WHAT ARE THE KEY CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING AN INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT?

What are the key criteria for choosing an international consultant?
Recently I’ve conducted some brief research among my network of contacts on LinkedIn – what are the key criteria for businessmen when choosing a business consultant? Here are some of the answers I’ve collected…
“make sure that whoever you appoint, has worked in that role as an executive; for many years, before becoming a consultant.”
“I look at the communication skills and patience of the person in the international business. Most of the time Business developers and salespeople are more concerned about selling their services, but I prefer those who first listen to me, my issues and guide me with the best solutions instead of selling what they have or set a target for.”
“first is the portfolio in a relevant field, the second, to check the major objectives of the clients in the portfolio, general KPI’s followed, improvements of KPI’s in time, if there is any follow up at a certain timing and third point, letters of recommendation or testimonials”

I often hear about “bad previous experience” with consultants and even more often I have tough discussions regarding price. Regardless of which consultant you choose to work with, have in mind and analyse fully before became attracted cheap costs:

• What is the practical result you get from this partnership? Did you get a clear, transparent and structured plan?
• Will this person introduce your company in the right way and will not damage the reputation of your business in a new region from the very beginning?
• Just in case something goes wrong – who will help the contacts with partners and customers? Will you have access to all the information and be able to keep/continue the business further without this “consultant”?

Be careful, professional partners will save you time, budget and suggest a realistic result. They might be not always cheap and not promise “the world”, but they will do their job in a professional and honest way.

Sincerely,
Irina Voronkina