Client-consultant relationship

Relationships are the currency of power in consulting.  Even in these days of professionalised procurement, who you know and how well you know them still matters; and knowing who you know and how well you know them can be a competitive advantage.

What do folding sweaters and writing proposals for consulting work have in common?

“I'm 100% convinced that consulting firms could win a lot more work if they just took the trouble to ask the right questions and find out more about our business. Some of them ask some very stupid questions.”  This was the strategy director of a major financial services company in the UK speaking, and it remains one of my favourite quotes from the round of client research we’ve just carried out.