It’s a Friday morning and I’m reflecting on the week that’s passed. It’s been a busy week full of meetings, some with established clients, others with new contacts who are keen to talk through a new business idea, a concept—a dream they want to bring to fruition.

It’s also been one of those weeks where I’ve noticed a large amount of BS filtering out from our consulting industry.

My newsfeed is filled with cliche images and cheesy hashtags, (#coffee, #lovemyoffice) – and I’m left asking WHY? When did this industry lose its sense of integrity, its moral compass? At what point did it become ok for business consultants to focus on appearances and profits rather than results?

More often than not I find myself meeting with new clients who are struggling with a cognitive dissonance of sorts, torn between the faith they have in their business and the suspicion they have toward anyone who gives them business advice.

And honestly, who can blame them?

These are people who have been hard done by in the past. They’ve been taken for a ride by shonky consultants who care only for their own business, their own portfolio and their own profits.

Way back when I first started BCG I was looking for a quality business consultant.

I was working hard and fast and my own practice was at capacity; my books were full but I had a pro bono client who needed consultancy advice. So I phoned around for him, to ensure I could hand him to someone decent. I was genuinely shocked at the responses (or rather questions) I received, all from soulless receptionists:

• What’s the business’ turnover? (In other words, do you have the money to hire us?)
• How many employees do you have? (We won’t bother if its a three man team)
• Where are you located? (No way are we coming to the west…)

My little phone-around turned out to be unintentional market research. Of the dozen companies I called, only two called me back. Both demanded exuberant fees or implied that my client wouldn’t be able to afford their services.

These weren’t large-scale consultancies, these were companies selling themselves as small business consultants!!

The statistics for SMEs stand for themselves. More than 60% of Australian small businesses fail within the first three years of operation. And heck, I’m not surprised, when SMEs have such uninspiring, commitment-phobic consultants ‘helping’ them. Call me naive, call me arrogant if you like, but…

I’m out there to change the statistics on small businesses.

I’m in business myself, so I understand that everyone has to make ends meet, but I am beyond frustrated by the blatant lack of ethics so often displayed in our industry – an industry that is founded on trust. At its core, business consultancy is based on the shared understanding that your success is my success – yet I see so many consultants who care only for their own bottom line. Too many in this industry treat their clients like another number, another potentially failing business that can be sucked dry of funds before they go under.

After 16 years in this industry, it doesn’t take long for me to work out which businesses will succeed and which will fail. It’s why I offer my new clients a free one hour strategy session (it normally takes 3 hours, but that’s ok). Its so that I can get to know them and they can get to know me.

It allows me to cut the BS.

We meet face to face at a time and place that suits the client. We engage with one another. I sit and listen and come to understand their business, their ideas and their wish list.

Call me old fashioned, but how else are you supposed to get to know somebody?! How else are you supposed to create a brand for someone if you don’t understand the heart of what it is that they do, if you don’t understand their passion and vision?

Writing from a place of disappointment with our industry, I am asking for some moral substance from my peers. If you are a marketer, consultant or coach, please do us ALL a favour: Get off your ass and do your job.

Change the statistics. Call people back. Have real conversations. Remember why you got into the this line of work in the first place. Restore people’s faith in our industry, because with the right approach, insight and experience, we hold the key to success.

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