by Victoria Duff

     This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

There comes a time when every executive or entrepreneur realizes that he needs help – the kind of help that nobody in his company can provide.  Usually it is a task that requires specialized expertise and he either doesn’t have the proper skill set or has no time to devote and can’t spare any of his employees for the job.

When you define what you need and hire a well-regarded consultant to fill that need, you not only get the task done properly but you save a lot of money and anguish.  On the other hand, the wrong consultant hired for a vague reason can cause a lot of expensive damage, and waste valuable time.

Define your need
First:  Ask yourself what you want to happen that isn’t happening.  If you are in doubt about the true source of poor performance or cannot decide where change is needed, you might want to ask for a short review and recommendations from the consultant you are considering hiring.  You should expect to pay for this, but it will allow you to evaluate the consultant’s work before committing to an extensive engagement.

Second: Ask some questions.  Asking the right questions of people who are close to the problem will give you an idea where the source of the problem might lie.  A good way to limit consulting costs and increase the likelihood of a successful project is to know exactly what you want the consultant to accomplish and be able to describe that goal during your initial consultation. 

Third: A large national consulting firm is not necessarily your best choice.  You might be better served by an independent consultant who has experience in your industry and who specializes in small or mid-size companies.  Such a consultant usually has experience gained in a large company but can customize her services to suit the needs of your company, while a consultant from a large national firm will most likely present solutions that involve proprietary packaged services offered by that firm. 

Look for skills
Using a consultant referral service is a good way to find a choice of consultants - particularly one that constantly rates consultants; however, it is not necessarily to your advantage to deal with referral services that encourage consultants to bid for jobs based on price.  While you may need to keep costs within budget, your aim is to find a professional with the right set of skills, not simply the lowest price provider.  All good consultants will try to cooperate with you if you tell them your budget.   Do not fall for a sharp sales pitch or the least expensive fees.  Look for consultants that have been pre-vetted by a person or service you can trust.  An outstanding consultant might charge a little more but the added value she brings will prove the bargain.

Never forget you are hiring a professional for his or her skill and experience with subject matter that you may not have mastered.  Let the consultant demonstrate what he knows.  You should not feel as though you need to learn how to do the consultant’s job.  The most important way to assure you will have a good experience hiring a consultant is to look for someone who can display skills.  A promise of great results is merely a sales technique.  What you are looking for is years of work experience that demonstrate mastery of a skill set.  A good consultant should be able to describe his procedures for discovery, how he manages the project, and how he expects to provide your solution.  Such information from a prospective consultant allows you to make an intelligent decision based on facts rather than sales tactics.   

Victoria Duff, founder of Southern California-based aBusinessPlan.com, is a widely acclaimed start-up facilitator, enterprise analyst, strategic advisor, venture finance catalyst, investor liaison, author, and speaker.  Her depth of experience lends itself well to efficiently providing solutions to over a decade of happy repeat clients.  Her advisory practice can be found at:  www.aBusinessPlan.com  Ms. Duff is available on a retainer or project basis vduff@abusinessplan.com .

by Bruce Newman

Avoiding the need to rework any project positively effects productivity. Since reworking a project usually incurs many additional expenses - sometimes more than double the initial cost - and much extra work and lost time, it should be avoided, if possible. First, it often requires the assembly of a new team or set of experts - a painful and time consuming step. Second, it requires a new assessment of the project design and plan, implementation, percentage of completion including what still needs to be done, and what needs to be fixed. Frequently, it is often cheaper and easier to start over than to attempt to fix a major problem. Having to rework a project may also result in additional complications and complexities particularly if it is subject to outside influences. Furthermore, if there is a problem with the initial design, subsequent changes or additions may not be possible without massive revisions.

