Investing in the assistance of outside advisors is a key decision for you. Your time is very valuable and you want to make sure that you get a high ROI.

The most important decision you’ll make is WHO to engage. And to make that best decision work for you, you want to approach it with a good understanding of business consultant prices and how to assess how much you should be willing to pay.

What determines the price?

As in most industries, business prices are determined by a number of factors, none more important than the reputation and track record of the consultant.

Generally speaking, if the track record is there and can be verified by satisfied customers who have been the recipient of tangible results, your ROI will be secure. If they’ve performed before in similar situations, there is a much higher probability that they can perform for you.

Other factors besides reputation and track record weigh heavily as well. Rates vary by

• Size of customer,
• Markets served,
• The degree of specialization,
• The potential value of the work and
• The marketability of the consultant.

Let’s take these factors determining business consultant prices one at a time.

Larger companies tend to pay higher consulting fees than smaller companies. The consulting firms that serve them have high marketing costs and overhead and therefore have a higher rate structure.

Certain markets allow higher rates and this is closely tied to the level of specialization. For example, heavily regulated industries such as financial institutions and technology generally prefer to work with consultants who have specialized in understanding their issues.

Specialization can also be a differentiator that rationalizes the price you should pay for business consulting services. For example, there is a strong demand for intergenerational consultants to help companies understand their multigenerational workers better in order to motivate and retain them.

The potential value of the work is a key determinant of price. If your potential gain from every additional sale is $100,000 profit, you will pay more for consulting advice that wins that business than another company who gains $100 from an additional customer.

Unfortunately, the ability of the consultant to market themselves is another key variable in determining price. I say unfortunately because ultimately what you care about is getting results, not in being wowed. Unless they are a pure genius who stands out dramatically from the crowd, consulting fees will be higher for those who market themselves well.

So, how much should you pay?

The key to making a good decision is to calculate the ROI on each consultant you interview and choose the one that delivers the highest ROI. You’ll have to make some assumptions to do this but that is the rigorous thought process that gets you the best result. Its not the business consultant prices in isolation that matters, it’s the RETURN on them that’s the key!

With a now thorough understanding of how prices are determined, ask the consultant to provide you with an ROI projection. A simple ROI calculation would be to take the total incremental earnings you will receive because of the assistance of the consultant and divide it by the total cost of the consultant.

A better calculation is to time-adjust and risk-adjust the rewards and the cost using a net present value calculation.

So, calculate your ROI on your consulting options, choose wisely and prosper!

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Businesses feel the need for an external consultant for strategic planning at times. This is because an objective third party view is always useful to ensure the success of the plan. An external consultant can create an excellent strategic plan without prejudices of any kind.

When Are External Consultants Needed For Strategic Planning:
Businesses need an external consultant for strategic planning when strategic planning has never been done before, when a previous plan failed to have an impact, lack of adequately skilled personnel to draft the plan, when members lack facilitating skills and when there is mistrust about the accuracy of plan drafted by an insider etc.

The external consultant will have to serve as the main guide for the strategic planning process, has to have to ability to do research and analyze the information gathered and plan a course of actions that will guide the business to achieve its goals faster. External consultants add to the productivity and continuity of the planning process.

External consultants for strategic planning process can be hired because the business lacks a qualified person to do the planning or he can be hired to be the expert providing the business knowledge or skills that it lacks or to work in collaboration with the business providing guidance and leaving the rest to be carried out by the qualified staff.

Before hiring an external consultant for strategic planning, decide on the amount you are ready to spend, talk to different consultants, ask them to submit a proposal about the work needed to be done, time frame to do it in and the costs incurred. Be sure to have a list of deliverables, a projected date of completion, forecast of costs to be incurred and means of evaluating the planning and analyzing the results, make clear who the consultant will report to and figure out how the contract can be terminated by either part.

The external strategic consultant should be qualified and should be able to research and analyze the information gathered as well as suggest ways to improve business and fight competitors such that your business will have an edge over them. He should have the ability to convey his plans and steer the business in such a way as to save time and money. Though expensive, the need for hiring external consultants for strategic planning can work out for the benefit of the business.
There are firms that offer their products as well as service to help run a successful business.

Alexander Gordon is a writer for http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com