Choosing the Right Strategic Planning Consultant: What to Look For (and What to Avoid)

The market for strategic planning consultants is crowded.
Some promise transformational change. Others deliver a binder that collects dust.

The difference isn’t always obvious up front, but the impact on your business is massive.
The wrong choice can leave you with a plan no one uses.
The right choice can align your team, clarify your priorities, and accelerate execution.

What a Strategic Planning Consultant Really Does

A strong strategic planning consultant helps leadership teams:

• Clarify vision – what success looks like in the next 12 months and beyond.
• Set priorities – choosing what matters most (and what to say no to).
• Create a roadmap – turning big ideas into actionable steps with owners and timelines.
• Facilitate alignment – ensuring every leader leaves the room with the same plan.

The value is in both the process and the perspective. A good consultant knows when to guide, when to challenge, and when to let the team work it out.

3 Common Types of Strategic Planning Consultants

1. Large Consulting Firms

   • Pros: Significant resources, established methodologies, recognizable brand name.
   • Cons: Higher cost, longer timelines, and you may not work directly with the people who sold you the engagement.
     
     

2. Boutique Firms

   • Pros: More customized approach, smaller teams, faster decision-making.
   • Cons: Less scale for extremely large or global initiatives.
     
     

3. Independent Facilitators/Coaches

   • Pros: Flexible, highly personalized, cost-effective.
   • Cons: May lack a broader support team for large-scale projects.

Questions to Ask Before You Choose

1. What’s your process? – Look for a clear structure that balances strategy creation with execution.
2. What happens after the plan is created? – A plan without follow-through is wasted effort.
3. How do you define success? – Their answer should match your outcomes, not just their deliverables.
4. Who will actually be in the room with us? – You should know exactly who’s facilitating, not just who’s selling.

The GSD™ Difference 

At Get Strategy, Done™, we approach consulting with one goal: helping teams build strategy they will actually use.

Our facilitation is built around the GSD™ Framework, which delivers:

• A one-page plan that captures your vision, priorities, and ownership in plain language.
• A 90-day rhythm to keep strategy relevant and adaptable.
• Built-in accountability so every priority has a clear owner.

Many clients start with our Strategy Sprint™ — a focused 90-minute session that cuts through the noise, aligns the team, and sets 3–5 high-impact priorities to execute immediately.

A consultant should leave you with more than a document.

They should leave you with the clarity, commitment, and cadence to Get Strategy, Done™ — every quarter, without fail.