If having an outside consulting company is something that is considered a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for 95% of all Fortune 500 companies, why is there such a strong resistance to coaching in small and midsize businesses? The answers may surprise you. Here are the 3 most common reasons and how to overcome them

The "Pride for Profits" Disease:

Many company owners, managers and supervisors are very well aware of their issues and the dysfunctional lack of systems that exist within their company. They are also aware of the reality that they personally do not have the time, willpower or complete knowledge required to address the issues and resolve them. While this is the most common reason for not attacking company challenges, the Professional Disease goes much deeper.

The reason reputable consulting firms are able to become experts in identifying the issues from an outside perspective is because they by default, do not have the emotional investments of time, people and money that the principal owners have placed into the company up to this point. Alternatively, owners and management often have great difficulty seeing things outside of the emotional lens perspective. This opens the door for this debilitating disease, and a generous dose of maturity on the part of the owners and management teams will be required to defeat it. The reason is simple:

Consultants will be identifying many of the same issues already known at the Executive level. By adopting the solutions presented by the consultants, there is this looming fear that the management teams will lose their own personal credibility because they did not pro-actively implement the solutions FIRST. They fear that their efforts will somehow be viewed in a diminished light because the company has had to bring in an outside company to fix the challenges that they knew were always there. This "pride for profits" disease keeps companies from literally billions of dollars in profitable revenue each year in the U.S. and is a large contributor to the eventual failure of 95% of companies in the first five years.

Uncertainty About How to Engage with a Consulting Firm:

Business owners often have many areas throughout the business that need optimization. Like most aggressive owners, they would like to see all of them resolved simultaneously, and as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, just as it took years for some of those problems to develop, you won't be resolving them in just a few days. So starting slow is another deterrent for many owners being willing to start at all. However, to fix this issue is rather simple: Have your consultants work on just a few manageable items so you can review their methodology before engaging in expensive contracts for longer periods of time. Reputable firms will have no issue with this approach. Within two weeks on average, you will see how the consultant engages with the people and relevant data that is in need of rectification or optimization. Based upon your evaluation at that early stage, you will know if you can bring the consultant in on deeper challenges and other problem areas that need optimization.

Unwilling to Make Changes:

Like most people, we want to see other people change while we work on remaining the same in our habits, style and preferences. Remember, reputable consulting firms utilize their lack of emotional attachment in your current situations as leverage to make very logical, calculated and productive recommendations. Some of those will inevitably require change on your part in certain areas, but remain open to these changes and you'll reap huge rewards.

At ProfitGOLD Consulting, our initial consultations both onsite and online are complimentary, and we stand behind the personal onsite implementation of whatever we recommend. Give our professionals an opportunity to listen to you articulate your vision and what may be standing in the way. Based upon the value you receive from that conversation, make an informed decision about our ability to assist you. With the right consulting in place, you'll break every glass ceiling that is stifling your success. Only improved profits and reputation stand to be gained. The average ROI is 700% for consulting (Fortune Magazine), therefore retaining consultants is by far the best investment you could ever make in yourself and your company.

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