Can Anyone Tell Me How To Successfully Work With Consultants?

By Jim Wanner, KeyMark, Inc.

Part 1 — Can Anyone Tell Me How To Successfully Work With Consultants?
Well, I'll give it a try. In this crazy world that we live in, the new order of business is efficiency. Our government isn't making it any easier to survive in the business world so now we are in a position where we may need outside expertise to help us grow. But the concern still remains … how can we make sure we get our money's worth?

Part 2 — Evaluation Phase, Where Consultants Really Earn Their Money
You need to take a deep breath and clearly identify your true goals with the consultant and other key players. What are the positive things you are doing and what are the areas that you feel need improvement? As long as an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is in place, try to share as much as you comfortably can. The consultant will need a clear picture of where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. If you have a written business plan and financial forecast that is directly related to the project don't hold back. Share the information with the consultant so she or he understands your business.

Part 3 — Consultants Are Your Partners — Make Sure They Are Vendor-Agnostic
This article will focus on ensuring you make correct vendor selections. Selecting a vendor sounds simple. You wake up one morning, drive to your office, and presto…sign the documents for your implementation!

If it was that simple we wouldn't have a need for consultants. However, using consultants with appropriate business and technical expertise to guide vendor selections can save both time and money, while allowing you and your team to make better decisions. I will keep this article concise to create a checklist of items for you to consider.

Part 4 — Implementation Phase — Your Vendor Takes The Lead
This article is completely different than the previous articles because here I quickly cut to the chase. Why? Because you cannot get this area wrong or your project will spin out of control until you forced to take the reins again.

You will be faced with four options regarding continued consultant participation in your project after vendor contracts have been inked. All have pros and cons and you should decide carefully how best to proceed given your unique circumstances. Below I walk through the options and outline some tradeoffs so you can make intelligent decisions.

Part 5 — Review Phase — Did You Get The Results You Wanted?
This final article is my personal favorite because I believe everyone needs to focus on results. Now that your system is operational you want to know if you received value for your investment. You spent time and money installing a system intended to help your company grow and increase shareholder value. What are the actual results?

There are a few different options for engaging your consultants at this point. Let's walk through each one in detail.

If you built into your system accurate reporting and you trust the details before and after system measurements, spending consulting dollars now may be a waste of resources. Before you make this decision please take a moment and ask yourself: "Do I have control of the system and do I truly understand the end results?" If your answer is yes, save yourself time and money and either begin enhancing your solution or move on to your next project.