Fractional consulting to be revolutionized by AI

In 2023, the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to dramatically revolutionize fractional consulting. With its potential to enhance every facet of consulting – from accelerating the discovery phase and providing instant insights to intelligently matching consultants with clients and averting consulting engagement failures – AI is truly a game-changer in this area.

But how exactly can your business leverage these AI-driven enhancements in fractional consulting? Sobo, a tech company whose on-demand platform delivers actionable insights and verified consultant matching with AI to help owners, leaders, employees, and fractional advisors make businesses better and stronger, offers some ideas.

Here are five reasons why AI is going to be the next big thing in fractional consulting

Reason #1: Accelerating the discovery phase

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a significant role in streamlining processes, and the discovery phase of an engagement is one such area where it shines. In fractional consulting, the initial discovery phase involves collecting and understanding a vast amount of data about the client’s business, including their challenges, opportunities, strategies, and goals. This phase can often be time-consuming and labor-intensive. With AI, the discovery phase could be shortened by up to 90%, as it can quickly analyze large datasets and identify patterns, trends, and insights. This acceleration allows consultants to focus more on developing effective strategies and less on preliminary data collection and analysis.

Reason #2: Instant Insights from real-time data

One of the most transformative impacts of AI on fractional consulting is its ability to process and derive insights from real-time streams of company data. This instantaneous analysis can uncover key operational metrics, performance indicators, and other vital business information that can inform business strategies. Through machine learning algorithms, AI can continuously learn from this data, providing instant, dynamic insights that consultants can use to guide their recommendations. This immediacy and accuracy can lead to better decision-making and more strategic business moves.

Reason #3: Intelligent consultant matching

Matching a client with the ideal consultant can often be a subjective process. However, AI can dramatically improve this process by using actual data rather than subjective interpretations of what a client might need. It can analyze a consultant’s experience, expertise, previous project successes, and even their communication and problem-solving styles. Then, cross-reference these attributes with a client’s needs, helping to ensure a more accurate, data-driven match. This intelligent matching system could lead to more successful engagements and improved client satisfaction.

Reason #4: Focusing on problem-solving, not problem finding

AI can provide consultants with more time to solve actual problems by automating the process of uncovering problems to solve. With advanced data analytics capabilities, it can identify issues and potential risks that might otherwise go unnoticed while also anticipating future challenges based on historical data and current trends. By automating this process, AI frees up consultants to spend more time devising solutions and strategies, which can lead to more impactful consulting engagements and better outcomes for clients.

Reason #5: Eliminating failed consulting engagements

AI has the potential to significantly reduce the occurrence of failed consulting engagements. By providing more accurate data analysis and better consultant-client matching, it can help to eliminate issues like conflicts of interest, misdiagnosis of business issues, and lack of fit between the consultant and client. Going further, it can also keep a check on the progress of the engagement, flagging any deviations from the plan or expected outcomes, thereby preventing potential failures. This proactive approach can lead to more successful, efficient, and beneficial consulting engagements.