Defining what is a business consultant sounds easy – it’s a question that, on the surface, seems to have a simple, one-sentence answer. For a basic definition, you could probably ask AI and get a decent, if uninspiring, reply.
So, what is a business consultant beyond a very basic definition? Fundamentally, business consulting involves delving into a business in granular detail, examining all of its facets to identify areas for improvement. But that’s just the starting point.
The world of business consultancy is far more nuanced than a quick dictionary definition. There are various terms thrown around – management consultancy, business advisory – and even a transatlantic divide in how these terms are used. For example, in the US ‘business advisor’ is a common term, whereas in the UK it often carries different connotations.
So, let’s unpack what is a business consultant, including what a business consultant truly does and more importantly, what distinguishes really good business consulting from the rest.
Table of Contents: What is a Business Consultant?
What Is a Business Consultant? The Standard Approach: analysis and incremental wins
Most people’s understanding of what is a business consultant revolves around a fairly standard process. A consultant comes in, performs an in-depth analysis of the business and produces a comprehensive report. This report acts as a snapshot of the current state of the business, analysing areas such as expenses, turnover, staff and so on. It’s about understanding ‘where we are now’.
Following this analysis, a common approach is to identify ‘easy wins’. These are often straightforward recommendations designed to yield incremental improvements. Think along the lines of: ‘Use a cheaper supplier for X,’ ‘Consider reducing staff levels’, or ‘Boost customer engagement by offering feedback forms or a free gadget’. There is nothing inherently wrong with these suggestions; they can make a difference to the bottom line, albeit often a fairly small one.
A common complaint about this level of business consultancy is that these kind of recommendations are something that most businesses routinely assess and adjust for themselves anyway – this is after all not exactly rocket science. It is rare for consultancy fees to produce much of a return on investment for businesses from this type of business consultancy services.
So what else does a business consultant do as standard? Sometimes, the scope of a business consultant’s work extends beyond just recommendations. Companies might ask a consultant to implement those recommendations, transforming the consulting engagement into a larger project. This is a relatively common scenario, especially when existing staff lack the time, capacity or specific expertise to execute these changes whilst simultaneously managing their day-to-day responsibilities. It’s a finite project, a dedicated effort to bring about a specific outcome which enables the business to implement the necessary changes quickly and without having to hire new staff.
What Is a Business Consultant? Beyond Incremental: The power of good business consulting
Whilst valuable, these incremental improvements, however well-implemented, often only scratch the surface of a business’s true potential. Good business consulting, in our view, goes much further. It involves more than refining existing processes; it means identifying and instigating substantive, even radical, shifts that can lead to disproportionately large wins.
Imagine focusing all of your energy on making customer service slightly better, cutting expenses marginally or changing your rental premises for a slightly better deal. These actions, whilst beneficial, rarely transform a business. True transformation happens when you dare to do something fundamentally different from everyone else in your industry.
Consider a couple of ground-breaking examples. Before Amazon, online shopping existed and companies competed on minor differentiators such as slightly cheaper prices or marginally faster delivery. None of them truly disrupted the market. Amazon, however, introduced a completely different model, offering a customer experience which was truly distinct and exponentially better than anything that had gone before it.
Similarly, Apple didn’t conquer the mobile phone market simply by making existing button-phones a bit smaller, a bit bigger, or a different colour. They envisioned and created a responsive, intuitive, mini-computer in your hand, fundamentally changing the landscape.
This illustrates what good business consulting strives for: identifying opportunities for major operational shifts. Can the business function in a completely different way, not just a bit cheaper or faster? Can we leverage an idea or practice from an entirely different industry to transform what we’re doing here? Can we explore completely new revenue streams that are outside the conventional box? This is where cross-industry pollination of ideas comes into play.
For a detailed overview of business consultancy value and fees to compliment your knowledge about what is a business consultant, see our article ‘How Much Does Business Consultancy Cost? |
The Consultant’s Unique Advantage: a panoramic overview
More important that defining what is a business consultant, is understanding what makes for good business consulting.
One element of good business consulting lies in the consultant’s unique position. Having the perspective and experience of numerous industries and sectors, various roles, regions and business practices, a good consultant can transfer insights, strategies and successes from one sphere to another. This ability to see patterns and possibilities across diverse environments is part of what enables those disproportionate wins, in addition to the smaller, incremental ones.
This example illustrates how we applied breadth of business perspective in our consultancy work. One of our clients had a passion and talent for breeding and selling elite sport horses – the superstars of the future who would dance to music at the Olympics, smash world records and command 7-figure sales prices.
