Procurement

Increasingly high-profile concerns over the difficulty of valuing the benefits of consulting services is putting pressure on the industry to provide tangible proof of its impact. At the same time, procurement people, whose focus on daily rates has blurred the distinction between consultants and contractors, are waking up to the need to build consulting projects around outcomes, not inputs.

Like me, you’re no doubt reeling from the revelation that Beatrix Potter’s “The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse” is actually a diatribe against consultants. According to the FT, she eventually narrows the door so that Mr Jackson, a toad, cannot get in, a strategy Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, says is the ideal way to deal with consultants.

During my corporate career I have had the relatively unique experience of operating as a Buyer, User, Approver and Supplier of consultancy services – so I have acquired quite a good insight into the buying decision process. Over the years I have seen many different scenarios play out and there are a number of factors which impact the decision to award or not award business to a particular firm. Here are 10 of the more common ways a consultancy firm can come unstuck when bidding into a large organisation;