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Due to the strengthening of competition on national and international markets, business has more actively to invest in the increasing of labour productivity, decreasing of expenses, rising of company's efficiency. Business-consultants are supposed to solve these problems.

How to choose the right consulting firm

Consulting services have a long sales cycle. Negotiations about selling of the service may last half a year, even the whole year and during this period a number of meetings between client and consultant take place. According to the poll among top-managers of several Russian companies there are three main stages of selecting consulting company:

1. The client is forming the long list of consulting firms using the following information resources:

• Review of consulting firm's rating
• Open tender
• Recommendations of the partners from the related industries, information from other companies that had already realised similar projects
• Personal experience/partner's recommendations
• Seminars and conferences
• Internet, newspapers, magazines, specialised publications and reference books
• Approach of the consultant himself

2. Than, information is analysed and a short list of 3-6 companies is formed using the following:

• Secondary information through Internet and Mass Media
• Company's web-site
• Reference list: information about clients and realised projects
• Participation in seminars, conducted by this consulting firm, The level of consultant's professionalism can be estimated during such seminars

3. The final stage is selection of consulting company. At this moment the initial stage of consulting project begins:

• Detailed discussion of terms of reference
• Pilot project realisation.