The Ultimate Guide to Consulting Value Proposition Design

Poor value propositions in consulting are widespread; in our everyday experience working with consulting firms both large and small, 98% of consultancies need improvement.

Really, 98%.

I read an interview recently with a managing partner of a consulting firm. The subtitle mentioned the firm's extreme client-centric approach. Yet the interview was the great “we-we-we” and “me-me” show.

Client-centric? No way. ZERO. Just talking about themselves and their utter greatness. Not a single word about the clients.

It is probably driven by our strong human need for recognition and validation, and the somewhat disproportionate desire of consulting leaders to establish themselves as respected experts in their field. I get that. The need to demonstrate one's expertise is not always negative, as long as the client-centred value proposition language comes first.

Unfortunately, that’s where it becomes an epidemic consulting shortcoming. I see a sea of opportunities for improvement!

In this ultimate guide to consulting value proposition design, I will delve into why mastering a consulting value proposition is non-negotiable for success. I will then explain a design approach that we developed that consulting firms can use as a blueprint for rethinking and redesigning their value propositions – and, as a result, their entire approach to running a consulting business.

Our approach helps consulting define who they serve, what problems they solve, how they deliver impact, and why they exist.

A Strong Value Proposition = A Profitability Lever

A consulting value proposition isn’t a marketing tagline. It’s the consulting firm’s identity.

In our work with consulting firms, we’ve found that the value articulation is too often treated like a messaging tweak. A new headline. A better pitch. But real consulting value proposition design reshapes everything.

A well-designed value proposition is fundamental to a consulting firm's success, acting as the ultimate determinant of its positioning, maturity, and capacity for sustained growth and profitability. It is not merely a tagline or a messaging tweak, but rather the firm's identity and a profitability lever that reshapes everything about the business.

According to the famous UK BenchPress research (2025 edition), consultancies with a ‘very different’ (meaning: ‘differentiating’) value proposition are twice as likely to achieve fast growth and high profitability. That is a staggering finding!

Based on our experience with consulting firms, here are some key benefits we've identified from strong, well-crafted value propositions in the consulting firms we have encountered or collaborated with.

• Drives Profitability and Growth: A differentiating value proposition is a profitability lever. It enables repeatability and scalability, meaning delivery becomes more efficient and profitable with a well-defined scope. It also supports margin expansion and allows for strategic scaling where growth is repeatable and efficient, rather than being tied solely to headcount.
  
  
• Enhances Client Attraction and Sales: Firms with a strong value proposition benefit from stronger client attraction, as the right clients recognise the firm as the best fit for their challenges. It ensures that messaging is not too broad or vague, making lead generation more predictable and consistent. It allows consulting firms to focus on solving specific, urgent, high-stakes issues for clients.
  
  
• Enables Premium Pricing: With a clear, differentiated promise, consulting firms can charge premium fees because clients pay for perceived expertise and clarity, not just effort. This helps avoid constant pricing pressure and competing on price instead of value.
  
  
• Improves Operational Efficiency: A clear value proposition anchors services in pressing business issues and targets a specific audience, reducing the temptation to say yes to too many projects. This leads to lower operational complexity, increased efficiency, and higher margins by allowing for more standardised and repeatable processes.
  
  
• Shapes Firm Identity and Strategy: The value proposition defines who a consulting firm serves, what problems it solves, how it delivers impact, and why it exists at all. It informs thought leadership and point of view. It also helps build a differentiated delivery system – a distinct way of getting clients from Point A to Point B.
  
  
• Guides Client Success Journeys: It shapes client success journeys from first contact to long-term impact, ensuring every step reinforces value, reduces friction, and deepens the relationship.
  
  
• Provides Clarity and Alignment: A strong value proposition forces clarity, strips away fluff, and helps consulting firms articulate their value compellingly. When internal alignment improves around this clear identity, overall consulting firm performance usually increases as well. It becomes a strategic tool for various parts of the business, including websites & social media presence, pitches, business development, client selection, and operational decision-making.

In short, a well-designed, differentiating value proposition transforms a consulting firm from operating in a reactive mode with growth often being tied to headcount to an efficient, authoritative, and trusted partner that resolves high-impact problems for a targeted audience.

Recommended reading: The Value Proposition Gap: What Consulting Firms Say vs. What Clients Hear

The Consulting Value Proposition Design Canvas: The Expanded Version

We developed a Value Proposition Canvas tailored specifically for consulting firms or consulting practices. We use it in our project work because it forces clarity, strips away the fluff, and helps firms articulate their value compellingly and practically.

