So, we've all heard the joke about consultants who take your watch to tell you the time, and make a fat fee in the bargain! But to dismiss all consultants as glib talkers who tell you what you want to hear, or already know, is to do them injustice. Hiring a consultant has its plus points; indeed it may be necessary to do so under certain circumstances. While do-it-yourself sites can help you get by on your own for a while, be open to the idea of an external consultant when the time comes.

Like with all business decisions, hiring a consultant must be done at the right time and occasion. Experts don't come cheap, but, they do come with certain skills that can be leveraged to the fullest in your company's best interests. Also, their recommended program may entail far reaching changes, and a disruption in the existing way of doing things. You need to ensure that your company is truly ready to handle it; else it may not reap the rewards of the exercise.

Still not sure what we're talking about? Let's take it step by step. Hiring a consultant makes sense if at least some of the following criteria apply to your business:

Your business lacks the expertise. Say you're planning to diversify a product line, or introduce a new testing process. If your current team is young and inexperienced, recruiting the services of a technical consultant is probably the fastest way to climb up the learning curve. This type of assignment is quite clear-cut; both parties are likely to come to an agreement about key deliverables, and the consultant does some hand-holding in the initial stages of implementation.

You've tried it and failed. Hiring a consultant to bail your enterprise out of an existing mess is a lot trickier than the previous scenario. Egos need to be managed; after all, your staff will not appreciate being told they goofed up. Also, make sure that the outside consultant is going to do things differently, or better still, offers some kind of guaranteed result. Once you green-light the move, you have to ensure that the troops fall in line, and co-operate to the fullest. In other words, your personal involvement becomes very crucial to ensure success.

You want an independent opinion. Hmmm… This is probably why consultants are looked at askance! Many CEOs resort to hiring a consultant just to know what's really going on within their four walls. There may be some justification in this – for example, if most of the staff has been around for a long time, employees just get habituated to doing things in a certain way. Or, a team in charge of a new project may develop tunnel vision at some point. But very often, business heads take on a consultant to get the inside dope – this stems from a sense of insecurity, which is particularly rampant when there is a change in leadership or ownership. Naturally, the consultant is viewed with suspicion by the staff, which perceives him or her as the boss' spy! If you're in such a situation, make your moves very carefully.

You've run out of ideas. Consultants love this one. If your business has reached a steady state and you want to take it to another level, but don't know how, hiring a consultant is a good idea. Consultants derive their insight by observing a wide cross section of companies, across industries and geographies. Thus, they are armed with a panoramic perspective, which can be applied to add value to your business. Beware that embarking upon this journey will require a lot of commitment - dealing with change, disrupting the existing order or even cleaving the business – be prepared for it all.

Hiring a consultant could be a smart move or a bummer, depending on how you go about it. In a subsequent article, we will give you a checklist to help you avoid some of the usual mistakes that companies make while recruiting one. We're hoping that these tips will help you get more bang for your consulting buck!