There’s more to choosing a business advisor than searching online and choosing one which sounds good on paper, or web page to be exact. As experienced business advisors, we’d like to share some of the common pitfalls people make when choosing an advisor, plus tips on selecting the right one for your business. We’ll also discuss the benefits and costs of hiring a business advisor.
First Steps When Choosing a Business Advisor
The majority of business owners who seek support from an advisor do so because they need help with some aspect of running their business. Whether they reached that decision on their own or from the advice of others, they’ve made a positive step towards improving their business’ future.
A business advisor’s role will adapt according to the specific needs of the company they are working with. Tasks they can assist you with include:
- Preparing budgets and analysing financial records
- Advising on projects, products and services
- Performing risk analysis
- Marketing advice
- Evaluating sales, marketing and branding strategies
- Identifying areas for future growth
- Analysing the behaviour of your customers and competitors
- Developing and reviewing policies and procedures
- Goal setting and business planning
Of course, advisors will have their own areas of strength and expertise, making it important that the business owner firstly identifies the tasks they need help with. Secondly, they will need to shortlist advisors who not only can assist with those tasks, but also who offer the type of support you need, be it by the hour, as an ongoing consultant or a part-time member of staff. Let’s cover these points some more.
Common Mistakes When Choosing a Business Advisor
We’re understandably proud of the services we provide, and this is reflected within our website. However, before hiring us as your business advisor or someone else online, you need to look into things further.
Some of the common mistakes we’ve anecdotally heard of business owners doing when choosing an advisor include:
- Using family and friends to provide them with advice
- Choosing their local advisor when a more suitable option is available via video confernece, email or phone elsewhere
- Hiring an advisor which doesn’t specialise in the area you need help with
- Not checking references of prospective advisors
- Failing to ask about their experience and qualifications
- Making their choice on price
- Not being clear to the advisor what their expectations are
In our article How to Choose the Right Business Advisor for You, we listed some key questions which we believe are appropriate to consider when selecting your business advisor too. They may just help you avoid picking the wrong person too.
Tips on Choosing the Perfect Business Advisor
You’ve narrowed down a list of possibilities, and now is the time to start weeding out the best from the good options. To help you make the right choice for your business, we recommend considering their:
- Communication skills – do they speak in plain English, making it easy for you to understand what they are discussing? Does their preferred form of communication (email, phone, Skype, in-person) suit your preferred option? Do they listen to what you are saying to understand your needs, or want to take control and direct the relationship?
- References and testimonials – take the time to chat with their past and present clients, asking them about their thoughts on the advisor.
- Skill set and past experiences – do they walk the talk, having been in similar situations to what you are experiencing and realise that not all learning comes from textbooks? Have they had experience of working with others in your industry or are happy to put in the effort to learn?
- Availability – are they happy for you to contact them whenever necessary, or do they prefer a set time period?
- Chat with other business owners – can they make personal recommendations of business advisors they have worked with? Can they recommend another owner who has for you to chat with?
After you have again culled your list of prospective advisors, it’s time to get in touch with the two or three you have left. Many will happily chat to you over the phone or arrange time to meet up for a coffee. Or like us, offer a free 30 minute online or in-person chat to discuss your business and help decide if we are a good fit for you.
Benefits & Costs of Using the Services of a Business Advisor
By engaging the services of a business advisor, you will be required to pay them. If you are employing them as a part- or full-time employee, the same pay requirements as any other staff member are required. If they are a contractor, there are usually hourly rates to pay. Or they may offer a business advisory service through their company, where they will invoice you directly.
Costs can vary between advisors, but these should not be the main deciding factor when choosing which one to work with. Take a look at our Business Advisory Packages to learn more about the specific services and associated costs of working with our team.
The advantages you may receive from working with a business advisor include:
- Gaining an outside perspective of your business – a fresh pair of eyes can help you to find areas which can be improved and suggest new ideas.
- Helping with decision making – an advisor can help you work through the pros and cons of specific decisions. They are able to look at things without emotion from both sides, providing neutrality.