Once completed, this canvas becomes a strategic tool for the website, social media, pitches, business development, client selection, operational decision-making, hiring, onboarding, and training. It also informs the consulting firm's thought leadership strategy.

Within each item in the canvas, we guide our clients through a set of questions that they should answer in order to design their value proposition. In this guide, I will share what those questions are.

#1. “Our best clients come to us because…”

This starting point establishes a consulting firm’s specialisation. To answer this question, consulting firms need to identify the following:

• Triggers: The circumstances that made these clients feel pain or even realise they have an issue
• Pains: The specific challenges a client struggled with (in their day-to-day) before coming to this consulting firm.
• Issue: The “prototypical,” company-wide, pressing and expensive business issue causing these pains (i.e., the issue the consulting firm will “own”)

Why it matters: Clients do not buy consulting services. They buy a resolution to their urgent, high-stakes issues. This question forces consulting firms to anchor their services in a pressing business issue that clients truly need, not just want. By focusing on clear triggers, pains, and overarching issues, consulting firms ensure their offering resonates directly with client needs, avoiding a vague, capability-first approach like "We do digital transformation".

#2. “They typically are…”

The next item in the canvas defines a consulting firm’s ideal client profile. Answering this question requires addressing the following sub-questions first:

• Buyer: Who are the typical “buying champions” hiring this consulting firm (demographics, psychographics)?
• Segment: Where do these buyers work (firmographics, other traits)
• Difference: Which traits do typical client companies have in common that differentiate them from other businesses in the category? (e.g., lifecycle stage, strategic motion, …)

Why it matters: This question helps consulting firms target a specific audience/segment. Instead of trying to be "everything to everyone," which leads to a "race to the bottom" and constant price competition, defining an ideal client ensures a consulting firm focuses on the right buyers with budget and urgency. This leads to stronger client attraction and more predictable lead generation.

#3. “They usually struggle with…”

This item highlights a consulting firm’s strong ability to capture insights. These are the questions that will help consulting firms complete this layer of value proposition design:

• Jobs: What “Jobs” do client companies and buyers have to do to resolve the issue?
• Hurdles: What barriers do they run into when trying to get the job done?
• Options: What options have they tried to relieve the pain? (includes “doing nothing!”)

Why it matters: Understanding these struggles is crucial for demonstrating expertise. It enables consulting firms to attend client calls and meetings by leading with insights instead of merely conducting discovery. This, in turn, positions a consulting firm as a leader from the outset. It helps articulate why previous attempts might have failed, further validating the firm's unique solution.

#4. “They can expect [x] from us.”

Now is the time to create a promise. In order to do so effectively, consulting firms should first address the following questions:

• Expertise: A firm’s consulting category and core strength (as in: the expertise and capability it brings).
• Impact: The variables the consulting firm impacts through its work, and how they change
• Outcomes: The business outcomes clients typically achieve with the support of the consulting firm.

Why it matters: This defines a clear, outcome-driven impact. It shifts the messaging from "we do X" to "we solve problem X with Y results". A clear, differentiated promise enables premium pricing. It also supports repeatability and scalability by defining a clear scope, making delivery more efficient and profitable.

#5. “Here is how we help.”

In the final stage, the goal is to clarify how a consulting firm works. These are the sub-items that consulting firms need to address first:

• Point of View: A firm’s view on clients’ issues, and how to best solve them
• Client Success Journey: The ideal series of subsequent engagements or milestones taking a client from issue to outcome.
• Differentiating Delivery: The difference in how a consulting firm guides clients from one journey milestone to the next (the foundations of the consultancy's method, process, or IP).

Why it matters: This component is vital for building a compelling, differentiating delivery – a distinct way of guiding a client from Point A to Point B. This difference might be created by a methodology, a perspective, a set of systems and processes, or simply a combination of expertise domains that is somewhat rare. It shapes the entire client success journey, from initial contact to long-term impact. By standardising and refining processes based on this "how," firms can lower costs, improve quality, and scale strategically without growth being solely tied to headcount.

Below is the infographic summarising what we explained in chapters #1 to #5. 

Example: Value Proposition Design for a Data & Analytics Consulting Firm

While I can’t share all the details our past clients have provided to complete their value proposition canvases, I’d like to use this example, inspired by previous client work, to show how consulting firms can build their value propositions step by step.

