Consultants? More like CONsultants!

Maybe radio would be in a better place if consultants hadn’t been allowed in to step in and ruin us. If you’ve never felt this way, you know people who have. Honestly, I was one of them. “Was” being the key word. I’ll give away the ending right up front: consultants can be immensely valuable…when used wisely. (Disclaimer: I consult. But I won’t be pitching myself here. Wellllllllllll…..maybe once. Keep reading to see if it’s tacky or not.)

There’s a magical kind of radio station where Program Directors, Music Directors, and the Air Talent are so perfectly synced and so perfectly brilliant that every choice they make turns into gold for the audience. They’re empowered, autonomous yet collaborative, and everywhere they go they are revered. Microphone filters dream of blocking their saliva and music scheduling software craves their innovative clocks. The moment you add a consultant to this ecosystem, it will fall apart.

I’m not sure that kind of radio station ever existed. That’s the kind of imaginary station some in radio think consultants have killed off.

Consultants can only help you or hurt you as much as you (or maybe your boss) allow them to. Such as situations like these:

• The station leadership has not articulated a tangible vision for the station. They just want listeners. Consultants, through no fault of their own, will fill that purpose-vacuum. We’re talking laws of nature stuff here.
• Roles aren’t clarified. When a PD is unsure where their guardrails are or what they’re empowered to do, once again, a consultant’s voice oozes into the voids. Oozes. Huh. That’s one of those quasi-gross words isn’t it? Like moist? Again, not the consultant’s fault. Nature abhors vacuums. (So do cats.)
• Somebody’s afraid of the truth. Real life example: I inherited a consultant with one of my first PD stripes. The consultant was a master of triangulating. In my one-on-one conversations with them, they were on my side. When they spoke with my GM about something we might have been at odds over, the consultant was on the GM’s side. When the GM and I would speak to the consultant jointly, they would fence sit and try not to take any position at all. For once, yes, a consultant seems to be at blame here. But it could easily be anyone in the consultant-station relationship.

A consultant can be valuable when all involved understand their roles, have clear expectations, and a love for truth. The ideal consultant has been where you want to go. Their successes, failures, and connections can help you reach your goals faster. They’re not bogged down in the day to day like you might be; they can see the forest through the trees. They can be a voice of reason, or the voice that helps you see things from a fresh angle.

Don’t get a consultant to get a consultant though. Get one when you know you need guidance with specific things. I once worked with a consultant who was a brilliant strategist, which is exactly what my station lacked. During our first year, we accomplished some amazing things. Year two came, and with our strategy needs addressed, I needed help with tactics. Putting the strategy into action. The same consultant that cooked up the right strategy offered ZERO help on the tactical side. Couldn’t have gotten there without them, but we got stuck without having that next step in place.

Somewhere a consultant just lost a yearly retainer because of that. Hope it wasn’t me! Seriously though, your station and each person on the team is going to have different needs in different seasons. Certainly there are some well rounded consultants who can cover multiple bases, and there are others who really excel in key areas.

Things I have or would use a consultant for:

• Leadership coaching. It ain’t easy herding DJ’s. Some GM’s can be challenging to report to. (Not mine though! Hi Boss!) Some consultants are great mentors. They help you lead your direct reports and speak with confidence to your superiors.
• Talent coaching. It’s important, and too overlooked. I’m programming two brands with a dozen personalities between them. To keep up on airchecks all by myself would be to drop balls in other areas I oversee. Consultants help me help them while spinning other plates too.
• Research. From help identifying which kind will be most helpful to you, to getting it done right, consultants often shine here. I even know a couple who are very shrewd at helping stations get typically expensive projects done at below-average costs.
• Playing the ratings game. Great ratings do not always follow great radio. There are specific things stations can do to increase their chances at scoring Nielsen points.
• Fundraising and NTR. Some consultants can help non-commercial stations shave a day or two off their pledge drives, or help them reach goals faster. They help you build major donor strategies or capitol campaigns.
• Promotions and marketing. Self-explanatory, right? Also, moist.
• Digital stuff. You can probably cook up a whole section of digital needs your station would like to get better at. Be it more effective use of your existing outlets (social media, your website) or what you need to be doing for future survival.
• Niche’ formats and specialized skillsets. There are consultants who may have wrote the book about one format but would be completely clueless in another. Or ones who have a keen ear for imaging over anything else coming through your speakers.

Intangibles come into play too. Sometimes, I need our consultant to keep me in check. To ask the devil’s advocate questions. To see my blind spots. Other times, I need their enthusiasm and support for the course I’m on because it won’t be changing. To help me find a more direct route. You might be in a situation where you need a consultant to be your advocate to your GM, your PD, your whoever. In short, an ally. You might need one who stimulates critical thinking, or creativity. Chances are, there’s one out there you can afford who lines up nicely with your goals.

Is it me? Contact me and let’s find out. There. That’s the self-promoting plug I promised earlier. Not overly tacky I hope. Far be it from me to ooze a long pitch your way. Actually, and I mean this 100%: open invitation for you to hit me up if you’ve already identified something you’d love an outside perspective on. I’ll tell you which consultants are best suited to help you. I’ve had the great fortune of working with the industry’s finest. There’s an excellent chance I won’t even hype myself up. I may not have what you need. No bait and switch or reverse psychology happening here. Not playing hard to get. I, like most consultants, genuinely want to see you win. Your success is the industry’s success. mikec@boostradio.com is how to get at me.

Iron sharpens iron. A consultant may be the missing iron in your fire.