Andy “Jake” Jacob joins us today for our Consulting Expert Roundtable Interview Series. Andy “Jake” Jacob is the CEO of the Jacob Consulting Group, a global leader in assisting small to midsize companies grow their business fast. The Jacob Group helps companies dramatically improve the way they look at their business, and Jacob works with leaders and visionaries to leverage their existing systems to attain hyper revenue growth. Jacob has a very impressive group of entrepreneurs that he has assisted with his advice.From startups to executives in Fortune 5000 companies, Andy Jacob is a sought after expert for leaders to help them with their companies. Jacob has been called one of the preeminent authorities on the customer sales cycle, customer acquisition, and online lead generation. We recently met with Andy, and spent a number of hours with him gaining insight on how he helps companies, and why he has become such a sought after business consultant and trainer. We are delighted to invite him to our Consulting Expert Roundtable. We are excited to welcome Andy “Jake”Jacob to answer our questions regarding how he helps companies, what he sees as the biggest challenges facing companies today. We also ask him some of his predictions about the future of technology. We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we enjoyed doing it .
1. Andy, please tell us how The Jacob Group works differently than most other consulting firms, and why many have called you a leaders in the field.
Good afternoon and thank you for having me. As you know, I don’t believe in long drawn out stories, or what I like to call “BG” or business gibberish. Life is just too short, and the business life cycle is just too sensitive to hire a consultant that is going to take an enormous amount of valuable time without giving over the top value. My clients hire me to get in, get out, and put them on the path to tremendous growth. We work like a business swat team. We get in, get out, and my clients grow. Most consultants take a long time to figure things out. Nobody really has the time for long drawn out consulting engagements. We work fast and provide massive value quickly. I’ve been very fortunate to have some amazing mentors in my life, and the one thing I learned from all of them is to get the point, and fast.
2. Andy, your solutions have helped a lot of entrepreneurs and companies. How are you able to help your clients so much faster than other consulting companies?
I’ve learned that it’s all about asking the right questions to the right people at the right time. If you ask the right question to the wrong people, you get bad information. If you ask the right questions at the wrong time, you get bad information. If you ask the wrong questions to the right people, you get bad information. If you ask the wrong questions at the right time, you get bad information. We pinpoint the exact right questions at the right time. to the right people within an organization. By doing this, I am to cut down the time to get to the right answers dramatically, thus saving my clients a lot of time and money. I then use all the information to pinpoint a strategy and plan that will help the company scale dramatically.
3. Andy, what is the number one reason why a client chooses to hire you?
Well, word of mouth certainly goes a long way. While some of my clients prefer that our consulting engagement remains confidential, they still send me referrals. They typically don’t send a potential client over in their same space for obvious reasons, but I have found that if you help someone dramatically, those people typically like to help you, and that’s why they spread the word.
4. Andy, can you tell our readers the type of mindset that you see in most of the successful leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs you have worked with?
That’s a great question as books have been written on the entrepreneur mindset and what it takes to be successful. The funny thing is that I have literally met thousands of entrepreneurs, and it’s impossible to pinpoint one specific mindset. Of course, they are all motivated, but the differentiation between entrepreneurs can be enormous. So much goes into the makeup of a successful person that it’s a mistake to go into a meeting with any preconceived notions. You can never prejudge a successful business person by what you have read in a book. To truly understand a person, you must listen and ask the right questions.
5. Andy, what’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the way businesses approach consultants?
The biggest change is that smart people realize they can’t do it all. Right now In silicon valley, if your a solo entrepreneurs without a team, chances are that an investor won’t even speak to you. There is simply too much to handle in today’s fast paced business environment for one person to handle. Smart entrepreneurs are always learning, and if they can’t get what they need from inside their tent, they go out and find someone with fresh ideas from outside the tent. That’s where I come in. Sometimes it just easier for an outsider with business chops to pinpoint opportunity than someone too close to the situation. Great entrepreneurs know if a person can help them, and they now that it sometimes takes an outsider looking in to solve massive challenges, and to provide keen insight and tactical strategy that will crush it for them.
6. Andy, how do entrepreneurs come up with new ideas to help their business grow?
Well, new ideas are beautiful if they actually existed in abundance. They don’t. Almost every idea is a rehash of an old idea. There are very few new ideas in business. In reality, I believe that there may be 5-10 new business ideas in an entire year in the entire world. All other ideas are offshoots, betterment, rehashes, or copycats. However, this is actually a good thing. Many great ideas that have worked in the past still work today. Many of the great ideas that worked in the past will not work today. Many of the great ideas that did not work in the past will work today. The key is to know the difference between the three. In my consulting practic,e we ask the right questions to the right people at the right time to delivery laser-like action steps to dramatically improve a business. The key is to know what ideas will crush it, and what ideas are a waste of time. We get paid to crush it.
7. Andy, what advice can you give to a company seeking to hire a consultant?
The most important thing is to make sure the consultant has what I call business chops. A lot of consulting firms have consultants that have done nothing but consulting. They have no real work experience in building a business, growing a business, or selling a business. Consultants with book smarts but no real world experience are everywhere. They get a degree, and join a consulting firm. Personally, I would be leery. If I was hiring a consultant, I believe I would know in one 45 minute phone call if that consultant was right for my company, which is why I offer free introductory calls to certain prospective clients.
8. Andy, it has widely been reported that you don’t believe in incremental business growth. Can you explain?
Incremental business growth is a fast path to the poorhouse.In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies need to look at 10 X growth. Incremental business growth is a recipe for disaster. If you think small, you typically never get to where you want to go. Ifor my clients to think big. With technology today, companies should aspire for 10 X growth. Of course, it depends on where they are in their growth cycle. But even mature businesses should strive for 10 X growth. I call it the 10 X Paradox. Should I grow the company slow and steady, or should I try and blow it out as fast as I can as big as I can? I am all for hyper revenue growth and exploding companies out as fast and quickly as one can. Slow growth used to be a staple for companies 40 and 50 years ago. However technology has changed all that. Things are faster, smoother, and much more explosive in terms of potential. I get my clients thinking much bigger than the way they currently are thinking, and give them strategies for hyper revenue growth to absolutely crush it. Slow and steady is not my style. Fast and steady is the way to go.
9. Andy, you have been known for nailing many predictions regarding technology and business. Do you have any predictions that you would like to let our readers in on?
Well, I think the area that will see the most improvement in the short order from technology is medicine. Of course, I’m not the first person to see great strides in medicine through technology. The difference is that I see it all happening much faster than others. It is amazing what people are currently working on. I believe that you will see a tipping point in medical technology advancements in the next 5 to 10 years which will basically eradicate 80% of the diseases known to the world today. Of course, with any advancement like this, there will be other challenges that crop up for us as humans. The other huge thing that will happen is that wireless Internet will be available by satellite to the entire world. Half of the world’s population will soon have internet, and the other half will have it in 5-10 years. Satellites are already being launched and imagine a free flowing satellite internet that is not dictated by government control. This satellite internet will change the complexion of the way information flows throughout the world, which will change the geo political landscape forever.
Andy, thank you so much for sitting down with us for our Consulting Expert Roundtable Interview Series. For people desiring to speak to Mr. Jacob directly, he can be reached at http://www.AndyJacob.com. Mr. Jacob also offers a very interesting startup quiz for companies with startup aspirations at http://www.BeautifulStartup.com.
