We are often asked questions by clients so we have answered the most common ones in this section.
If you can't find your question here (or more importantly the answer to your question), please feel free to
contact us and we'll respond as soon as possible.
How much would it cost to use your services?
What do you do that my accountant or lawyer cannot do?
How do you learn about my business to enable you to give me advice?
Do you have standard programmes that I have to accept?
What guarantees do you provide?
How do I select a business adviser?
How do I know when I need a business adviser?
What are the benefits for me if I use a business adviser?
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How much would it cost to use your services?
The costs associated with our services are generally based on a fixed fee retainer and will vary according to the client requirements and the nature of the project. We have deliberately developed a business model with low overheads to ensure that our services are affordable to the owners of small to medium enterprises. Because we are not a franchise we do not have these costs and overheads that are passed on to our clients. Our hourly rates are very competitive compared with other professional advisers.
Many of our clients have engaged us to work with them for periods up to and extending beyond 12 months. In these situations a fixed fee per month is negotiated with the client that provides them with guaranteed hours and services from the consultant on a month by month basis. In these cases fees may range from $500 a month and upwards.
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What do you do that my accountant or lawyer cannot do?
Your accountant and lawyer are technical experts that provide you with skills and knowledge in important areas relating to your business. Their focus is traditionally in the areas of legal and financial compliance together with providing advice to manage, resolve or avoid legal and accounting issues.
A business consultant can provide you with access to a range of skills and expertise that is not available from your lawyer and accountant. We are specialists in business development and will assist you in areas such as strategic and business planning, marketing, e-commerce strategies, web site development, market research, organisational development, human resource management, business operations and processes, processes, change management, recruitment, training and development, productivity improvement, IT strategies and the application of technology to your business.
Many of our clients are referred to us by their accountant or lawyer as they recognise the need for our services to assist their clients develop their business to the next level.
To build a strong advisory team for your business you need access to the skills of a business consultant, a lawyer and an accountant.
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How do you learn about my business to enable you to give me advice?
The first step in any relationship with a potential client is to undertake a detailed auditing and diagnostic process where we develop a full understanding of your business across all key areas of its operation. Once we have completed this analysis and developed an understanding of the key issues that face your business we are then a position where we can provide advice and recommendations on the changes that will achieve the goals and outcomes you have identified for your business.
It is through this process that we are able to demonstrate the value that we can add to your business and you can assess our ability to meet your requirements.
Because we have a number of experts and specialist within our consulting team it may also be appropriate for more than one consultant to be involved in the auditing process and diagnosing of issues and recommended solutions for your business.
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Do you have standard programmes that I have to accept?
The support programs we developed for our clients are unique and are tailored to meet the requirements of their business. Unlike many of the franchise coaching models we do not apply a “one fits all approach” to our clients.
The relationship with each client commences with the consultant undertaking an auditing and diagnostic process that identifies the business improvement and development opportunities that exist to assist the business owner achieve the outcomes and results they require for their business. It is from this point that the services and support required by the business owner from the consultant are discussed and agreed. This provides considerable flexibility for the consultant to deliver value-added services and work within the budgets agreed with the client.
Our objective is always to act as a profit centre in your business rather than a cost centre and therefore by engaging our services the costs are generally sell funding through the improvements that will occur to your bottom line financial performance.
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What guarantees do you provide?
Our services are backed by the primary guarantee that if we are not delivering value to your business then we would not expect you to pay for our services.
The Business Development Network has established professional standards that govern the activities of our consultants and provide our clients with the confidence that they are dealing with skilled professionals. We have established processes that enable a client to address any issues they have with services that are provided to them by one of our consultants. These processes are documented in our terms of engagement with the client and provide a strong guarantee that any problems will be addressed to the satisfaction of the client.
As one of New Zealand's leading groups of business consultants we are committed to providing our clients with the high-quality of professional services. Through our network of Consultants we can ensure that you have access to the best business consulting advice available to meet the needs of your business.
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How do I select a business adviser?
The selection of a business adviser should involve the same process that is used to select any professional person that will provide services to your business. Firstly you must be comfortable that the person is somebody you can work with and you have confidence in their ability to provide you with the skills knowledge and expertise that your business requires. To obtain the full value of your business adviser / business consultant you will need to share with them significant information about your business. Therefore you must have full confidence in their ability to manage confidential information.
Ideally the business adviser will be somebody who is introduced to you by referral from someone that you can trust. In all cases there are a number of checks that you should make to satisfy yourself that the business adviser / business consultant is someone that you can and should work with. The recommended checks include- are they professionally qualified?, what experienced do they have as a consultant?, what knowledge do they have of my industry and other industries?, can they provide me with client references for me to check?, are they governed by professional standards and part of a national organisation?, do they have access to support networks within their organisation and experts in particular areas?, are they known to my accountant and lawyer?.
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How do I know when I need a business adviser?
Business owners need access to quality advice and support at all stages of their business life cycle. It is critically important that at a start-up phase a business owner invests time in obtaining advice to ensure that they put in place the right foundations for the development and growth of the business. As a business moves through its different development stages ongoing support and assistance is needed to ensure that the business owner doesn't make the mistakes of others.
Generally the first step in identifying the need for a business adviser/ business consultant starts with asking yourself the question - what we are my strengths and what are my skills? Secondly what skills and knowledge do I need to ensure the success of my business?. If there is a gap between what the business needs and what you are able to provide then you would benefit from the services of a business consultant.
In many cases business owners are faced with the challenge of determining - what I know, what I don't know and what I need to know - to guarantee the success of a business.
Alternatively there may be specific issues or challenges that face your business which you are uncertain or unsure as to how to address. If this is the case then meeting with a business consultant would be beneficial to obtain initial advice about how to address these issues and the types of services that can be provided by a business consultant to assist you.
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What are the benefits for me if I use a business adviser?
Very few business owners have all the skills that are needed to run a successful and profitable business. It is therefore important that a business owner surrounds themselves with an advisory team that can provide them with access to the right skills and knowledge at the right time. The benefit of this is that you as a business owner avoid making mistakes that others have made, you get access to the best business development ideas, practices and you have the ability through your advisers to fast track the development of your business.
In a competitive business environment it is important that you have the best team supporting your business . Within the New Zealand economy only a small percentage of SME business owners are using the services of a business consultant. International research has confirmed that businesses that are recognised as leaders in their industry generally have utilised business consultants during their development and growth stages. Therefore as a business owner one way to guarantee your success is to include a skilled business consultant as part of the advisory team supporting your business.
