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Research · Consulting

Research support for consulting firms that bills by the hour

By Zack Pennington, CEO Updated

When your billable rate is $200/hr or more, spending four hours building a competitive landscape in Crunchbase or pulling industry benchmarks from Statista is a hard cost to justify. Nacho's research-trained assistants handle the sourcing, structuring, and synthesis work so your consultants can focus on analysis and client delivery. This is for firms that need research done right, not just Googled.

Tools we work with: LinkedIn Sales Navigator Crunchbase Statista Google Scholar

Can a Virtual Assistant handle research for consultants?

Yes. Nacho matches consultants with a vetted, 100% US-based Specialist who owns research week after week, not a one-off task. You start with a $300 Delegation Strategy Plan, set a monthly Talent Budget from $1,000, and we match you in about a week.

See how the match works What a Talent Budget costs Book a discovery call

How it works

How your Specialist owns research for consultants

A Nacho EA working with a consulting firm typically starts by receiving a research brief: a new prospect, a market entry question, or a benchmarking request, and takes it from raw question to structured deliverable. They'll pull company financials and funding history from Crunchbase, identify competitive positioning using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, source market size estimates and industry data from Statista, and supplement with peer-reviewed or government sources via Google Scholar when the engagement demands it. The output is usually a formatted summary, comparison matrix, or slide-ready data set that drops directly into your workflow. Your role is to define the question and approve the output, the EA handles the hours of sourcing in between.

Off your plate

What your Specialist takes off your plate

The most common mistake consulting firms make when delegating research is handing off a vague question and expecting a polished answer. Before your first research request, write a one-paragraph brief that includes the business context, what decision the research will inform, the preferred output format, and any sources you already trust. The tighter the brief, the faster the turnaround, and the less back-and-forth you'll spend translating what you actually needed.

  1. Competitive Landscape Analysis

    EA maps key competitors using Crunchbase and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, documenting positioning, funding stage, headcount, and recent activity into a structured comparison matrix.

  2. Market Sizing Research

    EA sources TAM/SAM/SOM data from Statista, IBISWorld, and government databases, then organizes findings with citations into a format ready for client-facing decks.

  3. Client Background Research

    Before a discovery call or pitch, EA compiles a company profile covering leadership, financials, recent news, strategic initiatives, and org structure so your team walks in prepared.

  4. Industry Benchmarking

    EA pulls KPI benchmarks, compensation data, or operational metrics relevant to the client's sector using Statista, industry association reports, and Google Scholar sources.

  5. Literature and Thought Leadership Review

    EA conducts structured searches in Google Scholar and curated databases to surface relevant research, whitepapers, or case studies that support a consulting engagement or proposal.

Your stack

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack, no forced migrations.

Apollo.io
Statista
Claude
Gemini
SimilarWeb
ChatGPT

...and many more!

Client proof

Trusted by consultants

Nacho supports consultants including Brighter Strategies, Deborah Offner, High Flying Strategy, and 2 others, handling everything from research to broader operational support.

The model

What delegating to Nacho actually looks like

This is ongoing delegation to one vetted, US-based person, not a task posted to a marketplace.

  1. Start with a Delegation Strategy Plan

    A one-time $300 onboarding fee pairs you with a Client Success Manager who maps what to hand off first. See the full process.

  2. Get matched in about a week

    We match you with a vetted, 100% US-based Specialist in your time zone. If the fit is not right, the Nacho Guarantee re-matches you free.

  3. Set a monthly Talent Budget

    Budgets start at $1,000 a month and draw across Executive Assistants from $40/hr, Specialists from $65/hr, and Fractional Executives from $125/hr. Up to $200 of unused budget rolls over each month. See pricing in detail.

  4. Three months, then month to month

    The initial term is three months so the working relationship has time to compound, then it rolls month to month. Book a discovery call to size yours.

Talent Budget

What delegating research costs for consultants

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants
from $40/hour
10 hours $400
Specialists
from $65/hour
20 hours $1,300
Fractional Executives
from $125/hour
0 hours $0
Your monthly budget
$1,700

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Delegation Strategy Plan.

Good questions

Frequently asked questions

Can an EA handle research that will be used directly in client deliverables?
Yes, but with a clear handoff process. EAs produce sourced, structured research outputs: data pulls, comparison tables, background summaries, that your consultants then interpret and apply. Most clients review the EA's work before it touches a client deck, which is the right call regardless of how experienced the researcher is.
How do you handle access to paid research tools like Crunchbase Pro or Statista?
EAs work within the tools your firm already has access to, you share credentials or grant access as part of onboarding. If your firm doesn't have a particular subscription, your Client Success Manager can help identify what's needed and whether a workaround exists using free-tier or alternative sources.
Is 36 time entries enough to know this works for consulting firms?
It's an honest number, Nacho has logged 36 research time entries across all industries, and consulting is one of the more active use cases within that. What it tells you is that this is a real workflow we've executed, not a service category we're pitching speculatively. If you want to pressure-test the fit, the onboarding process includes a Delegation Strategy Plan where you can scope a pilot research request before committing to ongoing hours.

Ready when you are

Put your next research brief in better hands

Nacho's onboarding includes a Delegation Strategy Plan built around your firm's actual workflow, so your first research request doesn't have to be a test of whether this works. Monthly budgets start at $1,000, and up to $200 of unused budget above that minimum rolls over each month.

Not sure yet? See how it works, compare the Executive Assistant, Specialist, and Fractional Executive roles, or read why we stayed 100% US-based.