This example is based on a transformation journey we supported for a client. Over two years, the company shifted from offering generic data and analytics services to focusing solely on improving supermarket chains’ sales forecasting abilities and accuracy. As part of this shift, it redesigned its value proposition using our canvas.

#1. "Clients come to us because..."

Summary: Our clients are leading supermarket chains that, despite significant investments in data and analytics, continue to struggle with unreliable sales forecasts, complex data environments, and persistently low operational margins. They face overwhelming data volumes and decentralised operations that internal teams and generic providers have failed to resolve. Above all, they seek specialised support to transform this complexity into tangible margin improvement, greater efficiency, and sustainable growth—outcomes that generic solutions and approaches have not delivered.

• Triggers:
  • Chronic forecasting inaccuracies that drive waste, lost sales, out-of-stocks, and excess inventory.
  • Spiralling operational costs (spoilage, stockouts, logistics inefficiencies), worsened by poor demand planning and lack of actionable insights.
  • Internal teams overwhelmed by the volume, variety, and decentralisation of data, lacking either the specialised analytics expertise or the structured methodology necessary to achieve breakthrough results.
  • Dissatisfaction with previous attempts to address these issues, whether through generic data & analytics consultancies or standard software tools unable to handle the scale and specificity of supermarket operations.

• Client Pains:
  • High costs from both overstocking (waste) and understocking (lost sales), compounded by challenges in integrating disparate data for a holistic demand view.
  • Ongoing operational inefficiencies across the supply chain, from purchasing through shelf management, as a result of siloed systems and disconnected forecasting processes.
  • Pressure on margins and profitability, limiting the headroom for investment or growth.

• Business Issue:
  • Weak supermarket performance and financial stability, caused by unreliable and fragmented sales forecasting and a lack of modern, data-driven demand planning—ultimately limiting profitability, flexibility, and the capacity to consistently meet customer expectations.

#2. "They typically are..."

Summary: We partner with leading supermarket chains—most often large, multinational organisations—that have already made significant investments in data and analytics. Despite this maturity, these companies face persistent challenges turning data capabilities into real-world performance gains, especially in the domain of sales forecasting. They approach us not because of a lack of ambition or resources, but because they need specialised expertise and a rigorously structured approach to drive measurable improvements in demand planning, operational efficiency, and financial outcomes at scale.

• Ideal Client / Buyer:
  • Sales Leaders, COOs, or Chief Supply Chain Leaders of multinational supermarket chains.
  • Key stakeholders include CFO, CIO, Inventory & Warehouse leaders, and Category leaders, who need to see quantifiable results.
    
    
• Segment:
  • Large, often multinational, supermarket chains and retail companies.
  • Not: small, independent grocers or early-stage startups without complex supply chains.
    
    
• Difference from Peers:
  
  • Proactively seek innovative, tailored approaches rather than settling for off-the-shelf solutions.
  • Demonstrate a strong commitment to measurable results and operational excellence, setting themselves apart from competitors who may tolerate inefficiency or incremental change.
  • Value deep, collaborative partnerships that deliver sustainable, data-driven impact across their organisation.

#3. "They usually struggle with..."

Summary: Clients have often attempted to improve forecasting internally or by partnering with generic data & analytics consulting firms or software providers, but struggle to implement and operationalise solutions that genuinely reduce costs and increase accuracy. A significant challenge is that internal teams are often overwhelmed by the sheer scale of sales forecasting required, driven by the decentralised structure of supermarket chains and the immense volume of data they must process. As a result, they face internal knowledge gaps and integration challenges.

• Jobs to Be Done:
  • Design and implement a highly accurate sales forecasting system capable of handling the complexity and massive data volumes typical of large, decentralised supermarket chains.
  • Ingest, integrate, and make sense of vast and varied data sources—including historical sales, promotions, external events, and market trends—to build robust, scalable forecasting models.
  • Develop and operationalise new forecasting processes that transform this abundance of data into actionable insights, directly driving inventory optimisation and reducing waste.
  • Ensure that forecasting solutions are both scalable and adaptable, allowing teams to continuously enhance performance as data volumes and business complexity increase.
    
