Oftentimes, business and project managers are faced with a crucial task or project that’s of utmost importance for them and they need it to be a success. In order to achieve that success, they’ll likely partner with a consulting firm to ensure that everything goes smoothly and as planned. So, before you know it, you’re sitting in the meeting room with the third consulting company for the day, listening to their promises that they’ll help you beat Elon Musk in the race to Mars, and listing you all the reasons why you should put your faith, time and money in their company. Each and every one of them claims they’re the most client-focused company (duh, it’s literally the nature of their job), have the best team in the industry, are world-class or extremely innovative.
At this point, you’re as bored as Joffrey watching the village idiot for the hundredth time, and you’re not sure how to determine which firm to go with. But you’ve got to make a decision, as your project has to move forward. So how do weed out the mediocre from the great, the wheat from the chaff? Sadly, there’s no silver bullet, but there are several things you can look for during a consulting firm’s pitch to help you pick the right one.
For instance, you’re looking at IT consultants Australia based. What do you look for? You’re looking for people who have experience and hard evidence of their achievements. All the fancy adjectives they’ll attribute to their name won’t be of any use if they can’t support them with certifications of various sorts and years of experience in the business. How long do their engagements with their clients last on average? What awards have they won? What technologies and tools they use that separate them from the rest of the herd?
Moreover, worthwhile IT consultants Australia wide will implement fall back plans and will mitigate strategies to showcase that they don’t simply base their methods on empty promises. Of course, we all need our projects delivered on-budget in a timely manner, without any pitfalls or bumps, but that’s not always going to happen. If a consulting firm of any sort promises you a 100% success, no issue, no scope change, and they’ll do it on a smaller-than-usual budget, you should show them the door.
Lastly, look for real responses to your questions. If you’ve ever watched how a politician talks and dodges the question by giving unrelated answers, you’ll know what to stray away from. Ask questions and demand specific answers. Consulting firms may use fancy language to sway you in their favor. So if you’re asking about information assurance, expect an answer about their approach on information assurance, the training their employees have regarding information assurance, and not how great and innovative their firm is, and how much value they can bring to your project with their world-classiness.
