Are you experiencing fast growth and feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants? Perhaps your business has strong potential for growth but you’re bogged down in day-to-day management?
Many businesses get to the point where they need expert advice, education, and support to achieve scalable and sustainable business growth. If you are considering engaging the services of a business growth consultant, here are five important things to think about:
1. Communication
Can I communicate with this person? Is my consultant communicating with me? Listening skills are essential as well as a focus on understanding. Great consultants try to find out what’s important to you. They work to understand what your business is about and what you’re trying to achieve. They are also willing to risk challenging you and have the courage to tell you the truth.
2. Rapport
Do I feel comfortable with this person? Do I trust them? Do they care about what’s important to me or am I just another client for them? It is vital that you both understand each other and by that I mean knowing your consultant’s values and ensuring that your values are defined.
3. Inspiration
Do they inspire me and my team? Most importantly, does my business inspire them? You want your business growth consultant to be excited and inspired by what you are trying to achieve. You should never feel like just another client on the list.
4. Learning
Are you being told what to do or are you being encouraged to think resourcefully about what to do? Remember the saying – if you want to feed someone for a day, you give them a fish. If you want to feed them for a lifetime, you teach them how to fish.
You need to be actively engaged in the activities that will bring you success. If you are being told what to do then you may have someone who loves catching fish, but who neglects to teach you how to come up with your own answers. Look for someone who engages you in such a way that you are always learning, building capacity and growing both professionally and personally.
5. Respect
Do they respect my ability to learn and to create a business that is a success? A great business growth consultant respects you and your ability to solve your own problems. They respect that you know your clients, that you are resourceful and that you can overcome your weaknesses and play to your strengths.
The Best Business Growth Consultants Are Also A Great Fit
It’s good to remember that not everyone will be a great fit. Being critical and taking the time to find a business growth consultant that fits will dramatically increase your long-term personal and professional growth.
Are you a business leader with a sense of urgency about growing your business? Are you at the very start of the process, even asking such elementary questions as ‘what is a business consultant’? Whatever stage you are at, with SSBG you will find the right people to help, and with our help you can rightly expect action and results.
