One of the most common questions that clients ask consultants is: how much will your service cost?
And one of the most frustrating answers consultants give is: it depends.
Why can’t consultants just give a fixed price from the start? Why do they need to go through a discovery process, a proposal, and a negotiation before agreeing on a final fee?

The answer is simple: consulting is not a commodity.
Consulting is a customized service that depends on each client’s specific needs, goals, and challenges.
No two projects are identical, and no two clients have the exact expectations and requirements.
Therefore, consultants can not set the price initially because they need to understand the project’s scope, complexity, and value before estimating the effort and resources required to deliver it.

There are several benefits of this approach for both consultants and clients.

• For consultants, it allows them to tailor their service to the client’s situation and objectives and to avoid undercharging or overcharging for their work. It also helps them to establish trust and credibility with the client by showing that they are interested in solving their problems and not just selling their hours.
• For clients, it ensures that they get the best possible solution for their needs and pay a fair price for the value they receive. It also allows them to clarify their expectations and requirements and negotiate the engagement’s terms and conditions.

Of course, this does not mean that consultants can not give any indication of their pricing at all.
They can provide a ballpark range based on their experience and industry standards or a minimum fee based on their availability and overheads.
They can also offer different pricing models, such as fixed fee, hourly rate, retainer, or value-based pricing, depending on the nature and duration of the project.
However, these are only preliminary estimates that are subject to change after a thorough discovery process.

The bottom line is that consulting is a complex and dynamic service that requires a flexible and collaborative approach to pricing.

Consultants can not set the price from the very beginning because they need to align their service with the client’s needs and goals. This way, they can deliver high-quality results and create long-term client relationships.