Hiring A Workers Comp Consultant – Reminders
Hiring A workers comp consultant or actually any consultant generates quite a few questions.
The full list is here. I decided to split up the list into two posts.
- Does the consultant also sell the product?
- What licenses does the consultant possess?
- >What designations does the consultant have in their background?
- How well does the consultant company pay their bills and handle their credit?
- Does the consultant have good and varied references?
When we first started this corporation in 1996, we decided to name it as J&L Insurance Consultants. I did not realize that so many salespeople called themselves consultants. There is an inherent conflict of interest if the person or company that consults on an area in your business also sells the end product. Ask any consultant what products they sell. If it is more than the consulting services, that may be of some concern.
Licenses and designations are signposts that assure you that the consultant:
- Operates with a code of ethics – Every license issued and designation afforded to a consultant requires a set of rules that the consultant must adhere to or they will lose that license of designation.
- Ensures trust – the designations or licenses give the buyer a place to complain about the consultant’s services.
- Dedication – shows that the consultant has passed numerous exams.
A very economical way to check to see if a consultant has a good credit rating is by checking to see if they:
- Have a Dun and Bradstreet number. (Check dnb.com) Almost all companies are required to have one if they bid on a government contract or apply for business credit.
- Have a good D&B credit rating
If the consultant gives you a list of references, check to make sure that they companies are ones that do not center around one area. The references should indicate a variety of companies and governmental entities.
Hiring a Workers Comp Consultant or any consultant usually causes a great deal of concern. This is the second of two posts. The first one is located here.
I will cover reminders 6 – 10 in this post. The second set of reminders is:
6. What is included in the consultant’s CV or bio? I am sometimes amazed that potential clients do not read the bios of CV’s of the persons or companies they are considering for a project. A CV or bio should really read like a resume’. CV’s were actually used by only professors and authors many years ago. Are there any gaps in time? The CV or bio should contain everything you would need to know to hire a consultant. If anything looks amiss, ask questions as most consultants love to talk about their companies.
7. Does the consultant have a website and how long has the website been in existence? For $5 and 3 – 4 hours work, anyone can build a consultant website. There are many scam consultant websites. There are many websites that will give out info on any website.
8. What do other websites say about the consultant? As you may already know, Google ranks websites on the quality of links from other websites. A Google, Yahoo, and Bing search by inputting the consultant or consultant company’s name should bring up some instances of what other websites have to say about your potential consultant.
9. Does the consultant actually specialize in this area? In the case of Workers Comp, you and your company do not need the services of a generalist. A specialist will save you time and money in the long run. When dealing with a Workers Compensation budget, a specialist will usually be worth the price over the generalist. Are agents generalists or specialists? That depends on the agent.
10. Did you call the consultant? Workers Compensation consultant services can be sold by marketers through phone calls, emails, snail mail, etc. My rule of thumb is that I always want to call the consultant company I am interested in as by that time I am ready to make an informed decision. The internet can produce a ton of research very quickly.
©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice
