Turning the tables on the Consultants

Over the years I have worked to select and engage consultants many times and often it has felt like I am herding cats. I believe we have always made it work, but often it has felt like it was much harder work than necessary with the boot on the wrong foot ie the consultants/suppliers setting the terms.

With this in mind, early last year I developed a different approach that left me, the client, in a much better place. I and colleagues have now used it three or four times and are looking to use it more and more. It has allowed us to move and identify a preferred supplier with pace and enough confidence to invest the time necessary for effective engagement.


There is something very satisfying (should I admit that?) to see consultants squirming. It is interesting how it affects their confidence and behaviours. I thought it might be useful to share it in case others find it useful.


In essence the process is as follows:-

# Gather a group of intelligent people and through your knowledge identify likely consultancies/suppliers. From this agree a short list of maybe four or five. Make sure this is a mixed list with those that you consider to be the best or most appropriate of their type.


# Identify your inhouse review group, again no more than five or six strong and representative of the key stakeholders.


# Make informal contact, by phone preferably, with your short list outlining the approach detailed below and checking their interest in participating. In the unlikely instance where one or more decline, look to add others from your original consideration.


# Check your in-house diaries and select a set of presentation slots (preferably one more than you have consultancies on your short list) such that most if not all of your review team can attend most if not all of the presentations. Preferably these slots should just be across a few days ie not spread out over time.


# Prepare a briefing note of your company, the challenge posed or the work you want done and a set of up to five specfic questions you want/need answered to determine what they offer and can you work with them. These may look to understand their experience, approach, access to resource, perception of trends, preception of risks,etc.


Also on that note lay out the following

> They can bring up to, but no more than three people
> They will have 45 minutes only to present, then you will ask questions for up to 30 minutes. If they can't impress you in 45 minutes, why would they be able to in 90?
> That they select there two preferred slots within the presentation times you have set up
> That they detail as an appendix what additional information they will require to work of a formal proposal if requested


# Send it out with a request for response accepting the invitation and indicating preferred slot with a set number of days, say three.



# With the responses schedule the consultants the best you can, but stand your ground - if they want to pitch they will fit with your set up and this way you do not have the nightmare of scheduling across multiple diaries or being uncertain what the presentations will cover.


# At the presentations stick to the plan and particularly the 45 minutes!


# After each presentation debrief the review team verbally


# After the last presentation gather the review team and select the best. If you want/need an approach to help this a forced pair comparison has proved useful (more on this by request).

Now you can focus your time on the one consultancy/supplier!!!!

See how the guillotine of 45 minutes scares many? See how some are so inflexible they still take 15 minutes of their 45 to tell you what they want to say about their company rather than what you want to know about.

Try and it and see......and enjoy. We believe it has speeded up the process and has led to better engagement with a preferred partner, but let me know if it works for you.