The traditional approach to buying consulting time is inherently flawed and does not provide the best outcomes for your business.

Buying time and materials is restricted and lacks innovation.  This results in consultants and clients alike ‘watching the clock’ and not focusing on the value and deliverables of the assignment.

This can also work against achieving good outcomes as each new idea or required piece of work should be clearly scoped, quoted and approved before it is incorporated into the assignment.   This often results in a client thinking that they can ‘do without’ this very important piece of the puzzle which in turn can compromise outcomes.

Instead there is another way....here are some very good reasons, proposed by Allan Weiss, Summit Consulting, as to why value-based fees are always in the client’s best interest.

1. There is a cap on your investment. You know exactly what is to be spent and there are no surprises.
2. There is never a "meter running." You do not have to worry each time my help is requested that I might be here for an hour, a day, or a week.
3. It is unfair to you to place you in the position of making an investment decision every time you may need my help. Otherwise, you're trying to determine the impossible: is this an issue that justifies a $2,000 visit or a $500 phone call? No client should ever be in that position.
4. Your people should feel free to use my assistance and to ask for my help without feeling they have to go to someone for budgetary approval. This only makes them more resistant to sharing their views, and at best, delays the flow of important information. 
5. If I find additional work that was unanticipated but must be performed, I can do it without having to come to you for additional funds. In those instances, legitimate additional work would otherwise be viewed as an attempt to generate additional hours or days. 
6. If you find additional related work that must be done, you can freely request it without the worry of increased costs. 
7. The overall set fee, in relation to the project outcomes to be delivered, is inevitably less of a proportional investment than hourly billing. 
8. If conditions change in your organisation, you won't be in the difficult situation of having to request that the project be completed in less time. The quality approach is assured since the fee is set and paid. 
9. If I decide that additional resources are necessary, there is no cost to you and I can employ additional help as I see fit. 
10. This is the most uncomplicated way to work together. There will never be a debate about what is billable time (e.g., travel, report writing) or what should be done on site or off site.
    

These reasons make it well worth considering taking a different approach, for some a quantum leap, in the way they source and approve consulting expenditure.

Helen Wood
Managing Director, TMS Consulting