6 KPIs Your Hire Needs to Hit to Pass the Probation Period

Regardless of whether you enforce a probationary period or not, you need to ensure that your new hire has completed the onboarding process successfully and fits the organizational culture. Even the best recruiters out there can't gauge employment efficiency during the interview cycle. And several studies, including a recent survey by Checkster Research, show that 78% of applicants misrepresent themselves. While we continuously refine and improve our recruitment process, certain metrics can't be deducted over the course of an interview or two. Speed of execution, working in a team environment, and attention to detail are some of the common denominators… Continue Reading

How Digital Consultants Bring Value to SMEs

Growing a Top 20 WordPress agency worldwide is what led me to pick up marketing and management skills which I’ve been polishing as a digital consultant over the past decade bringing value to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). When I mention that “I’m the CEO of DevriX and I’m a Digital Consultant”, I often get asked, “What does a Digital Consultant do” “How do digital consultants bring value to SMEs? Well, for starters: Digital consultants bring a diverse and broad industry expertise Combined with a cost-effective mentorship (the “one-man army” approach) They provide and set the high-end strategy They pave… Continue Reading

10 Global Industries That Need Business Process Management the Most

To become and remain successful and rise above the competition, businesses must continuously improve and monitor their processes. Failure to do so may result in big financial losses, lower investment capital, reduced motivation in employees, and fewer satisfied customers.  This is why more and more companies worldwide are adopting business process management (BPM) applications in different flavors. BPM tools are designed to manage workflows in a consistent, repetitive model, providing an instrument for collaboration among all team members. According to the report led by Market Research Future, the BPM market is expected to grow to approximately USD $28.3 billion by… Continue Reading

15 Types of Small Business Advisors

Management consulting is a $329-billion industry and it continues to grow with small and medium-sized businesses increasingly seeking diverse expertise to navigate the challenges of scaling in the ever-evolving business landscape. But while the Fortune 500s can afford to splurge tens of millions of dollars for contracts assigned to Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture and the other market leaders, SMEs still need strategic guidance and support in the face of a business advisor. If you want to address the most pressing business challenges in 2024, here's a list of the most relevant types of business advisors to consult in times of need.… Continue Reading

How Much Does a Business Consultant Cost: Consulting Fees and Pricing Structure

Consulting fees and pricing can be structured in several ways. But like most businesses offering services, the number one challenge is pricing their offers. Having closed my first consulting contract back in 2008 before launching several 7-figure businesses (along my business advisory), I've consulted over 400 clients and worked with 50+ consultants across the portfolio of companies I manage with my agency and within my investment companies. Pricing products is easier than pricing services because, with products, you can easily trace the production costs. However, with services, determining the value of what constitutes your services — time, staff, expertise  —… Continue Reading

11 Questions to Ask a Business Consultant

There are several reasons why large corporations, small businesses, or even a solopreneur would hire a business consultant.  Hiring a business consultant can be very expensive, but highly rewarding. Consultants provide invaluable services that include the following:  Providing expert advisory, mentoring and assistance in a specific market Assessing risks and identifying problems Providing leadership or support to existing staff Planning on new initiatives Providing objectivity in decision-making Training employees Refining the organizational model Developing a feasible business plan Networking with potential clients and influencers It’s easy to find a business consultant. There are more than 600,000 management consultants in the… Continue Reading

The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Consultant for Business Growth

Consultants “can” be instrumental to a business. But since consultancy is broadly irregulated, everyone can update their LinkedIn headline and start a consulting career out of nowhere. There are lots of people who try to offer consulting without really knowing what they consult on. Navigating through the consulting landscape is extremely challenging without a reliable reference or enough budget for a top industry peer and hiring a random person on the Internet to help your business is just as reliable as hiring a freelancer or finding a plumber through Yellow Pages. The Importance of Business Consulting Business consulting is so… Continue Reading

8 Reasons Why Setting Up a Meeting Is a Must

Most business meetings "should" have been an email.  If the company is large and has more stakeholders, the slower and heavier the processes become. This eventually leads to more meetings with less work being done.  A 2012 study shows that companies that held unproductive meetings lost an average of $250,000 annually. The study's findings suggest that companies can improve their bottom line by improving the quality of their meetings. This includes clearly defining the purpose of the meeting, setting an agenda, and ensuring that everyone has a chance to participate. Companies should also be aware of the signs of dysfunctional meeting… Continue Reading

8 Specific Tips to Work Around Business Meetings

Time is money. Time lost means money lost. Time wasted means money wasted.  One of the leading causes behind businesses losing and wasting a lot of time and money is the amount of time they spend in business meetings. Middle managers typically spend 35% of their time in meetings while those who belong to the upper management spend 50% of their time. Employees, in general, spend up to 6 hours every week just to prepare for status update meetings. According to Bain and Company, 15% of the collective time of an organization is spent in business meetings and this has… Continue Reading

Why Clients Shouldn’t Ask for Discounts and How Companies Should Handle Negotiations

Haggling for a lower price is so common that it could even get very challenging to tell the truth from the usual bargain. However, it should rarely be the problem of the salesman, business owner, or entrepreneur. Most of the time, it is the prospect’s problem. In this article, we are going to discuss the reasons why you should not ask for discounts as a customer and how you should handle price negotiations as a company. The graph above by HubSpot shows that there is a dramatic disconnect between the needs of the customers and what most sales reps tend… Continue Reading