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6 min

Pros and Cons of expert calls for private equity

What is an expert call for private equity and what are the pros and cons of expert calls for private equity firms

GrapeData
Jun 14, 2022
B2B market research

Expert networks are organizations that match a pool of experts with a business that needs them. Furthermore, many clients think of expert calls as the most important source to do research and make investment decisions. They are extensively used in the process of commercial due diligence. Typical clients are in the consulting industry and others include strategy departments of big companies.

InexOne gives us more insights on the volume of expert calls for private equity. According to them, there are about 10000 Hedge and PE funds and the market is heavily concentrated in the EU and the US comprising mainly strategy consulting firms.

How do expert calls work?

Expert networks essentially work like a matching platform. Organizations who are in need of expert calls for private equity approach an expert network with a list of things that they require from the expert. This could be aspects like ‘X number of years of experience in a certain industry’. Then the expert network matches the company with an expert from their internal database. The two parties can then go ahead and schedule a call which usually lasts for about an hour.

We recently examined the workings of surveys versus expert calls in the healthcare industry in this article here.

Pros of expert calls for private equity

The benefits of expert calls for private equity are multiple. We focus our view on some of them here:

Knowledgeable insights

With expert calls for private equity, it is probably the quickest and easiest way to gain genuine knowledgeable insights into a specific industry. Experts can be approached individually or matched with an organization through an expert network. Calls can be arranged between the two parties from anywhere in the world according to their convenience. Also, knowledge that took years to build can be shared within minutes through a phone call. 

Flexibility and Speed

The private equity landscape is typically characterized by intense competition and the need to close deals quickly. This is where expert networks come into play. By acting as an advisor to your PE firm they can help you act faster than your competitors.

As mentioned above, expert calls for private equity provide a lot of flexibility and convenience. They lead to time and money savings because they can operate at any time from anywhere in the world.  All it takes is a phone call to establish a connection with experts. 

Eliminate Biases

Experts give an objective view of the subject matter that they specialize in. Through this method, P.E. firms can eliminate any biases or judgment in their data. Data of the highest quality can be gathered objectively and quickly. 

Enhance credibility

Because expert calls offer great quality data, PE firms can enhance their credibility and reputation by using them. This credibility element can be an added advantage because they can help PE firms grow their client list.

Grow your professional network

Experts will have a lot of colleagues, contacts and connections in their field, which is good news for your business. Through these expert calls for private equity, PE firms can get connected to other experts and even gain more clientele. 

Inclusivity 

Expert Opportunities, claims that the expert network industry is characterized by inclusivity at every level. The number of expert calls that take place every year is around 1 million. Additionally, experts are there from any industry you want. Therefore, this means that expert calls for private equity have great accessibility, further adding to their ease of use.

Cons of expert calls for private equity firms

There are plenty of disadvantages when you hold expert calls for private equity companies to get insights. This is because bias can be a huge problem and for many other reasons listed below:

High fees

Arguably, the biggest con when it comes to expert calls for private equity is the cost associated with them. Depending on the length of the call and the complexity of the subject matter, rates can go as high as $1300. According to Integrity research, experts charge a flat rate for a thirty or sixty minute call. Thus, the organization using the expert will have to pay for the entire length of the call regardless of whether they used the full time or not.

Identifying relevant experts

Inex One argues that the number one challenge with expert calls is finding high quality relevant experts. Some experts present their information as a career map showing years of experience while others provide a brief description of their job title and position. Choosing between two similar looking experts can be a difficult task. Additionally, there's the matter of doing background checks to verify whether what experts are saying on their profile is true or not.

Expert fatigue

Inex One describes another challenge of expert calls for private equity. According to them, requests overload experts in two forms:

1. Expert networks ask them about a lot of irrelevant projects, potentially overwhelming them.

2. A lot of different expert networks ask them about projects, each with a different set of terms and conditions and payment methods.

Confidentiality Issues

Since experts have intimate knowledge about firms and industries, sharing this sensitive data may be an issue. In the 2010s, expert networks have seen a lot of insider trading scandals emerge due to this issue. On the flip side, if you are an expert and want to know what’s in it for you, check out this article on our blog.

If you’re a private equity form and need expert calls for your business, check out GrapeData. GrapeData is a Tech enabled survey solution that specializes in B2B panels for due diligence with a focus on hard-to-reach populations, such as decision-makers in B2B and niche B2C, in over 90 countries. Unlike other panel providers, we don’t buy third party panels, nor do we use email addresses to distribute the survey. We actively recruit all of our respondents organically by running ads on social networks around the world. To date we have 250k contributors on our app. How do we do this? We’ve built an app, available for mobile and for web, and we have connected it to all the main social networks around the world.

To date we have over 250k contributors mainly in North America and EMEA and a good portion in APAC. We cover all industries, however in the past twelve months we have focused on Tech & Software, Healthcare, Industrials and Education.

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