If I Am Not In Trouble, Why Hire A Business Consultant?

Crisis Management:

For most people professional business consultancy is a trouble shooting exercise that a company undertakes to manage a crisis. Even the business owners, especially small and relatively new ones, confuse such services with troubleshooting and avail of them only in cases where the management loses control. For instance, if the project has suffered time and cost overruns or if they need easy solutions to technical problems that call significant investments and making capital outlays.

However, services offered by professional consultants are not bound by such limitations. In fact, consultancy is a third-party professional service that must be availed to look at issues related to the business in a broader perspective. There are many cases when absolute involvement in the business limits the owners' vision on the outcome of their business plans. Consultancy brings clarity to their thought processes. This article aims at educating the business owners on the concept of consultancy and offering them a few tips to decide whether their business needs a consultant.

Who are Business Consultants?
Consultants are business professionals who weigh pros and cons of business strategies and advice you accordingly. They offer a variety of services including business start-up advice, operation analysis, formulating marketing strategies, making business plans, management consulting, and much more.

'Must Do' Exercises before Hiring a Consultant:
Before you hire a consultant ask yourself some basic questions such as what gains you are targeting from the business, have you done enough advertising for your business, and are your products placed well in the target market. Also, do the products reach the target public, did the business generates profits as per your expectation last year, are the operating expenses under control or as per the original plan, have you set goals and see the business achieving them gradually, and finally are you satisfied with the business' overall performance.
 
If you obtain answers to these basic problems, you have cracked it. This question and answer session with your own self will motivate you to improve the performance of your business by allowing you to focus on the areas of improvement. If you think that you know what the problem is but unable to find out a satisfactory answer or solution for the problem, read books, go to libraries, attend tele-seminars. If all fail, approach a consultant.

Make the right choice:
There are all types of consultants available in the market. You should do your homework and hire consultants that can be trusted for their valuable business solutions and complete reliability. However, you should never forget that he/she is third party and may not know the company's business in-depth as the owner. Hence, owners' participation in the strategy making and decision-making is necessary. Therefore, hire a reputed consultant and see your business grow

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/393199

Marketing Consultant Tip: Write a Sales Letter

Most marketing consultants will agree that a sales letter is a great way for a company to get their foot in the door of potential clients. A sales letter can serve as an introduction, or be used like a newsletter that announces new developments to current customers.

Many business owners are not confident in their writing ability. One way to get over this fear is to decide what you want to say. Verbalise it first, then a marketing consultant can take your ideas and put them on paper, or in the content of a web page or email message.

Here are some tips to help you get started with a sales letter for your company.

First Things First

Perhaps the most important parts of the sales letter are the subject line, greeting, and opening. These are the first three things a customer, or potential customer will see when they receive your message.

Think carefully about the subject line for an Email message. These days, so many people are inundated with spam they tend to pick and choose which messages even get opened. Make sure your subject line provokes immediate interest. Ensure that it states succinctly how the body of the message is going to benefit them. You might want to offer something discounted or even free in order to grab the reader’s attention.

The greeting should be personalised, if at all possible. A generic address is a sure way to sound amateur and immediately indicate to the reader that this is a form letter.

The opening of your letter comes next. If you are sending the sales letter via Email, remember that many people use the preview pane included in their Email program so they will see the header even if they don’t open the message. Again, the idea is to make it attention-getting and eye-catching. It is appropriate to use colour here and perhaps a simple graphic.

The Body

Once you’ve attracted a potential client’s attention, don’t lose it by making your sales letter a blatant pitch. Make it friendly, informal, and interesting. You might want to consider including a story from a satisfied customer as a way to keep the recipient reading on. This also shows them how your product or service can benefit them.

Keep the text simple. Avoid using long or complex sentences or big words; neither do you want to use industry-specific jargon that might not be understood. Your sales letter needs to be easy and quick to read.

The Ending

The last paragraph should include a short summary of the content of the sales letter. Always include a “call to action”. Ensure there is a link to your website and all forms of contact, from telephone number to Email address to physical address. You do not want to make it hard for potential clients to get hold of you. Put your name at the end so it is apparent the letter is coming from an actual person.

You may want to consider including a printable coupon, or a link to a discount offer. This is a direct call to action which should result in furthering the reader’s interest. If you are mailing the letter, include a coupon or brochure that the recipient can keep.

Remember that a marketing consultant can help you with this process. If you’ve already spent too much time writing and rewriting and are still not satisfied with your sales letter, then call a professional for help. Marketing consultants can also be of benefit by obtaining mailing lists and sending out the professional sales letter in a manner that will be most effective for your business.
From an JUNE, 2009 blog by GIZTHEBIZ http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

