When was the last time you consulted a travel agent on your upcoming holiday? Chances are, years ago. Because the need to do so does not exist anymore. Travelers write detailed blogs about their journeys, and what you should/ should not do. Platforms like AirBnB and MakeMyTrip make booking accommodations and tickets easy.
Consumers across industries have access to information which empowers them to make their own decisions. Thus, when most of the information is available online, and for free, why would paying experts for their advice and assistance make sense? Here are a few reasons to consider:
- It helps look at the bigger picture. Consider the rise of self-medication – our tendency to buy over-the-counter drugs without consulting a doctor to save time and money. While it may seem like a simple thing to do for a cold or cough, a deeper think suggests that the risks outweigh the benefits.
An in-person doctor consult and the corresponding tests could be expensive. But the diagnosis would be far more accurate with the doctor getting ample room for exploring your medical history and different healing plans. Worth it? Yes, because experts, like doctors or financial planners, can take a step back and join the dots across time or other aspects of life. They can ask questions that help discover the root cause of issues and present a remedy for a long term.
- It uncovers unique perspectives. When researching online, be it for DIY furniture ideas or stock options, we are often stumped by confirmation bias – our preference to seek or favor information that adheres to our pre-existing beliefs. And our decisions are driven by that, because we are invested in that one point of view. This blocks out a whole range of other approaches (even ideal ones) to a problem, reinforcing tunnel vision.
Hiring experts preempts this, as they bring a range of perspectives relevant to their domain. Since they are invested in delivering results, they can take an objective look at the problem, challenging our biases. And suggest different approaches to solving it, based on best practices and even practical experience. Like a teacher, who is trained in addressing different learning styles and understanding behavioral problems. An online course or a virtual classroom is not equipped to offer such personalization.
- It gets things done. Imagine you want to build a house and you are an interior designer. Would you spend countless hours learning to build electrical circuits, painting, and plumbing? While there may be a lot of information available online about these areas, it’ll take time to sift through the material, find what you need, and make sense of it all. Hiring experts will cut through this process, bring in better work quality, less room for error, and more accountability. Moreover, it’ll get things done. Your requirements get timely attention, while you save time and energy.
A good consultant, expert, or professional will work with you to deliver results. In this age of instant access to resources, it’s tempting to do it all yourself. But when the need is to make progress on tasks, or if lack of accurate advice could prove to be costly, then consider paying for expertise. And with technology bringing such expertise within easy reach, why not invest in finding the right skills to fit the bill? The long-term advantages might be worth the spend.
