Working an Institutional Manager Search Led by a Consultant

When a consultant is directing an institutional manager search, the salesperson must understand the consultant’s role without treating the allocator as a spectator. The assignment may involve a screening database, a research recommendation, or a committee decision after finalist meetings. Each route needs different evidence and different permission to engage.

Ask the allocator how the consultant’s recommendation enters the decision. Find out whether the consultant owns the initial screen, whether staff can request supplemental information, and when direct manager conversations are appropriate. This prevents a follow-up made with good intent from creating process friction or appearing to work around the consultant.

An endowment investment director says, “Our consultant is narrowing the list.” The salesperson can respond, “What does the consultant need from managers at this stage, and what would be useful for your staff to see once the list is shorter?” The director says the consultant needs a standardized questionnaire and staff wants process detail later. The salesperson answers, “I will coordinate the approved questionnaire through the requested channel and hold the process material for the stage you described. May I confirm the appropriate contact and timing?”

The example respects each participant’s job. It directs the rep to coordinate the questionnaire through the requested channel and confirm the contact and timing. In coaching, replay this scenario with the consultant’s involvement changing halfway through. Score whether the rep asks about decision rights, follows the requested channel, and records a dated next step with an owner.

The account plan should also state what direct contact is permitted, which materials are expected through the consultant, and when that arrangement will be revisited. This prevents a later colleague from sending a generic pitch that undermines the process mapping done in the first meeting.