It’s not uncommon for business leaders to explore consulting experts for guidance, whether at the helm of a startup or a multinational conglomerate. You may need to gain the necessary experience in-house to restructure your organization, enter a new market, or buy a competitor. Hiring a consulting business and having them send over a consulting team to help you for the duration of the project is a tried and true method of dealing with problems of this nature.
Consultation marketplace like COMATCH have made it much easier to gain access to outside expertise, and they are a viable alternative that is typically less expensive. This essay will discuss the potential advantages of consulting markets for corporate clients like yourself.
Choosing Between a Consulting Firm and a Freelance Expert
Hiring a consulting team from a renowned consulting company like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain means accessing a global network of experts and high-quality service. This time-honored choice has its advantages, but it also has some drawbacks:
Paid in full:
Hiring a top consulting firm can cost a lot of money. You should expect to spend more than average because of the prestige of the consulting firm’s name and the high salaries paid to the partners who work on the projects.
Limited influence on team composition:
The consultants you would most like to work with may already be committed to other projects by the time yours gets underway, making it impossible to pick and choose.
Methods of rigid support:
Top consulting organizations may have tried and tested project management methods but may need more flexibility to provide the best solution for your unique situation.
Experts in this field are in short supply:
A boutique consulting firm may have fewer experts if you go with them.
Freelancing has always been a desirable alternative to employing traditional consultants. Hiring one or two independent consultants can be sufficient when you need more than the experience of a senior partner and the resources of an entire team of consultants.
A consulting firm’s rates can be significantly reduced if you hire an individual rather than the firm. When working with an independent consultant, you have more leeway in determining their work’s scope and establishing payment conditions that suit both parties. For instance, you might want a paradigm in which support is provided less frequently than the conventionally offered full-time.
Corporate clients seeking freelance consultants have always faced high search and transaction fees. It has been difficult for independent consultants to let large corporate clients know about their existence due to the lack of information about accessible freelancing professionals in the market.
Added value for our corporate customers
Online consulting marketplaces like COMATCH act as go-betweens for businesses and independent consultants. Experts in many fields can advertise their services and connect with clients through an online marketplace.
If a business needs assistance with a project, they can let the consulting community know what kind of expert(s) they’re looking for. The consulting platform then searches through its registered independent consultants and makes recommendations based on their experience and skill set. COMATCH’s patented matching system improves efficiency, but an account manager still makes the call. At last, the business buyer chooses which expert profile(s) are the best fit.
Significant cost savings:
You, as a corporate client, and freelance consultants, as a service provider, benefit from consulting marketplaces since they cut down on search and transaction expenses.
The brokerage fee imposed by the marketplaces is minimal compared to the high costs of leading consulting firms. Support from seasoned experts, many of whom received their education from the same top consulting organizations, can be a more cost-effective alternative to bringing in a full team of consultants from those firms. It’s a win-win-win situation for businesses seeking advisors, independent professionals offering their services, and online marketplaces where they can connect.
Simplified search process:
The marketplace streamlines the search process by identifying qualified experts from its network and inviting them to apply for the project. Corporate clients only need to explain their needs and needed expert profile(s) once. In addition, independent consultants can avoid the stresses of marketing themselves and actively seeking out new customers.
Conformity to norms:
The terms and conditions each party agrees to in the consulting marketplaces are up for negotiation. Temporary employment agreements are also standardized.
They also keep all the other benefits of using a freelance consultant we covered before. Independent consultant(s) can be a considerably more cost-effective and convenient alternative to large consulting companies offering more comprehensive and high-end services but are influential in many consulting industries. Consider this other possibility before making your next consultant hire!
