What Does a Business Consultant Do?

Are you thinking of hiring a business consultant but want to know what to expect before you start contacting consulting firms? You’re not alone. Many business owners are hesitant to work with a business consultant because they aren’t sure what exactly a consultant does.

We’re here to help make it clearer, so you can make the right choice for your business. As experienced business consultants ourselves, the 5P team helps businesses like yours get the tools, technology, and resources you need to make smarter, more efficient decisions. Let’s take a closer look at what a business consultant is, what they do, and how your business can benefit from hiring one.

What is a Business Consultant?

A business consultant is an objective outside expert who provides your business with advice and resources in their area of expertise. Consultants often specialize in one area related to their professional experience and skillset. They come with functional expertise in evolving business processes for efficiency, scale and integration to other businesses.

For example, you would hire an accounting consultant to help you establish an accounting department and train employees on best practices. On the other hand, you would probably want to work with a marketing consultant to help you bring a completely new product to your lineup.

What is a Business Consulting Firm?

Business consulting companies are firms that provide a wider range of consulting solutions than individual consultants. When you work with a consulting firm, you often get access to multiple business experts with varied areas of expertise. That’s because a business consulting company is a group of business consultants rather than a single consultant.

What Does a Consulting Firm Do?

Now you know what consultants and consulting firms are, but what does a business consulting firm do?
In simple terms, consulting firms give you access to expert advice, tools, technology, and resources to improve your business. They do this by being objective outsiders who analyze your business and make recommendations for improvements. Their focus is the operating model, organizational model, and digital solutions.

5P Consulting, for example, is a technology consulting firm focused on helping your business run more efficiently and be more effective with cloud technology solutions. We use a combination of technology tools and process optimization and automation to maximize your productivity.

Let’s say you want to eliminate data silos between your sales and marketing teams and make these operations run smoothly alongside one another. We’ll look at your existing data, technology, and process setups and make recommendations based on our analysis. Our process often involves introducing technology like cloud-based CRM platforms to help automate everyday tasks, integrate data sources, and give your employees more time to focus on their projects.

Benefits of Hiring a Business Consulting Company

Business consultants and consulting firms are designed to provide expert analysis and recommendations to your business. A good consulting firm will grow to be a team of trusted advisors you can turn to when it’s time to make vital decisions regarding your organization. They have done this many times for various organizations so they can bring skills and best practices most organizations don’t have.

However, many business owners are unsure if their business can benefit from hiring a business or technology consulting firm. The good news is that almost every business — large and small — can benefit from an outside perspective and expertise of a business consultant. Consultants like 5P spend time learning your organization’s strengths and weaknesses to pinpoint problem areas and provide custom solutions.

Working with a business consultant:

• Saves You Time: As a business owner, you probably don’t have the time to give your business the analysis it really needs. While you recognize the importance of defining business strengths and weaknesses — and making a plan to overcome weaknesses — daily tasks often take precedence. A business consultant does a lot of the heavy lifting to analyze your business and create a path forward, so you don’t have to take the time out of running your business.
• Saves You Money: Hiring a business consultant will cost money, and some businesses are wary of hiring consultants because of the cost. However, the money you spend on a consulting firm is often offset by the money you’ll save long-term in your business. Consultants help your business run smoother and with more efficiency. This contributes to a leaner, more effective business model. By wasting less, you’ll save more.
• Improves Your Operational Efficiency: Consultants like 5P are focused on providing solutions for a more efficient business. We do this by using technology tools and process optimization techniques to eliminate slowdowns in your workflow. We’ll look for areas where manual tasks can be automated to improve employee productivity and reduce human errors.
• Gives You Access to Expert Advice: Working with a business consultant means expert advice is never too far away. Whether you need to know which data management platform will work best with your business model or how to eliminate unnecessary processes, consultants offer professional expertise for improving your business.
• Provides Objective Feedback: No one knows your business as you do. This is usually a good thing, but it can sometimes hold you back. Being too close or emotionally invested in a business can make it difficult to recognize disadvantages or identify areas for improvement. Your business consultant is an objective outsider who can take a fresh look at your business — and give you the tools to be more effective and efficient.

How to Choose a Business Consulting Firm

Originally published July 27, 2021.