Business Consultants: Big Business Through the Ages

You may not be aware that today’s business consultants come from a long background of pioneers who offered their valuable services to the business community. In fact, the first consultants can give credit to some amazing, forward-thinking trailblazers from as far back as the 1880s.
Take a look at this brief history outlining how business consultants and their jobs have changed over the years.
1880s
Over a century ago, people were just beginning to examine business and the way it works. The book, Principles of Economics, was released – one of the first to determine that supply and demand was a major factor in success. Frederick Taylor becomes the first business consultant in the manufacturing industry using principles of Scientific Management. The Emerson Company becomes the first generalised consulting firm that resembles those of today.
1900s
The early part of the century witnessed the birth of the first business schools at Harvard and New York University. Bricklaying Systems is published; it detailed the most efficient processes to lay brick and was used as the basis for later consulting methodology. Charles Dawes becomes the first government consultant.
1920s – 1930s
Leading UK business consultant Lyndall Urwick publishes The Elements of Administration, which details his experiences offering management advice to factory executives. George S. May becomes famous for advocating commission-based marketing. A firm researches the effect of lighting in worker’s environments on productivity. The Great Depression keeps business consultants busy. Problem solving and clients become the focus of most consultancies.
1940s – 1950s
Business and government converge as ex-military officers take over the practice of consulting. Ernest Butten starts his own consultancy firm and advocates the PA Method of Training – still a viable resource for new product development. Future giant Price Waterhouse initiates a consulting department in the rapidly growing firm. The concept of hiring top students from universities becomes an accepted business practice.
1960s
For the first time, women begin to start careers as business consultants, buoyed by the success of Harvard’s business school and the new policy to admit women. Experience curve and growth-share matrix are added to the corporate lexicon and the focus becomes market strategy. The Stockholm School of Economics researches organisational behaviour. Shareholder value becomes an important part of a business plan.
1980s
Corporate executives turn to the book In Search of Excellence to guide their market strategies and achieve success. Computers in the office become more common, but few executives are trained how to use them – opening the door for business consultants to step in and help.
1990s
Salaries of business consultants continue to rise and many firms snap up newly-graduated MBAs. Top talent is in great demand. Price Waterhouse and Coopers merge and experience phenomenal growth in their consultancy branch through a focus on IT and implementation-oriented consulting.
Today, business consultants are still in high demand. In fact, as global economies continue to falter, the need for their services is higher than ever. Thanks to those first business men and women who began to study the processes and principles that make a company successful, business consultants have helped shaped modern corporations and the world as we know it today.

From an April, 2009 blog by   GIZTHEBIZ http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

The Benefits Of Getting Business Advice

You know your business, so why would you need business advice? Because you can't think of everything and a seasoned business consultant can help you move your business to further success and profitability. Whether you are selling services or products hiring a small business consultant is a good investment in the future of your business. Think of your consultant as a mentor whose goal is to help you do better and to achieve your goals. You need support while you improve your business and consultants can help with all the tasks you need to manage. Here are some areas where getting business advice can help.

Many times, moving your business to the next level depends on marketing and promotion. This can take a number of forms. An experienced consultant will have worked with a range of businesses and will know which strategies work best for what type of business. The consultant may recommend rebranding, changes to marketing material, overhauling your customer communication channels and more. Perhaps the consultant will suggest new ways of marketing yourself, such as a targeted email campaign. This business advice will not exist in a vacuum. Your consultant will review your entire business before selecting the strategies that are most appropriate for you.

Preparing For Growth
If you are preparing for expansion, then getting business advice from a consultant could help you to secure the funds you need to grow. Getting investment often depends on having a sound business plan and knowing how to present it. Your consultant can help you with forecasting and models and can use his contacts to get your plan in front of the right people. This is one reason to get business advice from someone with experience in similar business types – networking can be invaluable when you are ready to grow.

Perhaps you just need to find a way to become more efficient at managing your business. You might need advice on controlling cash flow, converting leads and enquiries to sales or setting up a web sales portal that sells your business as well as your products. All of these are areas where you may need business advice. A consultant can take an objective look at your business to see where you can save time, money or both. At the end of the process, you will have a more profitable business that is poised to dominate your chosen niche. Isn't that a great reason to pay for business advice?

Posted in March 2009 by GiztheBiz http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

Beat The Recession – Invest In Consulting

The economic recession may be the best time to invest in consulting, if you do it the right way. Most people are not looking to spend additional money now, but if you hire a consultant who gets paid when you get results, you have absolutely nothing to lose. In fact, you could end up a winner, by creating a lean, mean business machine which can react quickly to new opportunities as they arise. Here are some of the ways in which investing in consulting can help you to ride out the recession.

Don't Flash The Cash
There's never been a better time to control your cash flow. Is the right amount of money coming in each month? Have your expenses spiralled out of control? Are your suppliers being less flexible than they were, putting the squeeze on your bottom line? Hiring a business expert who offers consulting services will help you to identify strengths and weaknesses. The consultant will review your business and will help you to see where you can improve. Even better, the consultant will give advice on how to make those improvements, making your business much more efficient.

Promote Yourself
When you hire a  consulting service, you may learn new ways of promoting and marketing your business. The consultant has worked with many businesses and has picked up information on best practices. That means there's a shopping list of options for you to select. Perhaps there are networking events in your niche that you should be attending. Maybe you need to make contact with new suppliers or potential customers. It could be that your website and sales brochure need an overhaul. All of these are services that a consultant can provide. They will expand your market reach, boost your market presence and give you a new look that will appeal to your customers.

Plan Ahead
Perhaps your competitors are being short sighted in closing down some services. This could be a good time to snap up a bargain so you are ready for the upturn. One of the advantages of consulting is that it helps you to plan for the future, starting from where you are now. You will end up with a feasible plan for the development of your business which will make it stronger and more effective. There are always new opportunities around; your  consultant can help you to identify the right ones so that you can gain the most value for your business.

Summary: Is the recession getting your down? Inject some new life into your business by investing in consulting services

Posted in Feb. 2009  by GiztheBiz http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619