But her business was struggling. Her traditional model of selling foals at around six months old for a few thousand was now barely covering her mounting costs. The market for this type of horse, once lucrative, had become utterly saturated. All the advice she’d received to that point had focused on minor tweaks: trying to get slightly lower upkeep here, selling a bit earlier there. It simply wasn’t enough to secure her future.
Good business consulting, as we define it, demanded a radical shift — a fundamental re-evaluation of her entire approach. Instead of just refining her current methods, we challenged the most basic assumption: did she have to sell foals? Did she have to sell within Europe? Could we shift her entire business model?
Our research uncovered a massive, unmet demand in Asia for older, more highly trained horses – those beyond the level of youngsters but not yet into the price bracket of fully trained, developed and successfully competing athletes. The Asian market was crying out for rideable sports horses with the bloodlines and foundation training to have the potential to excel, but still within the price range that was possible for aspiring professional riders.
This crucial insight, gained from investigating the broader market and reconsidering the business model, completely transformed our client’s business focus. We advised her to invest in producing and training the horses she bred for a few more years – a significant upfront commitment, but one that promised returns many multiples higher than what she was currently achieving. We assisted her to put together a strategy to deal with the capital and cash flow needs to implement the plan over the initial few years, as well as with the necessary adjustments to the operations of the business.
This daring move into a completely new market didn’t just stabilise her business; it created massive returns and built an unparalleled reputation for her. It opened up the opportunity to consistently sell high-value, in-demand horses with ease. This new model also provided access to several other income streams.
For example, the very same buyers, incredibly impressed by the quality of her trained horses, became keen to buy foals from her for other purposes. The trust created by her track record of consistently producing excellent, well-trained older horses meant that her clients were willing to pay premium prices for her foals as well, far more than her original competitors could command. This was a clear demonstration of how looking beyond the obvious can lead to transformative results.
For more examples of how business consultancy can help a business perform better and to take your insights beyond just the definition of what is a business consultant, read our article ‘7 Tactics for Increasing Business Success’ |
So, what is a business consultant – or rather, what is really good business consulting: it’s about identifying and capitalising on opportunities radically different from the industry norms, leveraging broader insights and delivering disproportionate gains that can truly transform a business. It’s about moving beyond simply tweaking existing processes and instead, reimagining the very essence of how a business operates to achieve unprecedented success and break new ground.
To go beyond the definition of what is a business consultant and determine whether business consultancy aligns with your strategic needs, see our article ‘Is Business Consultancy Worth It?’. For a discussion about what the alternative of business coaching offers, take a look at our article ‘What Does a Business Coach Do’ For a comparison between what business consultancy and business coaching provide beyond the definition of what is a business consultant, read our article ‘Business Coaching vs Business Consultancy’. For some suggestions about growing or expanding a business now that you have understood what is a business consultant, take a look at our article ’20 Tips for Growing a Business’. For information about how to choose the best business consultancy fit for your business having understood what is a business consultant, take a look at our article ‘Best Business Consultancy Services’. |
Mary Taylor & Associates – Doing Things Differently
Beyond the superficial definitions, understanding what is a business consultant and what a business consultant does, reveals the differences between standard business consultancy and a strategic partner capable of being the catalyst for profound change in a business.
At Mary Taylor & Associates, we deliver boutique business consultancy services focused on radical business transformations. Our firm aims to encourage significant growth, unlock hidden potential and resolve complex challenges for ambitious businesses.
Our approach extends beyond conventional business advisory and the basic definitions of ‘what is a business consultant’. We incorporate, amongst other strategies, cross-industry pollination of solutions – the application of successful strategies and ideas from diverse sectors, combined with imaginative problem-solving and lateral thinking. This goes beyond small, incremental gains; it’s designed to fundamentally shift your business performance and deliver those truly substantial wins.
Mary Taylor brings a unique blend of expertise as a global business consultant, qualified corporate lawyer, and psychologist specialising in organisational psychology. This multi-disciplinary background provides clients with incisive insights and strategies that deliver.
We also believe in clear results and complete client satisfaction: our services are built around defined outcomes with guaranteed deliverables.
We typically work with businesses with annual revenues ranging from £500,000/ $700,000 to around £10/$13 million to ensure that our fees are excellent value when compared to the gains we can make for the business as well as maintaining the personalised, high-standard service we insist on providing to all clients.
We are here to help you scale, diversify, navigate disruption and gain crystal-clear strategic direction, especially if you’re looking to gear up for rapid tech and market changes. Our focus is on radical business transformations, not on easy minor adjustments. We help ambitious businesses achieve significant growth, unlock their true potential and tackle those tough, complex challenges head-on.
Now you know the answer to ‘what is a business consultant’, if you’re an ambitious business ready for significant growth and a radical shift, talk to us about the transformation you would like to achieve.
