The word “consultants” sometimes conjure up mixed feelings from the ‘end-user’ community.
“Consultants charge a lot”, you say “And sometimes a lot of what they deliver do not match up to the expectations”.
Yes Consultants are supposed to be the experts, the ones who know the ‘industry best-practice’ and implement ‘best-of-breed solutions’ and all the other jargony words.
But.
Just like everything, you have good ones, and you have bad ones.
You have those who absolutely hold up the true definition of Exceptional, and those who should really leave the industry and find another job.
The ‘Exceptional’ ones are those you want to work with.
How do you find them?
I’ve worked with Microsoft and Salesforce Consultants for a long time, and there is only one thing I depend on, when trying to separate the Exceptional from the Please-Find-Another-Vocation pile.
Reference and Recommendation.
Nothing else.
My network is immensely valuable, and my secondary network via LinkedIn magnifies that as well.
How do you separate the Good from the Not-So-Good?