“So, what do you do for work?”
“I’m a consultant!”
Perhaps no job title is as obtuse as a “consultant.”
For many folks it sounds complicated, amorphous, and non-descript. And there’s a good reason for that: There are all kinds of consultants, all doing wildly different things. While we can’t speak for everyone, today at Burgard we’re going to share what consulting means to us and, more importantly, what it offers our clients.
But first, let’s address the term at its most general: Consultants of all kinds offer their clients guidance, feedback, suggestions, criticisms, advice, counseling, and/or coaching. Consultants help a business SEE the forest for the trees, because oftentimes internal members of a company, team, organization, or even a single person are too close to the situation to stay objective—and outside input can really be illuminating.
OK . . . so what does consulting mean to Burgard?
Great question. Consulting for Burgard is a means to an end. Simply put, we believe that this approach is the most effective way to solve the mother of all business problems: How do we grow the way we want to?
Typically, when trying to solve this problem, a business might call in a marketing firm or a sales coach. They might hire a new business development professional, or a sales manager. And all these steps CAN be successful. Unfortunately, they often fail because of the singular nature of the approach.
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
Sadly, this analogy holds true. To a marketing firm, any growth challenge must be fixed with marketing. To the new sales manager, failure to increase revenue can be solved by holding the sales staff more accountable.
But, it’s rarely that simple. And trying each and every possible solution quickly becomes costly and inefficient.
At Burgard, our unique approach considers sales, business development, and marketing as the chief mechanisms through which a company may grow—and leadership, management, and operations are incorporated as ways to apply strategies.
“If you have an entire toolbox, you won’t waste time hammering a screw—you’ll reach for the screwdriver.”