost my entire life. My experience covers sales, sales training, being the Director of Marketing for two medium sized local businesses, as well as consulting with businesses th...
