The Manager's Pocket Guide to Using Consultants

Key Questions to Ask a Prospective Consultant

I’m often asked by my clients, “What’s the best way to make sure we hire the right people for key positions?” (They also sometimes ask me how to make sure they hire the best consultants, but I assure them that they’ve already done that!)

It’s really pretty simple. Here are the two key questions you should ask a consultant before you hire them in order to tell the good consultants (and the not-so-good ones) from the great ones:

1.   What would you do to solve this specific problem or challenge?

2.   How would you implement your solution? What would it look like?

The best way for a consultant to present her skills to a prospective client is to pretend she has already been hired and start offering specific ...