by: Rick Pontz

First, there is no sense jumping in with both feet and start looking to hiring a consultant until you have a clear understand of what you want the consultant to do and to what you want them to accomplish.

Prior to interviewing a consultant prepare a "needs list" which is very similar to a job description. Even if you'd like the consultant to help you define your objectives you should at least have an outline prior to interviewing potential consultants.

There are many reasons why your lawn and garden company may be ready to hire a consultant including;

• When you need specific expertise that doesn't reside in house.
• When you simply need another pair of hands or more feet on the street
• When you need to bring internal or external people together
• When you need to deliver a message that can't come from the inside
• When you need the freedom to think collectively and come to consensus and closure.
• When you need a disinterested or disinvested party and voice

Many companies we talk to end up hiring the first person they talk to regardless if it is a manufacturer representative they met at a trade show that also consults or a consultant that is very successful marketing their consulting company and not so successful actually reaching the consulting objectives of their clients.

Here are a few questions you should ask a consulting company prior to making your decision:

1. What is the consultant's special area of expertise? Consultants are like everyone else, they are great at some things and not so great at other things. Though many consultants like to be considered generalists, consultant's skill-sets and expertise vary greatly. I've met some consultants who could sell anything to Walmart but had no clue how to sell to independent stores or hardware stores and couldn't generate marketing material or read a spread sheet if their life depended upon it. Consultants lose their value when they get out of their area of expertise. Does the consultant's area of expertise match what you want them to do for you? Ask if the consultant has done similar work for other lawn and garden companies. Choosing a consultant with the exact area of expertise you want can increase the quality of the work and may reduce the cost. Problems with consultants often arise when they work in areas in which they are unfamiliar but try to stretch to fit what you are looking for.

Just because a consultant has spent 25 or more years selling, marketing and developing fertilizer products doesn't mean he has the ability to help you understand the irrigation or animal repellant category. Has the consultant worked in your product category? Does the consultant personally know the product category players? Choosing a consultant who is knowledgeable of both the lawn and garden industry and your product category will improve the quality of the result and decrease the amount of time needed to achieve the result.

2. What type of information and reports will the consultant provide you? What type of hard copy deliverables do you expect? A weekly detailed report in writing? A monthly report? Copies of all the consultants communications regarding the consulting project? Financial Analysis and projections? Weekly conference calls? Do you require specific market intelligence reports on your product category, or competitive landscape? During the interviewing process it is important you clearly define your expectations, ask and confirm the consultant can deliver them within an agreed to timeline.

3. Ask for a sample of the consultant's work and reports. The consultant can eradicate the identity of the company or project to maintain confidentiality but the material should be reflective of what they will provide you if engaged.

4. Ask how the consultant structures their fees and contracts. Ask for a specific proposal including all costs and how the costs are related to the results of the project. Determine if the consultant will be cost effective in comparison to the project you want them to do. Never sign a Consulting agreement without a built in 30 day "opt out" clause that will allow you to terminate the agreement with 30-days' notice. Always have legal counsel review the agreement prior to signature.

5. References. Ask for three references of companies within the lawn and garden industry the consultant has worked with within the last two years that are similar to your company or to your consulting needs that you can talk to. Insure those references aren't companies such as manufacturer representatives that actually work for the the consultant. Ask the references the following questions :

a. What was the consultant supposed to do for them and did they do it?

b. Did the consultant actually increase their business or not. By how much?

c. Was the consultant cost effective?

d.What didn't they like about the consultant and why?

e. Would they hire the consultant again?

Hiring a consultant is like hiring an employee and will take up both financial resources and the resources of your time and probably some of your employee's time. Consider both quantitative and qualitative outcomes that you would like to have from your work with your consultant.

The best consultants are worthless if you can't implement and maintain their suggested changes or support the consultant in achieving their objectives. Thus, a large part of what consultants will do for you is educate you and your employees on necessary knowledge, skills, and mindsets. Finding the right one by asking the right questions will dramatically improve the results you are expecting.

Tractor Supply, with more than 1,200 mostly rural retail stores around the country, understands that there are "hundreds" of online sources for consumers to buy the things that Tractor Supply sells. But the company has every intention to gain share and grow its online operation. One interesting observation: 30% of the consumers are coming to Tractor Supply's website from a mobile device.

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