An article recently contributed to Parking Today by Andrew Hill caught our eye. The article was called ‘Consultants are… “Useless,” “A Waste of Money”’, and in it, Andrew asks about one of the greatest challenges that consultants face: responding to accusations of over-charging for services or under-delivering on common sense solutions.
He goes on to say that “sometimes the most consistent part of this job seems to be the perpetual task of justifying your existence. If you are not doing it during the proposal process (“Why should we hire you?”), you will be doing it during the project (“Why should we listen to you?”), or the final presentation (“What did we get for all those fees?”) It seems that for every client or stakeholder left marvelling at the depth, breadth and insight of your analysis, there is at least one muttering “I already knew this.””
Andrew discusses why, with the economy struggling and a tightening marketplace, now more than ever it may make sense to bring in a professional. Key advantages he mentions include time and attention, experience, objectivity, credibility and political cover. You can read more on each of these points on the Parking Today website here.
He concludes by saying that good parking consultants are able to provide a value to a project that can be the difference between the development moving forward or going on hold. Hiring a consultant can ensure a successful project in an economy where failure is no longer an option.
Thanks to Andrew Hill, Senior Consultant at Desman Associate’s Boston office for granting permission to reproduce this article.