The 10 Questions You Should Ask a Consultant Before Hiring Him or Her

1. Most consultants focus on two areas: cutting costs and raising revenues. What do you see as the relationship between the two functions? Which do you do better?

2. What was your professional experience before you became a consultant?

3. How many professionals work with you or at your firm?

4. Will you sign a letter of confidentiality? Will you refrain from working for our competitors?

5. Who are some of your other clients? Who are some people and companies with whom you’ve worked before? May I call them to ask about your work?

6. With how many clients do you work at one time? Do you have enough time to devote to our company to accomplish our goals? Will you return phone calls or e-mails the same day?

7. Will you teach us to do this work for ourselves and become self-sufficient? How long will this take?

8. Have you written anything—published or not—that deals with issues such as the ones this company faces?

9. How do you charge for services? Do your fees include travel time and other miscellaneous charges or are those billed separately?

10. What kind of documentation will you give us when the project is completed? Who will own that documentation?