Consulting: Doubling close rates, of course, is wonderful, but what about doubling the project size?

Fields: Again, there several factors that go into this, but it's about making sure you and the client understand the value of any project. When a client is tapped into the overall value of a project, they are willing to pay more and they are more willing to do the project. I have a list of 37 Sources of Value that fall into four buckets: 1) increasing something; 2) decreasing something; 3) improving something; and, 4) creating something. So you can increase retention and revenue; you could decrease attrition and spend; you can improve processes and communication, or, you can create a totally new product. Many projects have many other value creations as part of them and those are worth something. Consultants just have to recognize what they are. And make sure clients are also aware of them.

Consulting: And when you point these out, clients will pay more for this project?

Fields: Absolutely.

Consulting: What if your RFP ends up being significantly higher than all the other RFPs?

Fields: First of all, we have to get out of the world of RFPs. A lot of consultancies are still pricing on time and materials and that's flat-out wrong. I work with corporations that hire me to help them hire consultants, and I will not let them enter into a variable time and materials contract. It's the second worst type of contract. The worse is time and materials with a cap. Too many consultancies are too concerned with keeping their eye on hard metrics and caps. This is foolish. It's why the folks I work with make so much more money; we're focused on how you increase the value for the client.

One on One with The Ascendant Consortium's David A. Fields

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