Small- or medium-sized businesses should consider hiring a business consultant in the USA to leverage specialized knowledge. The right business consultant will be able to help your business in a number of key areas, such as search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, developing a strategy, improving efficiency, and expanding into new business markets.
On the other hand, hiring the wrong consultant or business advisor can cost more than money. Most small businesses already work with a limited scope and budget, so it’s vital that the right consultant is chosen from the beginning. This can be achieved by knowing which questions to ask consultants before hiring them. Read on to see which questions we recommend asking below.
1. Are you collaborative?
Most small- or medium-sized businesses do not want to work with consultants who work in isolation. This is because it shows they do not want to collaborate and can take businesses down a dangerous route they shouldn’t go. You can ask follow-up questions like, “How will you keep us informed of changes you make to our website? How often will you report on your work, and what will it look like?”
2. Do you have knowledge of our industry?
While the business consultant you hire must have industry knowledge, hiring one with a broad understanding of other industries will allow them to bring fresh ideas to the table. Before hiring a business consultant, ensure they have experience with your type of business, as business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies are very different.
3. What is your working process like?
You will want to hire a business consultant that can demonstrate a strategy and process for achieving the results that the business wants. For example, if you want a business consultant with experience in SEO, you may ask, “How do you improve traffic and conversions from search engines?” An experienced and knowledgeable business consultant in the USA will be able to give you a path on how that can be achieved and explain certain circumstances that can cause plans to be tweaked along the way.
4. Can you guarantee success?
This is typically a trick question, as success is never guaranteed for a business. You may consider asking questions like, “Can you guarantee our website will rank well on Google for a major search term?” Asking this type of question can help weed out untrustworthy candidates. You can also ask follow-up questions like, “How do you determine if you’re successful?” It’s always helpful to see some sort of metric when determining success, so you will want to know what they use to measure it.
5. What is your payment structure?
You should know how much and exactly when you need to pay your business consultant so you can factor it into your budget. Many consultants and agencies in the USA ask for a percentage upfront and then the remainder when the work is completed.
Contact NTIB Financing and Consulting today!
Need expert guidance on business operations or finances? Luckily NTIB Financing and Consulting is here to help. Our business consulting company has offices in the New York City area and offers services throughout the country. Our consultants can aid with business lending, point-of-sale issues, and merchant services. We also offer business and insurance consulting services to improve cash flow, provide expert analysis, and help define and track key performance indicators.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
