Five questions to ask before you hire a consultant
Including us. A short, practical checklist for leadership teams buying advice for the first time.
Buying consulting is unusual: you are paying for judgement you cannot inspect in advance. These five questions will tell you more than any credentials deck.
The questions
Who exactly will be in the room every week, and how much of their time is committed? What will we own at the end that we don’t own today? How is the fee linked to the outcome? What would make you recommend we stop? Can we speak to a client whose project went badly?
The last question is the most revealing. Every firm has engagements that went wrong. The good ones can explain what they learned.
Next essay
Discounts are a policy, not a favour
