In the business world, there’s a consultant for everything.
Technology consultants help companies determine which enterprise software programs to buy for their workforce. They gather information, engage vendors, and make recommendations. And within this niche of consultants there is an even smaller niche for those who specialize in financial and banking software.
It’s no wonder financial institutions and wealth managers turn to outsiders for help. This can be a costly decision, one that carries long-term consequences. Choose wisely and you can set your team up for success and growth. Choose poorly and you can handcuff your team with inefficient workflows and frustration.
As a 30-year veteran in the enterprise software and technology arena, Bill Crouch has seen it all.
The regional sales manager for Cheetah Inc. has witnessed consultants broker deals and implementations that came in on time and on budget. And he has also witnessed consultants broker deals and implementations that were a disaster.
Here are his tips for when to hire a consultant, when not to hire a consultant, and a third option you may not have considered.
When to hire a consultant
There are times when an outside consultant makes perfect sense, especially when a large board of directors is involved in the decision making.
“When there are so many cooks in the kitchen, you need to hire an executive chef,” Crouch said. “Someone who can sift through all the noise, formulate the information the right way, and take it back to the client.”
Another reason to hire a consultant is if you haven’t shopped for technology in decades. This situation is more common than you might think. If a piece of technology works, companies have a tendency to stick with it, even after newer, better products have entered the market.
When your shopping skills have gone rusty, you don’t know the right questions to ask, and making product and vendor comparisons can be difficult.
“Many of these companies simply don’t know what they don’t know,” Crouch said.
Consider this analogy, if the last car you bought was a 1986 Ford Crown Victoria, you might feel a bit lost at a dealership in 2023, with cars that offer GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, satellite radio, intelligent all-wheel drive, and even self-driving features.
When not to hire a consultant
Hiring a consultant requires you to trust an outsider, someone who has all the baggage that comes with being human, someone who is imperfect, and who is just as easily influenced as anyone else.
Before you hire a consultant, you should know that sometimes they are not the unbiased third-party that they market themselves to be, according to Crouch.
“They likely have extensive experience working with a specific vendor, someone whose technology they love and whose staff they’ve come to know,” Crouch said.
Furthermore, know that 72 percent of consultant projects never make a change.
So, are you the kind of person willing to trust that a consultant has your best interest at heart, even if that person is less than perfect? Can you be comfortable navigating ambiguous relationships?
Or, are you a skeptic at heart, someone more inclined to see the world in black and white?
If the latter describes you, save yourself some frustration and dollars and develop an internal team to handle the process.
Can you get unbiased consultation from a vendor? Yes.
There is a third way that’s worth exploring, according to Crouch.
Ditch the idea of hiring a consultant and instead engage the right vendor early in your process. Sure, this sounds counterintuitive to ask someone with a vested interest in your decision to help you make that very decision.
That’s why we said the right vendor.
For vendors that care, high-pressure sales tactics are a thing of the past. Instead, they cultivate an outreach team with a heart for helping, with the understanding that doing the right thing eventually pays off.
Done right, sales is less about persuasion and more about identifying companies that are a good fit. After all, a business relationship is a two-way street, and vendors that care know that sloppy matchmaking just leads to long-term heartache on both sides.
“There are true partners out there,” Crouch said. “Consulting should start during the sales process. That’s the differentiator. That will set the tone for your relationship long term.”
As an example, Crouch pointed out that Cheetah Inc. offers to all prospective clients, at no cost, tools such as request-for-proposal templates that ask all the right questions and scorecards that help decision makers distinguish between vendors. The Cheetah team also has decades of industry experience and is quick to offer advice and information.
A company that gives you authentic tools and information to make your own decisions deserves credit, Crouch said.
“Ultimately, you get to decide who brings you the most value,” Crouch said. “It’s not us making the decision. This isn’t a slam dunk for the vendor. I don’t always win.”
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