Consulting can certainly be a rewarding endeavor.  In my career I have come acrossed consultants from all different backgrounds, specialties, and areas of expertise.

However, on occaision you will find either the new consultant, the ineffective reseller, dot.bomb washout, or crook who somehow has convinced their customer that they can consult in a field or technology that is far out of their specialty.

How to Spot a Fake / Flake in IT Consulting:

These types of consultants are pretty easy for other consultants to spot but not always easy by the customer. 

Typically, these types of consultants do the following:

1.  They make exaggerated claims or have very high prices as their business model is set to make money and run.

2.  They will not give you a specific answer on anything, but will likely stretch jobs out and show no progess.

3.  They will try to recommend solutions that are not truly solutions to the issues you have, as it shows their area of skill lacks project match.

4.  They can try to change your mind in a 180 degree manner to do something that either takes longer or is simply not related.

5.  They will make a lot of claims but have no follow through to confirm them.

If you are doing this now, STOP!  Consider the following:

1.  Do you want to risk a lawsuit?

2.  Do you want to continue to embarass yourself and the customer?

3.  Do you think that you are truly doing the customer any good by wasting their time and money?

If you are considering telling a half-truth, consider the following:

1.  Do you want to risk your reputation and knowledge as an IT Consultant?

2.  Do you wish to lose this customer and others this customer could have referred along with customers who they know and you work with?

Let me propose the following to the Consultant in this fiasco:

1.  Find a way to communicate to the customer that you made a mistake, you want to come completely clean of this and do the right thing which is get them the help they needed to begin with. 

2.  If you have not put yourself into a bad siutation, consider being upfront and honest with the customer by stating something to this effect:

I don’t feel comfortable consulting in this area, but let me check with my friends and see if we can help you with your IT needs.

or

I do not know this technology sufficiently to help here, but I would love to help you find someone that can as I know it can be difficult sometimes to find experts in this area.

This will not only build trust with your customers, you will likely not lose their respect and you have the possibility of coming back to help in an area they need help in, making a referral fee on the consulting firm you referred, or even getting additional business because of your honesty and your willingness to help the best you could without impeding progress.

If you are without friends in the IT Industry who can help you succeed.  Send me an email I’d be happy to help, as we have 16+ years of experience in the IT Industry and certainly can help.

Good luck with your future endeavors