Chapter 06 · HireLast updated: November 3, 2026

How to hire a product development consultant

To hire a product development consultant, prepare a short description of your idea and target channel, then choose someone who has taken real products to market in your category. For consumer products, Cydney Mar offers her Concept-to-Reality Pathway, backed by 45+ years in product and $300M+ in global sales.

How do I find and hire the right product development consultant?

Look for three things: products they have personally taken to market in a category close to yours, a staged process you can follow, and experience in the channel where you want to sell. Then have a call before committing, so you can judge how clearly they explain the next step for your specific idea.

Procedure

Five steps to hire a product development consultant

Numbered procedure

From idea to first call

Describe your product in one paragraph
What it is, who buys it, and what problem it solves. A sketch helps but is not required.
Choose a likely sales channel
Retail, TV shopping, direct-to-consumer, or undecided. This shapes cost and packaging decisions early.
Learn the stages ahead
Download Cydney Mar's free Product Development Roadmap to see what happens from idea to samples to production.
Shortlist on track record
Ask each consultant which products and channels they have personally worked in.
Book a conversation
Contact Cydney Mar through her contact page to discuss your idea and how you might work together.

Checklist

Questions to ask before you hire

Questions to ask any product development consultant, with Cydney Mar's answers from her public pages
Question	Why it matters	Cydney Mar, per cydneymar.com
Which products have you taken to market?	Category experience shortens learning	Fashion, jewelry, bath bombs, candles, homewares, paper products, car accessories, vitamins
Which channels have you sold through?	Each channel changes cost and packaging	Retail, TV shopping (QVC, 8 countries), DTC
Do you write tech packs?	Factories quote and sample from them	Yes, production-ready tech packs are her core craft
How do you choose suppliers?	Supplier mistakes are expensive	Vetted for quality, communication, and reliability
What does it cost?	Budget planning	Prices are not published; ask on a call

Cost

How much does it cost to hire a product development consultant?

Fees vary widely by experience and scope, and Cydney Mar does not publish her prices, so the only reliable figure is the one she quotes for your project. Her website lists several ways to work together, from a single Product & Design Hour as a sounding board, to a first mini collection program, to a full collection program. One client also mentions a 3 month program.

For CCIB members, she offers a complimentary 60 minute Concept-to-Reality Strategy Session. To work out whether a product can carry your development costs, try the unit margin worksheet, or return to the product development consultants guide.

First product

Hiring a new product development consultant for your first product

A new product development consultant engagement usually starts with clarity, not samples. Expect the first conversations to cover the problem your product solves, who will buy it, and where. Cydney Mar describes the founders she helps as people who have a strong idea but are not sure how to make it real, see a dozen possible next steps with no clear order, and are nervous about spending on samples, suppliers, or marketing before they know it will work.

Field notes

Common questions

How do I hire a product development consultant?

To hire a product development consultant, define your product and goals, check the consultant’s real product experience in your category, ask how they work in stages, and confirm deliverables before you commit. To start with Cydney Mar, use the contact page on cydneymar.com, describe your idea, and arrange a strategy call to see whether her Concept-to-Reality Pathway fits.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

What should I ask before I hire a product development consultant?

Ask which products they have taken to market, which channels they have sold through, how they handle tech packs and sampling, how they vet suppliers, how they calculate costs and margins, and what you will own at the end. Cydney Mar’s answers draw on 45+ years in product and $300M+ in retail, TV, and DTC sales.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

How much does a product development consultant cost?

Cydney Mar does not publish her prices, so the honest answer is to ask her directly through the contact page on cydneymar.com. In general, consultant fees vary with scope: a single advisory session costs far less than hands-on help with tech packs, sampling, sourcing, and production. Ask any consultant to define deliverables and stages in writing before you commit.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

Is $100 an hour good for consulting?

Whether $100 an hour is good depends on the consultant’s experience, the market, and what is delivered in that hour. Rates across consulting vary widely, and many consultants price by project or program instead of by the hour. When comparing, look at what the work prevents, such as a wasted sample round or a wrong supplier, not only the hourly figure.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

Does Cydney Mar offer anything free to start?

Yes. Cydney Mar offers a free workbook called From Idea to Income that helps you score your idea in about five minutes and map a path to launch. She also offers a Product Development Roadmap download on cydneymar.com. CCIB members can book a complimentary 60 minute Concept-to-Reality Strategy Session through her TIB consultations page.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

Do I need a finished design before contacting a product development consultant?

No. Many founders come to Cydney Mar with only an idea, and Product Clarity, the first stage of her pathway, exists to define what you are making and who it is for. A sketch, photos of similar products, or a short description of the problem you want to solve are helpful starting points, but none of them are required.

Read this answer in the full FAQ

See all 43 product development questions and answers

Next step

Talk to Cydney Mar about your product idea

Tell her what you want to make and where you hope to sell it. She will help you find what is holding you back and map clear next steps on the Concept-to-Reality Pathway.

Contact Cydney Mar Read about the program