Frequently Asked Questions
At Ratchford & Associates, we've done our best to create a Web site that anticipates and satisfies our prospective clients’ needs. With that goal in mind, we've compiled a list of frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question here, please contact us at 405-470-0000 or Question@JRatchford.com.
- Do you have experience in my industry?
- How could you possibly know more about my business than I do?
- What about the economic downturn?
- Shouldn’t I wait until I have more time/money?
- How do you charge for your services?
- Isn’t professional consulting expensive?
- How do I know I will be satisfied?
Q1: Do you have experience in my industry?
A1: It’s highly likely that we do. But keep in mind that we are not coming to you as industry specialists because our focus is not on your technical issues -- its on your business issues. At their core, the business issues tend to be the same regardless of the industry. Every business, regardless of industry, can benefit from good systems, procedures, controls, planning, operating information, organizational structure, teamwork, effective leadership, market research, sound growth strategy, adequate capital and financing, and other basics of business. If we encounter technical issues or market dynamics that require special expertise, we will discuss those with you and, if appropriate, secure a specialist to work with us.
Q2: How could you possibly know more about my business than we do?
A2: We don’t need to. You and your knowledge are part of our team. We will combine your detailed knowledge of your business with our broad experience with hundreds of similar companies to identify your opportunities for improvement. We can provide objectivity and perspective that makes your knowledge more valuable. Throughout our processes, we will be confirming key facts with you to make sure our understandings are correct. As we engineer solutions for your business, we want you to understand the “whys” and “whats” behind our actions to assure that the solutions are consistent with all known facts and meet your objectives.
Q3: What about the economic downturn?
A3: Economic downturns can provide a tremendous growth opportunity for well-prepared businesses. Sound strange? Consider this: Is an economic downturn any different for your competitors than it is for you? Of course not. If the economic downturn is severe enough, the weakest competitors may not survive -- leaving more for the survivors when the market turns around. The key is for your business to be the strongest and most efficient you can be to ensure your survival -- and then use your position of strength to increase your market share as it is lost by your weaker competitors.
Q4: Shouldn’t I wait until I have more time/money?
A4: We hear it all the time: “This is our busy season and we don’t have the time” or “This is our slow season and we don’t have the money.” Undertaking a consulting project can be a lot like having quadruple bypass heart surgery. There are hundreds of reasons to want to put it off -- “I don’t have the time...I have things on my calendar...It will be expensive...It will be disruptive to my life...I’m scared...and so on and so on.” Is there ever a convenient time to have major surgery? The realty is this: When something needs to be done, when is the best time to do it? Right now! Procrastination kills more businesses than anything else. Every day that goes by with a problem unresolved is a day of progress toward a healthier business that you will never get back.
Q5: How do you charge for your services?
A5: Like other professional firms such as attorneys, CPAs, architects and engineers, we charge professional rates for our work. Our fees are generally based on an hourly rate for each professional, plus expenses for travel, hotels, supplies and other out-of-pocket expenses. In some cases, we may work on a fixed fee project basis. As we identify with you the scope of our services for your business, we will develop the fee basis that we believe will be most beneficial to you.
Q6: Isn’t professional consulting expensive?
A6: It’s much less expensive than not fixing the problems! The single greatest cost your business has is opportunity cost -- the cost of lost opportunities that occur every day from your inefficiencies, lost productivity, lack of capital, under performance, missed sales opportunities, lost customers, employee turnover and more. Chances are, these opportunity costs are costing you thousands of dollars every day -- and every day that goes by without fixing them is money you’ll never get back. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get your business on the right track now -- to not only reduce these daily losses you are already incurring, but to also give you and your entire team the sense of satisfaction of seeing your goals being achieved and your team winning?
Q7: How do I know I will be satisfied?
A7: As professionals, we take our client satisfaction very seriously. Our business is built through satisfied clients. Since continuation of our work for you is generally at your discretion, we want to do everything we can to assure your satisfaction throughout our processes. Now, having said that, the reality is that much of the ultimate success of our work will depend in large part on you -- your basic business health, your adoption of needed changes, and your ability to accomplish certain tasks. There may also be some events that are outside the control of either of us. Our work is much like that of the team of medical surgeons -- the shared goal is to save the patient’s life or improve the patient’s health, and the surgical team will use their best skills to accomplish it -- but many factors come into play and no one can guarantee the ultimate outcome. At Ratchford & Associates, we will try to be as realistic with you as we can be throughout the process so that we can all make good decisions aimed at you achieving your success.
More questions? Please contact us by phone or e-mail.
|
