You have a business idea, you need funding for it, and you know that the best way to secure funding is to ask a professional business plan writer to help you. But how do you decide which business plan writers you should hire?
If you’ve just started looking around, this area may seem like a bit of a minefield. You may not know what to look for or what to expect from the business plan writers you choose. Maybe you’ve found several advertised but don’t know which would be the best fit for your business. To help you decide, here are six questions you should be asking to find out whether the business plan writers you come across are right for you:
1. Are they qualified?
If you hire an unqualified business plan writer, you might as well be writing your plan yourself. So take a look at the background of the company or person you are thinking of hiring. What qualifications do they have, and where did they obtain them?
At cbm, all of our business plan writers are MBA graduates from Henley Business School, which is one of the top management schools in the world. Cbm is also a recognised practice of the Institute of Consulting.
Good qualifications show that your business plan writers can offer a high quality of workmanship and professionalism.
2. Do they have practical business experience?
It’s important for the business plan writers you hire to not only have qualifications, but to have experience of putting their business knowledge into practice. You need a business plan writer who understands the business environment you operate in and the unique challenges this presents.
Our business plan writers have experience in a range of different industries – from hospitality, to energy, to technology. The senior consultant at cbm has over 30 years’ experience of writing business plans. He has also bought ailing companies with funds from Venture Capitalists in a previous role, and he never failed to get the funding required, having written his turnaround business plan.
3. Do they have a good reputation?
Reviews and word of mouth go a long way to vouching for a company’s credibility, and business plan writers are no exception. The company in question will always paint themselves in the best possible light, but don’t just take their word for it – research them and find reviews or testimonials that offer honest and impartial accounts of clients’ experiences with the company.
At cbm, our testimonials speak for themselves – you can find several reviews written by happy customers on our testimonials page.
4. Do they provide a confidential service?
When it comes to keeping your information secure, it’s best not to make any assumptions. Choose business plan writers who ensure you that all information about your business will be kept completely private. Confidentiality is the hallmark of a professional business consultant.
At cbm, this is a top priority, and rightly so. You can rest assured that once you’ve decided to go ahead with one of our services, we will provide a Terms of Engagement document which gives you full confidentiality.
5. Are they clear about what you should expect from the business plan writing process?
What are the payment terms, what is the process of having a business plan written for you, and what are the timeframes? These are important things you need to know upfront so that you know what is reasonable to expect from your business plan writers.
With cbm, you can find answers to all of these questions on our FAQ page, and if you’d like to know anything else, our friendly team is only a phone call away.
6. Do they offer a guarantee?
If your business plan writers offer you a guarantee, you can be sure that you will receive impeccable service and a show stopping business plan.
At cbm, we guarantee that with our full business plan consultancy services, funding will not be refused as a consequence of errors or omissions in the plans we produce. Our diligence and careful attention to detail means that we have helped many businesses to successfully secure funding, and we’d like to do the same for you, too.
If you would like your plan to be written by business plan writers who are qualified, experienced, reputable and trustworthy, get in touch with cbm! Contact us online or call 01604 420 420.