Many consultants, including former corporate executives, claim to be experts in specific industries. Consultants will argue that their own particular type of expertise is what matters. As independent commentators for the last 29 years, we see increasing evidence that client demands for both industry knowledge and service expertise cause many consulting firms to offer both. There are relatively few consultants today who get hired simply by being smart. Among the largest firms in the consulting galaxy, most are attempting to offer a full slate of services, from strategic counsel to operational reengineering to systems management.
Most clients are concerned to hire the very best consultant for the project in question.
Expensive Good consulting remains expensive. Interestingly, fees have not risen significantly for 30 years, when adjusting for inflation. For consulting work focused on an objective, such as direct cost reduction, this approach can make good sense. However, the results of many management consulting projects are intangible or hard to measure. For clients dealing with limited budgets for consulting assignments, predetermined fixed fees are often more attractive.