Asset-Based Consulting: What to know and why it matters

If you’re a sales or service leader, you’ve likely already seen the benefits of asset-based consulting.

What is it? This is when an organization productizes their teams’ expertise and creates a replicable, scalable model that serves internal staff, prospects, and/or customers. It’s often an approach large consulting firms adopt when they see a widespread need that brings greater efficiency.

For example, KPMG, a premier financial consulting firm, provides a good example of asset-based consulting. Rather than merely continuing to provide financial advisory services to their clients, KPMG created a cloud-based software approach to finance and accounting. This productization of services allows KPMG to offer financial advisory at a fraction of the cost, bring in more clients, and gain a competitive edge.

But, what are the ins-and-outs of this approach? This article is for you.

Click to jump to a section: Who uses it? | Benefits | Challenges | Key Aspects | Next Steps

Challenges To Asset-Based Consulting

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As consulting faces disruption from technology and changing consumer demands, many firms are searching for ways to keep pace with evolving client expectations.

Geographic

As more businesses expand internationally, the traditional consulting model becomes increasingly difficult to follow. Traditionally, consultants travel to client sites for discovery, embedding themselves in organizations to gain a holistic understanding. However, for international companies, this approach becomes exponentially challenging, requiring significant time and resources for global travel.

Asset-based consulting, leveraging digital tools, enables consultants to gather insights effectively without excessive travel costs.

Client Knowledge

In past decades, client organizations had limited knowledge about their industries and competitors. Today, businesses are more informed about industry best practices, competitor activities, and their internal operations. As a result, they no longer seek consultants merely for knowledge but demand innovative solutions and measurable ROI.

By utilizing big data analytics and technology-driven insights, consultants can meet these evolving expectations.

Evolving Expectations

Clients now expect specialized expertise and tailored solutions from consulting firms. Instead of relying solely on top-tier business school graduates, they seek consultants with deep industry knowledge and relevant experience. Large consulting firms that do not focus on niche markets may lack this level of expertise.

Additionally, clients increasingly prefer outcome-based pricing rather than billing based on effort. By productizing business models and frameworks, consultants can provide repeatable, trackable solutions, emphasizing engagement outcomes over consultant expertise.

The role of the traditional consultant is gradually becoming more productized. While human talent remains crucial in management consulting, adopting asset-based consulting strategies is essential for staying competitive and meeting client expectations.

Key Aspects

Previously, I’ve dove in-depth into the seven stages of consulting, which are common to most engagements. These phases include:

• RFP/Bidding
• Entry/Onboarding
• Data Collection/Discovery
• Analysis
• Recommendation
• Implementation
• Post-Implementation

While the terminology may vary across firms, these phases are fundamental to the consulting industry. Beyond these seven stages, there are three crucial aspects of the consulting engagement that continuously cycle through each phase:

Discover

The discovery phase has two key components:

1. The client discovers the consultant
2. The consultant discovers insights about the client

These processes often occur simultaneously. When a request for proposal (RFP) arrives, consulting firms assess whether to bid. This decision-making process varies in complexity, increasing the need for automation in larger firms. Once a bid is made, consultants gather insights from peers and potential clients, leveraging digital assets to differentiate themselves and enhance their bid strategy.

Even after securing the engagement, discovery continues throughout the post-implementation phase.

Design

Design plays a pivotal role in consulting engagements, from crafting competitive bids to developing client solutions.

A consultant gathers insights from peers and stakeholders to tailor proposals effectively. After collecting client data, they analyze challenges and design customized, actionable solutions based on real-world input rather than external assumptions.

Assure

Assurance is an ongoing process that ensures alignment between consultant and client throughout the engagement. It includes:

• Pre-engagement assurance, where consultants validate their credibility and capability to address client challenges.
• Continuous assurance, where insights and designed solutions are reinforced with data-driven validation.
• Post-implementation assurance, where consultants assess project success and address any gaps.

The assurance cycle involves assessment, planning, measurement, and continuous improvement, ensuring that solutions remain relevant and effective.

Next Steps

What’s one way to accelerate asset-based consulting in your organization?

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