One often overlooked but important aspect is the amount of time lost by the people who were supposed to use or tried to use this project. This loss in energy and money can be substantial and will never be recovered. It may also severely hurt morale.     While consultants are usually readily available, outstanding consultants may be difficult to find.  Determining which consultants are outstanding can be even more difficult. This finding and discerning is an arduous, time consuming task that usually requires going to many sources, evaluating many resumes, project successes, and meetings - and still not knowing how good the selected consultant actually is. Sometimes the consultant will truly be excellent, but sometimes not. What is essential is that a company be prepared to fully evaluate all consultants. Time spent in this initial evaluation process is time well spent, particularly if it avoids rework.    There are numerous steps in the evaluation process a company can take to help ensure it finds outstanding consultants. Foremost, is having a solid plan that is comprehensive, clearly communicates all project goals and steps, and is agreed upon by all stakeholders - prior to interviewing any consultants. This will enable the formulation of specific project and experience-related questions when interviewing all consultants. It will also form the basis for communication during the project development.  

Outstanding consultants can often greatly enhance a project’s scope since they possess specific expertise in their area of specialty, substantial experience and significant general knowledge. This combined expertise helps ensure that the design and implementation is solid and meets all project goals and specifications. This is particularly important when projects are asked to perform under much greater stress (i.e. throughput) or with many additional functions than what was originally envisioned. I sometimes equate this to a building; if the foundation is solid, many floors and features can be built upon it. However, if the foundation is flawed, additional floors and features can cause collapse - and the need for rework at a tremendous cost of time and money.   Rework should be avoided, if possible. It can have many negative effects on a company’s bottom line, potentially reducing value and morale. Conversely, by carefully planning and finding outstanding consultants, much rework and unnecessary tribulations can be avoided while creating a foundation for excellent prodinst and enhanced value.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President and token male at The Productivity Institute, LLC which provides companies with rated outstanding consultants who can match their specific requirements. By locating, rating and providing outstanding consultants, The Productivity Institute can greatly increase a company’s value while enhancing their productivity.  Check out our website for more information. If you are not a subscriber to our blog, sign up now.

by Bruce Newman

This article first appeared in The Productivity Insitute (PI) newsletter.

Consultants are defined as experts in their area with considerable knowledge and experience. Frequently, outstanding consultants have a wide range of knowledge that not only enhances their specific areas of expertise but also offering new alternatives to additional situations.

Advantages of consultants include:

1. a wealth of in-depth knowledge and experience
2. the ability to quickly get up to speed which is helped greatly by their knowledge and experience (point 1)
3. understanding that the duration of the job is finite and not a long term commitment
4. training is usually not required
5. having the skills to identify the problem (if one exists), design a solution, sell that solution to management (if necessary) and help ensure that it is properly implemented.

Successfully working with consultants entails several important aspects, the most important probably being good communications. While good communications is important for any business, with consultants it is essential. It is through these communications that you relay your business needs to the consultant (and how in turn, the consultant helps provide the solution). The success of almost every project lies upon the understanding by the consultant of the company’s business and project goals. For this reason, you should know beforehand the specific goals of what you want to accomplish. A detailed scope document is usually very helpful. Furthermore, should the project go off track, a project scope document will help pinpoint where the problems occurred and help facilitate corrective measures.

It is also important to also understand that consultants do not walk on water. Do not expect the consultant to be a miracle worker. For example, if your specific needs greatly exceed your existing software application, no amount of consulting for that application may be able to save it. You might need a new application or at least some type of workable solution. The consultant may be equally - or more - important as advisor when developing a solution. Their background and knowledge may help direct you towards additional resources and available services.

Even if the consultant has the solution, remember: it’s your decision. Don’t abdicate final decision responsibility to the consultant. You know your business and needs better than the consultant. Whatever decisions and paths you take, you and your business are the ones that have to live with it. Staying involved with the project and retaining decision responsibility helps ensure that project goals are understood and met.

Finally, make sure you learn from the consultant. Having the consultant explain certain aspects of what has been done and most importantly, what you can do and need to do once the consultant is no longer actively working on your project will great facilitate acceptance and use of the completed project.

