» auteur: Tom Kline

Hiring a consultant is the surest way to know whether your business is operating as efficiently as possible, and ensure that you are accessing your maximum market penetration. Use a consultant to discover the strengths and weaknesses within your business and put that new information to work.

The top 5 advantages of using a consultant:

1. Consultants see situations that have gone unnoticed by regular staff.

2. Consultants upgrade the education and experience of your staff.

3. A consultant is specifically oriented toward producing results.

4. You pay only for the time you use them.

5. Gives you extra staff without permanent obligations.

A consultant could help your business in ways you never imagined. Shifts in industries or economics often prove challenging to companies that aren’t ahead of the curve. Perhaps you’re a start-up about to pitch a new account, but have no idea how you’d handle the volume if you landed it. Here are a few other examples of companies that have benefited by the help of a consultant:

• A radio station, overshadowed by ever-growing conglomerates, helped its sales department develop new short and long-term sales strategies.
• A real-estate firm secured anonymous representation to an outside party, which proved advantageous in their negotiations for investment capital and acquisitions.
• An independent restaurant owner discovered a fresh approach to a problem she couldn’t solve internally.
• A staffing firm obtained an outside appraisal of their business and how it was operating.
• A small catering company used a consultant to help prepare a proposal for a large-scale, long-term project that would take its operations to a new level.
• A start-up pet supply chain was able to project the effects of possible expansion or diversification.

What can a consulting service do for you?

Go back to Part 1 of this RK Auto Group series: Does Your Business Need a Consultant?

© 2006 RK Auto Group

Tom Kline is Controller of RKAutoGroup.net (RK Buick, RK Chevrolet, RK Subaru, RK Scion and RK Toyota).

During his 15-year tenure Kline has worked in the Sales Department of RK Auto Group, Parts, Service and Body Shop, Leasing, Collections, and Management Information Services.

RK Auto Group, located in Southeast Virginia, has been recognized as one of the top 100 Chevrolet dealerships in the nation. Founded in 1964, this award-winning dealership sells approximately 9,000 vehicles per year.

RK Chevrolet is the recipient of Chevrolet Motor Division’s coveted Service Supremacy Award four years in a row. This is an award which less than 8% of the nation's Chevrolet dealers have won. In 1998, RK received the prestigious "Genuine Leaders Award" for excellence in sales, service, and customer satisfaction.