OPERANNG OPPORTUNITIES

WALLY LYNCH Paid Associates PO. Box 741623 Dallas. Tx.75243

cONSULTANTS as a subject attract a lot of interest. Here we anlour questions most often asked of

How do you know when you need a consultant? Most of you are already using consultants in either your business or personal lives. lf you have your personal income tax return prepared by someone, go to a dentist or a doctor, you are involved with a consultant. Basically consultants are problem solvers.

The company accountant, banker and attorney are consultants who solve problems for businesses. What made you think that you needed these advisors? Probably you encountered a discomfort that you saw others eliminate by hiring "part time talent."

There are few, if any, companies that will not benefit from the services of a consultant. The need in this field may be higher than in most. Our industry's pretax profit performance, which hovers annually around 204, is only two-thirds the national average of -loi for all business activities.

How do you find a consultant? Try the yellow pages; try the public library (Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory, published by Gale Research Company, P.O. Box 6789, Silver

Springs, MD 20906, (301) 87t--s250); ask consultants you already know for refe rrals.

Associations, buying groups and suppliers often can help. Trade journal publishers, editors and business editors also can make recommendations.

Consultants often market their services through seminars, workshops, articles, columns, books, manuals, etc. When you like what you have seen, heard or experienced, the chances are excellent that it makes sense to consider hiring that person.

How do you determine if the consultant is right for you or your company? You will find that services in many cases are packaged into easily understandable parts like office visits, on site inspections, audits, seminars, workshops. For a particular problem, ask for a written proposal. This will usually contain a definition of the problem with the features and benefits of the solving process. Normally cost and time parameters are put forth as well.

Asking two or three consultants to write proposals to solve the same problem is not uncommon. Often this tactic provides insights and advantages not apparent before the multiple requests for proposals were made. lt is not out of order for the prospective client to make a counter proposal as well.

How do you know what to pay for such services? Normally the price is in