Understanding consulting

You probably have friends or relatives who work or introduce themselves as "consultants." They could be anywhere from insurance, real estate and even direct-to-consumer cosmetic and wellness products. And since there is no law that disallows or prevents anyone to use the word "consultant" for a title, the term can be a little bit confusing to or if not misleading for a lot of people because it intimates a jillion interpretations. In fact, some of us may dread a conversation with a "consultant" because he or she might lead us to buying a product or service.

In other words, the word consultant nowadays could also connote a glib salesman who is hard to turn down. Thus, it is (consultant) probably the most misused or abused title by people who are not, in the real sense of the word, into the practice of consulting. And I would like to call them “self-styled” consultants.

I don't know when and how its usage had sprung but its purpose is telling enough to say that it is meant to substitute and glamorize the designations of people in the selling practice. While there are still who use consultant in lieu of salesman or detailman, there are those who have started to depart from this wily practice. For example, I have seen many insurance companies that have shifted from using consultant to "counselor" or "planner" as this title is far more representative and definitive of an insurance agent's task. 

There is a stark difference between a self-styled consultant and a consultant in the real sense. While both provide advisory services, the latter does not endorse nor sell a product or service for another to obtain a commission or for remuneration. He is only paid for his expertise to provide a solution to a current problem or to prevent the same from happening in the future. Another difference is that the former offers to the client a “prefab solution” from the company he represents and nothing else. The latter can recommend as many brands as he can to his client to solve a problem.       

But what is really a consultant? A consultant, from an industry sense, is someone who is commissioned to provide independent and expert advice to: individuals, business persons or companies, private institutions, and the public sector. A consultant may be a practicing or a retired professional whose expertise is sought not only for his knowledge but for the depth of his skill and experience over a specific field or industry like construction, medicine, law, taxation, accounting, management, education and so forth. There are consultants who practice outside the technical fields they are, what I call, “creative and tactical consultants.” Examples of which are political and image consultants, design and visual consultants, marketing and business consultants, press and publicity consultants and such other similar interests. In other words, there exists two categories of consulting - the technical and the tactical fields. So to speak, we have a technician and a tactician in the area of consulting.         

Apart from advisory, there are situations where a technical or a tactical consultant may be called in to assume an ad hoc role in a company on a contemplated or an ongoing project like a construction project for instance. The role can range from specific to multifarious and can likewise evolve from mere oversight to hands on involvement. 

Now what’s the difference between a tactical and technical consultant. There is a thin line between the two in terms of roles. There are instances that a technical consultant can become a tactical consultant but scantily for a tactical consultant to becoming a technical consultant. What separates a technician from a tactician is that a technician relies mostly on objectivity and science to find ways to achieve efficiency and economy when solving a problem. His expertise is mostly useful from the point of internal and operative processes of a company. A tactician consultant on the other hand solves mostly problems external to the company – these problems usually are associated with a company’s position against competitors, reception of products in the market or can go as far as issues related to the public image of a company. Tacticians drive companies to innovate or change business paradigms for them to stand out; to mitigate or if not reverse mis-impressions and bad publicity.       

Thus, when seeking a consultant, one must be able to determine the nature of the problem and determine whether or not the problem is technical or tactical. If it’s technical and internal, you need a consultant who may be an engineer, a doctor, a human resource expert etc. If the problem is external or market related, you need a tactician – he could be a person with extensive marketing experience or a former executive who has had held positions related to business development.  

Send emails to [email protected]