BUSINESS
UNLIMITED's ANSWERS to managing directors' concerns
Over the last 23 years we have come across many
reasons why companies hesitate to use consultants.
Here
are the main reservations that have been expressed
and the ways we have helped our clients in overcoming
them: (click on the individual links or scroll
down the page to read the queries and BUSINESS
UNLIMITED's answers in sequence)
Do
you have reservations about using consultants?
Why
do I need marketing and management consultants
when I already employ competent in-house management?
Bringing
in consultants could upset my staff.
There's
an old saying about consultants: "Once you
get them in you can never get them out"
We
might not like being told what to do
Some
consultants have a vested interest in using outside
services for their clients.
The
problem with consultants is that they are too
expensive. I have to convince my board members
that economically outside consultancy will be
an asset to the company.
Why
do I need marketing and management consultants
when I already employ competent in-house management?
The problem today is that through increasing workloads
companies are getting too close to their products
to see the market "for the trees".
One of the main advantages of marketing and management
consultants is that they bring a new independent
look to a company which can generate new ideas
and concepts while at the same time increasing
efficiency and reducing wastage.
With tightly controlled budgets do your senior
managers and directors have time to step outside
the company and give a genuine and unbiased view
of your operations? By working at all levels
in your organization - with directors, sales people,
production staff, lorry drivers and your potential
customers, we are in a position to listen and
learn their views, which would not normally be
expressed to you.
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Bringing
in consultants could upset my staff.
This is one of the reasons why every project we
undertake is led by Dr. Salim Hajje, Chairman
and Managing Director of BUSINESS UNLIMITED.
He operates as a hands-on consultant with 15 years'
practical marketing and management experience
and 23 years' consultancy experience. This
has allowed him to be sensitive at all levels
of a client's organization, understanding the
day-to-day problems of employees - the simple
reason is that he has been there before.
It's a question of having the "common touch".
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There's
an old saying about consultants: "Once you
get them in you can never get them out"
To a certain extent this is true within the consultancy
sector as a whole. However, at BUSINESS UNLIMITED
we strictly define our terms of reference in writing,
having been briefed by you, the client.
This sets out what we are going to do for our
fees and once these have been completed the project
comes to a stop. In some cases you may ask
us to implement our proposals as you do not have
the marketing structure to develop our recommendations.
This requires hands-on day-to-day administration
by BUSINESS UNLIMITED but again, clear objectives
must be provided by you so that the project stops
when the brief has been completed.
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We
might not like being told what to do
Some
prospective clients say to us: "Do you find
that your clients don't like being told what to
do? For instance, there is a saying that
in most cases "the fault emanates from the
board room".
We are not "Yes men" consultants.
Our role is to give you as our client an objective
opinion of what we think is right and wrong within
a company - or with its current strategies.
Marketing and management covers such a wide sphere
- even the slightest fault within a company can
"trip the switch" to success.
We won't alter our approach on this as ultimately
we will be wasting the fees our clients are paying
us. If we feel you are making a mistake
we will tell you so - but as diplomatically as
possible!
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Some
consultants have a vested interest in using outside
services for their clients.
This
is not our method of doing business. We
are entirely independent and work on a fee basis
only.
Some years ago we researched the market to find
the best graphic designers who are also working
on an independent basis so that they could be
used for our clients without incurring advertising
agency costs. For the last five years we
have been using one graphic designer on behalf
of our clients, should they require these services
on a cost-effective basis. We are charged
on a time basis and these are passed on to our
clients.
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The
problem with consultants is that they are too
expensive. I have to convince my board members
that economically outside consultancy will be
an asset to the company.
Firstly
it is not our policy to employ university leavers
who have just graduated and place them in the
field as consultants, charging vast fees.
We use only consultants who have seven years'
practical marketing experience and at least five
years working as consultants. For this reason,
if a job is to be well done, we expect the right
to charge fees which are commensurate with those
for lawyers and accountants. Our offices
are outside Down town so we don't charge the highest
fees, on the other hand we don't charge the lowest. It
really boils down to value for money. Our
strategic reports save companies time and money
in the long run and the rewards to our clients
are considerable.
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