1. Executive Summary
Selecting the Right Consultant
Selecting the right consultant for your organization can be a very daunting task.
Choose right, and you have a very successful project and everyone is satisfied;
choose wrong, and you have a recipe for disaster. Use Demand Metric's
downloadable Consultant Evaluation Matrix to compare your potential consultants
across 5 key dimensions.
What Makes a Good Consultant?
• Relevant Experience - strong candidates should have excellent academic
credentials, recent experience (2-3 years) in your industry, and have worked
successfully with companies your size.
• Skill Set - critical skills for consultants include: extraordinary verbal/written
communication, listening skills, knowledge of vendor solutions and
compatibility, project management, technical skills, business acumen,
analytical reasoning & problem solving ability, team-building, leadership,
creativity, strategic planning & prioritization.
• Professionalism - solid consultants should offer references and testimonials
for their work, be sensitive to political issues, always be punctual, display
honesty & integrity, dress appropriately, and certainly have no axe to grind.
• Methodology & Tools - the methodology should be transparent and flexible.
Additionally, clear deliverables, pricing, and timelines should be present.
Enquire as to the toolset that will be used, to ensure your organization is not
paying for the development of a new Consulting Methodology & framework.
• Personality - this soft skill is very important; senior staff must respect your
consultant and be accessible as required. Don't overlook the character, and
passion your potential consultants express, as it is a good indicator of their
willingness to give 110% effort and quality for the entire project.
Action Plan:
1. Document Requirements - before you go into the market to find the right
person for the job, be sure to have a good understanding of what you are
looking for in the first place. Document and prioritize your project
requirements, in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP) or similar method.
2. Research Top Candidates - speak with peers and colleagues in your
industry to identify which firms, or particular consultants, have a strong
© 2009 Demand Metric Research Corporation

2. Executive Summary
history of delivering projects in your area of need. Industry associations are
another great place to start the research process.
3. Conduct Initial Interviews - invite your top 2-5 consulting firms to an
informal interview. While this can be done over the phone, looking each
consultant in the eye is a much better way to judge his or her character. Ask
for any reports or thought leadership they have contributed to their subject.
4. Compare Contenders - use Demand Metric's Consultant Evaluation Matrix to
do an apples-to-apples comparison across the 5 key dimensions: relevant
experience, skill set, professionalism, methodology & tools, and personality.
5. Check References - before signing on the dotted line, check the references
you are given, along with a few indirect references from their customer list.
Typically this list can be found on their company website.
6. Make a Decision - after reviewing proposals from your top 1 or 2
consultants, make a decision and move forward with the project. Be leery of
proposals that are based on a Time & Materials (T&M) cost structure. You
should favor fixed pricing & deliverables over time & materials.
Bottom-Line:
Choosing the right consultant can be a difficult task for any executive. Use a
systematic evaluation method to separate the wheat from the chaff.
© 2009 Demand Metric Research Corporation