Rated outstanding consultants can greatly help companies and provide excellent prodinst and value. Being able to work with them before, during and after a project will help ensure long term success.

 
Bruce Newman is a consulting guru and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC (http://www.prodinst.com) which provides prodinst by matching the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. Need an outstanding consultant? Any company that wishes to improve their productivity can sign up for this free service and be contacted by up to five rated outstanding consultants. Also available is an informative blog and free newsletter.

by Jeff Shomay

This article was originally printed in The Productivity Institute (PI) newsletter

“Can you tell an intriguing story in just six words?” This challenge was once given to Ernest Hemingway. According to legend, he did, and considered it his best work. Is it possible? Here is his story, judge for yourself: “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.”What do you think? Here are some more:

• Honey, have you seen the baby?
• Patrick had never eaten worms before…
• Thought I was right. I wasn’t.
• Once upon a time… the end.
• I came, I saw, I conquered.
• Three went to Iraq. One came back.
• Both sisters - breast cancer - I’m scared.

Each six-word line has a totally different impact, doesn’t it? How do they make you feel? What do they make you think? Six words can be powerful. But what does this have to do with marketing?

Read on…

Besides being short and to the point, which is always good, this exercise scratches the surface of something much larger - the art of planting small seeds that grow into powerful thoughts. Isn’t that the purpose of marketing - to plant short messages in your consumers’ minds that become thoughts like “That’s just what I need, I’ll take it!” Looking back at the above lines, let’s uncover some of the principles at work, making their sums more than just six words.

1. The power is in the unexpected. These lines use words or phrases that don’t usually go together to get a bigger effect. “For sale: baby shoes, five dollars” is not as interesting, in fact we likely would skim right over it. But those two unexpected last words get our attention and our invoke feelings. When you want to make an impact, try connecting unexpected words or ideas together.

2. The right words = the right response. When you only have six words, each one counts. “Three went to Iraq, and two died” just doesn’t have the same impact. Never say in three words what you can say in two, and always ask if you can say something in a stronger way.

3. In the end, less is more. To make an idea grow, it has to leave your ad and enter their mind. The best way to do this is to give them only what they need to fill in the rest of the story on their own. Maybe they need more than “Once upon a time… the end,” but if Hemingway wrote a six-sentence paragraph about why the baby’s shoes were never worn and how sad it was, it may be more melodramatic, but it sure wouldn’t get the same impact or be remembered. Lay guidelines, but leave it up to your audience. When your customer is filling in their own story, they’re selling themselves, and you can’t do better than that.

4. If you move them, you’ve won. We react strongly to things we can identify with. I don’t know about you, but the breast cancer line really hits me. I don’t even know who the woman is, but I can feel her fear and want to help her. Find an emotional aspect of your product or service or sell the benefit in emotional terms, and people will listen and take action.

This is a quick intro into some powerful principles that you can employ when you want your message to make an impact. Do companies really use this in real life? Have you ever heard these lines?

• Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. (Not exactly six words, but the principles are the same, and that’s what’s important)
• No one can eat just one.
• Where do you want to go today?
• Read my lips: no more taxes.
• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
• Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.
• The few, the proud, the Marines.

These lines all have specific built-in meanings and feelings to influence their audience. They work. Can you identify their power principles? Start putting these principles to use for yourself and see what happens!

Credit: some of the above lines came from online posters - britta02, Graeme Gibson, Kevin Smith, and Julius Caesar.

Jeff Schomay is CEO of “Inspire Your Buyer“. Marketing and Branding that stands out and gets results. “Turning potential buyers into inspired buyers”. www.Inspire-Your-Buyer.com

“Inspire Your Buyer” creates powerful branding and marketing for you, using the same principles that Hollywood Filmmakers, Top Entertainers, and Marketing Gurus use to capture and captivate an audience and shape its response. We’ll get you a stronger reaction, check us out!

Challenge: Send your own six-word marketing lines to jeff@inspire-your-buyer.com. The top selected 5 will get special free and discounted services. Must receive by New Years!

