Consulting companies are professional service firms that provide expertise and specialized labor for a fee, through the use of consultants. They offer professional advice, guidance, and actionable solutions to businesses experiencing issues they can’t deal with in-house. Consulting firms tend to have specific focuses, and companies pay them to lend their expertise on problems that can’t be handled internally. Consultants offer expert advice from experience to help companies grow, improve processes and standards, and increase profits. Consulting services can range from expanding or improving a specific element of a client’s business to helping them grow their business in emerging markets. Consulting firms often charge high rates for their services and can be extremely profitable businesses. Consulting firms have a presence in virtually every industry, including finance, healthcare, advertising, engineering, architecture, technology, and even the public sector. Consulting services are part of the professional services and account for several hundred billion dollars in annual revenues. The reasons why companies hire consulting firms include:

• Expertise: Consulting firms have built up critical expertise in key areas, and companies engage with them when they face mission-critical challenges or problems that require that expertise.

• Efficiency: The firms might be capable of doing it themselves, but given the high stakes, they want to execute confidently and thus leveraging expertise from a consulting firm makes sense.

• Objectivity: Consulting firms will be brought on to provide an objective, third-party opinion on a major decision a company is making.

Effective consulting means convincing a client to take some action, establishing enough agreement within the organization that the action makes sense, and getting enough support so that the movement will be successful. Consulting firms may also complement the recommendations with implementation support, either by the consultants or by technicians and other experts.