    
• Hurdles:
  • Internal teams often lack the advanced data modelling skills and hands-on operational experience required to turn complex forecasting theory into a scalable, repeatable practice.
  • The vastness and decentralisation of supermarket data leads to fragmented, siloed systems, making it difficult to aggregate and analyse information at the speed and scale needed for effective forecasting.
  • Overwhelmed by the sheer volume and heterogeneity of data, teams struggle to maintain data quality, consistency, and integration across functions and regions.
  • Organisational resistance or inertia can slow the adoption of new, data-driven practices—especially when initiatives compete with established processes or require significant cross-functional collaboration.
  • Gaining internal buy-in for complex, analytics-driven change is challenging, particularly when benefits are not immediately visible or require broad behavioural shifts.
    
    
• Alternatives:
  • Doing nothing and maintaining the status quo, which often results in ongoing inefficiencies, missed sales opportunities, and further erosion of margins due to poor forecasting accuracy.
  • Relying solely on the internal data & analytics team, who may lack the specialised retail forecasting expertise, experience with large-scale data integration, or sufficient resources to drive significant change at the required pace.
  • Engaging a large, generic data & analytics consulting firm or software provider, which can bring broad technical solutions or strategic advice but often lacks the deep retail and supermarket-specific expertise needed to address unique operational challenges, turning implementations into high-cost, low-impact exercises.
  • Purchasing or customising off-the-shelf forecasting software, which may provide standard functionality but struggles to account for the decentralised, complex realities of large supermarket chains and the integration of diverse data sources at scale.
  • Forming hybrid teams by supplementing internal knowledge with independent freelancers or boutique consultants for niche aspects of the forecasting challenge—though this can lead to fragmented solutions and diluted accountability.
  • Investing in advanced technology platforms (such as AI/ML toolkits or cloud-based analytics workbenches) without a coherent strategy or supermarket-specific adaptation, risking underutilisation and failure to realise return on investment.

#4. "They can expect [x] from us..."

Summary: We equip supermarket chains with highly accurate, scalable sales forecasting solutions and end-to-end operational improvements—anchored in deep sector expertise and practical experience working with large, decentralised, and data-intensive organisations. Our approach transforms overwhelming data volumes and disconnected systems into actionable insights, delivering measurable business value far beyond technical outputs.

• Expertise:
  • Advanced sales forecasting tailored specifically for supermarket operations, leveraging state-of-the-art data science and AI, blended with a practical understanding of retail operational realities.
  • Hands-on proficiency in large-scale data integration, harmonising siloed systems, and building resilient forecasting processes that withstand decentralised and complex chain structures.
  • Experience designing, implementing, and operationalising models at speed and scale—ensuring sustainability, transparency, and continual improvement beyond initial deployment.

• Impact:
  • Raise forecasting accuracy significantly (often exceeding 90%), driving down error, waste, and lost sales due to out-of-stocks or overstocking.
  • Deliver tangible reductions in operational costs—such as inventory holding, spoilage, and logistics—by bringing granular control and predictability to demand planning.
  • Streamline and accelerate decision cycles, turning vast and disparate data into rapid, business-ready insights for supply chain, merchandising, finance, and executive functions.

• Outcomes:
  
  • Sustained profitability improvements, not just through cost-cutting, but by enabling smarter, faster business decisions at every level.
  • Increased agility and repeatable growth, empowering teams to adapt quickly as market conditions, volumes, and consumer behaviours change.
  • Enhanced customer experience as a result of higher on-shelf availability, fresher products, and fewer missed demand signals—building loyalty and long-term competitive advantage.
  • Empowerment of the internal team, who gain confidence and new capability from modernised, scalable forecasting practices that are easy to maintain and evolve.

#5. "Here’s how we help..."

Summary: We lead supermarket chains through a focused, multi-milestone transformation that converts overwhelming operational complexity and fragmented data into measurable results. Our approach is pragmatic, collaborative, and designed to empower your teams—blending deep sector knowledge, insight-led design, and disciplined execution for results that last.

After we finished our collaboration with this client (setting up the milestone 1 and 2 value propositions), two years later, they expanded their service offering beyond sales forecasting. By leveraging the solid data and infrastructure built in the early phases, they introduced new advanced propositions that deliver even greater value. These additional services (milestones 3 and 4, customer strategy and store performance) are made possible by the foundational work established in milestones 1 and 2.

• Point of View:
  • "True operational excellence and sustainable profitability in supermarkets are only possible with highly accurate, data-driven sales forecasting embedded across the business. Generic solutions or one-off fixes simply cannot deliver the precision, speed, and adaptability required. Our method ensures a fit-for-purpose journey, not a one-size-fits-all implementation."
    
