Tell them to buy the standard. Read and understand the standard. Or they can hire someone who already knows the standard.
After they have read and understood the standard, a great place to begin is with a self-assessment conducted by your own food safety team. The self-assessment uses the actual standard, and is of great value preparing the company for the certification audit. Any areas of non-conformity can then be addressed by your team using an RCA method and remember to report the meeting minutes. Thereafter, for further information and guidance to ensure compliance with the standard, you can look for assistance from the CB company for (1) a pre-assessment audit; (2) the BRC Enrollment Program; and (3) on-site or off-site training. Or you can also use a consultant. If you use a consultant from the CB you will be using, you can not use them as your auditor. Also Remember when choosing a CB it will be good to see if there are specific CB's that customers are requesting. Sometimes the customers not only ask for the standard but they also ask for the CB.
You can also use a Pre-Assessment which would be a good idea also since this is their first time.
1. It is not mandatory, but is recommended to determine your readiness for your official audit.
2. Identifying gaps in the supplier’s system so the corrective action can occur before engaging the full certification audit.
3. Use internal resources, your consultant or auditor.