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What Do Consultants Do: Guide to Hiring an Expert

The term consultant has become a widely used term. However, many business owners are still confused as to what it may mean. The questions of ‘what do consultants do’ continues to float around the business world.

In short, consultants work with business owners to help solve business problems. Most consultant projects are done in teams. Projects can be from strategy to technology implementations.

Keep reading to check out this quick guide to what consultants do so you can hire an expert.

What Do Consultants Do?

The most common question that consultants get is, “who do you work for”. Consultants report to consulting firms a lot of times. They may also work as freelancers or independent contractors.

They work with company clients on a daily basis. For big consulting firms, their clients include:

  • Investment companies
  • Non-profits
  • Large companies
  • Governments

There are vast reasons that companies need consultation services

Why Companies Need Consultation Services

Most companies that want to know what do consultants do are unaware of why their company would actually need these types of services. Here are some reasons why companies may require to hire a consultant.

To Offer Specialized Expertise

Companies hire consultants when they don’t have a skill set in their companies. For example, think about a car company that wants to purchase or merge with a company. They may require advice on how to go about to make the most of it.

Note that the consultant is not here to train the employees on the steps to take. Rather they take a look at both companies and offer practical advice to the company on steps to take during the acquisition process.

Another common case where companies may need advice is if a company is not reaching its quota. A consultant may offer the way out, such as digital marketing, advice on the main channel to focus and a road map of doing it. The company then takes over and implements the advice.  

Done For Your Service

Sometimes, new consultation companies may offer advice and apply it as well. For example, in our previous case of digital marketing, a consulting firm like IT Consultants NYC may do the work themselves or subcontract a digital company on behalf of the firm.

Small businesses prefer this service because they may not have the software requirements to follow through with the advice.

To Fill in Resource Gaps

Another answer to what do consultants do is to fill in the gaps. Sometimes may have the required staff but have a large project or an urgent contract that may need more people to implement.

A good fix to this is hiring a consulting firm to fill in the gap for that single project. In most cases, it’s always completing software for a firm.

One-Time Training 

Sometimes, when a company knows exactly where the problem of a company is, they may hire a consultant to offer a one-time training. In most cases, it’s a problem that has to do with the delivery of the team members.

Here are some examples:

  • Sales team is underperforming and requires an expert to teach them how to up their game to close more deals.
  • Management is struggling to meet a particular metric and requires strategic training.
  • Introduction of a new regulation that will mean operating your business in a totally different way after decades
  • Need to shake up the expectations of employees by bringing on a mentor.

Some consultants hold the train online while others love to come on-site and interact with every team member.

Ongoing Coaching Services

This is a common answer to what do consultants do. Sometimes the help that business needs may not be fulfilled in one session.

This is common in other forms of coaching. For example, giving an individual a diet plan is excellent but they’ll require an accountability partner to follow through. It’s the same case with life coach sessions.

Sometimes when small businesses are getting started they may not have enough resources to outsource jobs. For example, after receiving a road map on how to do marketing for a business, the owner may not have funds to hire a digital marketer. Instead, they may decide to implement the advice and have sittings with the consultant after a few weeks to correct any pitfalls.

For an Outside Opinion

A company can hire a consultant to get a third party opinion on an issue. This is important when it comes to leadership, especially if they’re about to make a major change or acquisition.

Every firm, whether they realize it or not, has its way of doing things because they have a culture that they follow. While this is a great thing because it unifies the team members, it may lead to creating some blind-folds. For example, there may be processes a company is still holding on to because “it’s how it’s always done.”

A consultant is able to offer an unbiased opinion. This can empower the company leadership to achieve more. It also helps to get rid of outdated company traditions that may be costing the firm money or time.

Help in Networking with Other Businesses

Established consultation businesses have been making connections in the industry for a long time. During that time, consulting firms have been able to nurture relationships with multiple companies.

If you’re new in business and you’re looking to collaborate with other firms, a consultant firm may give you guidance on building a network. If they’re confident in your project, they may recommend you to one of their clients and give a strategy to benefit both entities mutually.

Go More Questions About What Do Consultants Do?

If you’re looking to hire a consulting firm, it’s essential to know all the answers to what do consultants do. This will make sure you understand the department that could really need some help to revamp.

Delegation allows you to focus on the crucial parts of a business that affects its future. If you’re interested in more articles about building and growing businesses, visit our blog.

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