    
• Client Success Journey:
  Our approach is designed as a progression: first, we ensure a robust foundation by transforming your sales forecasting and inventory management. Then, we help you unlock advanced strategies and operational gains that build on this groundwork. Each milestone reflects a distinct layer of value and capability.
  
  • Foundational Sales Forecasting Proposition (Milestones 1 & 2 - the original project with TheVisibleAuthority.com):
    • Milestone 1: We begin with a deep diagnostic—conducting a data feasibility study, quality assessment, and detailed stakeholder alignment. Together, we define clear objectives and a tailored roadmap, creating the strategic direction and baseline for the project.
    • Milestone 2: Next, we build and implement the core data foundation: cleansing and integrating your disparate data sources, and establishing robust forecasting and inventory management processes. This is where advanced, supermarket-specific sales forecasting models are deployed, ensuring accuracy, scalability, and operational buy-in. These capabilities serve as the backbone for continual improvement and operational transformation.
  • (recent development) Advanced Propositions, Leveraging the Foundations (Milestones 3 & 4):
    • Milestone 3: This newly added service leverages your enhanced data sets and analytics platform to support sophisticated, data-driven strategies such as shopper segmentation and pricing optimisation. By building on your foundational forecasting data, we help you drive improved profitability, marketing precision, and customer experience in ways not previously possible.
    • Milestone 4: The second new proposition uses the integrated operational and sales forecasting infrastructure to address broader operational excellence and risk management. With a solid foundation in place, we optimise store performance through layout enhancements, fraud and theft analytics, and other risk-reduction strategies—creating a more resilient and adaptable retail operation.
      
      
• Delivery Difference / Signature Method: Throughout this journey, we employ a “fade-in the new, fade-out the old” approach, enabling smooth transitions, rapid validation, and real-time learning—never putting your business at risk of disruption. And at every step, our focus includes deep knowledge transfer and empowerment of your teams, ensuring that improvements are sustainable and evolve long after our engagement is complete.
  

Recommended reading: [Case Study] Moving From a Generic to a Specific Consulting Value Proposition

Getting Started with Consulting Value Proposition Design

While the approach to value proposition design is straightforward, it is a highly introspective exercise that requires consulting firms to dedicate time and efforts to. As a result, it may feel overwhelming.

To help consulting firms get started, here is a three-step reflective exercise that we recommend:

1. Defining criteria for ideal engagements: This first step involves internal introspection. I encourage consulting firm leaders to ask themselves and their teams: What kind of work would we genuinely like more of? It would help to consider what feels energising, impactful, and aligned with your firm's strategic direction.
   
   
2. Identifying past projects that (at least partially) fit those criteria: The goal here is pattern recognition, not invention. Here, consulting firms are looking for existing patterns in their firms’ track record that align with their ideal engagements. Reviewing past projects helps ground value propositions in real-world experience and proven success.
   
   
3. Inquire into those engagements with structured questions: This critical step involves delving deeper into the identified projects to surface the real outcomes a consulting firm has enabled for clients, rather than just focusing on the tools or processes it used. The objective is to understand the tangible impact the firm had, moving beyond mere outputs to quantifiable results and client transformation.

This process serves as a foundational "Client and Work Review," which is a proven method for uncovering the answers needed for a stronger, more value-driven proposition.

The Shift to a High-Performing Consulting Firm Begins with Value Articulation

The journey of the sales forecasting consulting firm featured in this case study perfectly illustrates what’s possible when a consultancy moves from being a generic provider to building a highly specialised, market-leading consulting firm.

By anchoring every engagement in client outcomes, this firm transformed not only its service proposition and client impact, but also secured its position as a true reference in the market for sales forecasting expertise.

Their evolution—from broad data and analytics work to a focused, best-in-class suite of offerings—demonstrates that a well-crafted value proposition is much more than words on a website or a marketing rebranding exercise.

It is the cornerstone of long-term growth, commanding premium prices, attracting the right clients, and enabling scalable, repeatable success. Every consulting firm stands to benefit from this shift: it requires courage, clarity, discipline, true client centricity, and internal leadership alignment. The rewards are transformative.

If there’s one takeaway from this case, it’s that expertise alone won’t set your consulting firm apart. True market leadership comes from a relentless drive to define, deliver, and communicate distinctive, outcome-driven value. The difference between commoditisation and category leadership is found in your consulting value proposition.

Start building yours. Your future depends on it.

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