Rated outstanding consultants can provide terrific prodinst and enhanced value. Their knowledge and expertise can greatly enhance any project and frequently, a company’s productivity. Evaluating their performance is a critical factor in assessing their effectiveness and in future planning.

Project assessment is often difficult to accurately gauge. Criteria used for ranking can vary tremendously between projects and in some cases, not lend itself readily to quantitative analysis. For example, how do you quantify the effectiveness of an executive coach, project management or business process realignment? Possibly, through measures of increased productivity, enhanced communications or even employee retention over a period of time. Although there are numerous types of measures, here are five ways of assessing consultant performance:

1. In your project scope document, detail completion dates and phase completion. Once each phase is completed, perform testing (if applicable) and obtain written statements by the consultant and staff detailing what was accomplished. 

 

2. Evaluate performance for several criteria (such as professionalism and knowledge) at each stage on the consultant from both the consultant and the key people working with the consultant. This can be accomplished in a matter of a few minutes using a scale of 1 - 5 for each criteria and something we do for all of our independent consultants. 

 

3. If there is a problem, it is better to know it sooner than later. Constantly evaluate the communications between staff and the consultant for any potential problems. 

 

4. Determine measures for assessing long term performance and effectiveness. Studies show that less than 20% of all projects are evaluated for effectiveness after more than one month after their completion. 

 

5. Develop measures that can evaluate effectiveness before and after job completion. This should be accomplished by using your key measurement criteria and should be integrally related to the purpose of the project.

There are numerous ways of evaluating consultant performance and project effectiveness. By using the five methods discussed above, you help ensure the successful outcome of a consulting project and enhanced productivity.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President of The Productivity Institute, LLC and an expert on consultants. He has over 25 years of business experience in sales, marketing, business development, management and programming. He has over 17 years of consulting experience and has built several successful startup product and service consulting firms.

Hiring consultants to complete projects and meet short – and long – term objectives is a relatively inexpensive way of obtaining expertise while minimizing employee costs and overhead. Furthermore, by hiring outstanding consultants, a company can greatly enhance their range of expertise and receive outstanding value and excellent prodinst. There is also usually much to be learned from a rated outstanding consultant.

Too often, companies fail to fully explore a consultant’s or consulting service’s expertise, qualifications and experience. Often, they take the easier route and hire someone they know or has been recommended to them.  Every potential consultant should be thoroughly evaluated, regardless of their original source.  

You should always meet them first, if possible.  Meeting people face to face is very important. It helps build a relationship – if there is to be one, and allows you to get a much better feel for the person.  If meeting the consultant is not possible, such as they are in another country, you should have a long phone interview with them. 

In either case, you should have a series of questions ready and have several people conduct interviews with them, either as a group or individually. Invariably, people develop different opinions which should be discussed.

Having a detailed project plan will greatly help you develop questions and evaluate prospective consultants you might hire.

Some experts recommend behavioral questions, similar to what an employee might face.  Questions they ask can include:

1. Describe your typical contract
2. What experience do you have with similar projects?
3. How do you communicate your progress to the client?
4. How closely do you work with the client?
5. Who is in charge of the project?
6. How do you determine if a project is complete and how it is successful?

Questions on performance are entirely appropriate and mandatory since your company is paying the money and expecting the results.  Performance questions usually include:

1. Do you offer guarantees?
2. Will you agree to the specified objectives and timeframes?
3. What happens if the project exceeds its timeframe or budget?
4. How well do you work and communicate with others?
5. Are you a team player? Yes, even for consultants, this is an important question.

Ask similar questions to their references.  One of the first places to denote inconsistencies is between what the references tell you and what you learn during the interview.

Usually, rated outstanding consultants will have the best chance of providing excellent value and enhanced prodinst.  Their knowledge and experience will be beneficial to the project and maybe additional projects as well.  Nevertheless, all prospective consultants should be thoroughly evaluated to help ensure they can meet all project requirements.