Why Big Consulting Firms Need a Better Proposition – Now More Than Ever

The big-firm consulting model is under pressure.

Clients are savvier and more selective, growth is harder to come by, and, yes, software is replacing much of the low- and mid-level work that used to keep the large firms’ engines running.

In response, consultancies are shifting. Strategy shops are moving downstream into implementation. Tech consultancies are pushing upstream into advisory. Everyone is converging toward the middle and starting to sound the same.

This is leading to a crisis of differentiation. In part because offerings become even more similar, in part because the knee-jerk response of many players is to lean even harder into “capability-selling”: service portfolios expand, offering lists grow, everybody “leverages AI” and has their own proprietary chatbot. 
But that no longer builds trust or wins business. It pushes firms into a spiral of race-to-the-bottom commoditization, with some clients already asking for AI-driven discounts.

It’s crystal-clear that something will have to give. And we’re convinced it's not consulting itself (as we’ve pointed out here), but the capacity- and investment model of large, broadly positioned consulting firms.

Because we think that in today's market, a true edge won’t come from a firm's brand, bench, or talent alone, but from the clarity of its proposition.

Because it – and only it – will make a difference in winning better work from better clients, winning the best talent for a consulting firm’s specific business, and building truly differentiating IP while the middle of the market collapses.
In this article, we provide our step-by-step breakdown of why the model is crumbling and how large firms can respond.

The Old Growth Model Is Crumbling

For decades, large consulting firms grew on the back of a simple formula:

• Hire juniors,
• Train them up,
• Scale delivery capacity through headcount,
• Monetise reputation and breadth of services.

That model worked well. Until it didn’t.

Today:

• AI and automation have taken over many of the support tasks. AI does research, mapping, PMO, and synthesis faster and better than juniors. What used to require an army of analysts can now be accomplished with a fraction of support staff at marginal costs.
  
  
• Buyers do their own homework. Senior executives now do their own diagnosis and shortlist selection: read thought leadership articles, map out options, gather recommendations from colleagues and larger networks. And they do so long before speaking to a consultant.
  
  
• Talent alone isn’t a differentiator unless the firm knows how to position it. Large firms are no longer competing among each other. They are competing against solo specialists, specialised boutique firms, and tech providers. It’s not enough to say “We have talent”. Firms should be able to clearly demonstrate the unique value that the talent delivers.

All of this to say that the traditional firm structure of big teams, broad offerings, and a generalist growth playbook is out of sync with modern market dynamics. And the cracks are showing.

Recommended reading: AI Is Not Destroying Consulting. It’s Raising the Bar.

Why Proposition Design Now Matters More Than Ever

In our work with large consulting firms, we see the same pattern repeating: high capability, weak proposition.

Instead of showing how they help clients solve specific, high-stakes issues, many firms default to showcasing scale:

“We have 75 consultants in 12 jurisdictions for this practice.”

That’s capability-selling, and it quietly kills differentiation, commercial clarity, and pricing power. It also creates three major risks:

#1. Sea of Sameness: Everyone Sounds Identical

“We help clients achieve growth and transformation”
 “We bring deep industry expertise”

Generic claims make even the most powerful firms sound like their smaller peers. Buyers tune out. They gravitate toward firms that articulate a real point of view, with a sharp focus on a pressing problem they recognise.

#2. Buyer Disconnect: Clients Are Left to ‘Connect the Dots’

Listing services isn’t the same as showing relevance. When firms lead with capabilities instead of problems solved, buyers are forced to guess whether and how those capabilities apply to their situation.

In a competitive market, clients won’t waste time making that mental leap. They will simply move on.

#3. Internal Chaos: Lack of Clarity Breeds Strategic Drift

Without a clear proposition, firms chase scattered opportunities. They spin up new offerings to chase deals, expand into sectors with no clear advantage, and create layers of messaging that don’t add up.

The result? Confused marketing, siloed teams, fragile margins, and burned-out talent stretched across too many priorities.

A Strong Proposition Isn’t Just About Messaging. It’s a Strategic Reset

To thrive in today’s market, large consultancies need to move from capability-selling to proposition-selling:

• From what they do, to why clients choose them.
• From vague claims, to issue-led, outcome-driven narratives.

In our work with large, multi-service consulting firms, we prioritise helping them make three key shifts:

#1. Strengthen the Overarching Proposition (and Sub-Propositions)

Every firm needs a unifying narrative – a clear story about who they serve, what they solve, and why clients should trust them.

In large consultancies, this story often gets diluted across siloed practices. That’s why it’s essential to:

• Define a compelling overarching proposition. We see so many firms trying to be everything to everyone – whether due to the lack of internal alignment or in a desperate attempt to attract new clients. This leaves the proposition vague or full of meaningless generalisations. That’s why, before anything else can happen, consulting firms need to design a compelling narrative that clearly signals to prospects the firm’s deep understanding of their problems and the expertise to deliver meaningful outcomes.
  
  
• Align every sub-practice’s “use case story” to that core. Large consulting firms should strive to operate like a mechanical watch, where every gear, spring, and wheel serves the unified goal of keeping track of time. Each practice has its own use case story. However, it must reinforce the overarching proposition at the foundation, not dilute it.
  
  
• Create coherence between the firm’s big story and its everyday conversations with clients. A proposition is useless unless it helps frame daily conversations, both internally and externally. When a proposition helps navigate marketing discussions, sales pitches, and all other messaging, it creates cohesion in how prospects perceive the consulting firm, which facilitates trust.

Recommended reading: How to Structure Multiple Value Propositions Without Losing Your Firm’s Identity

#2. Reorganise Around Client Issues, Not Internal Silos

Sometimes the service portfolio itself becomes the problem.

Legacy offerings, misaligned acquisitions, and opportunistic expansions often create drag on clarity. That’s why we often help firms:

• Evaluate which services reinforce vs. dilute the overall proposition. It’s dishearteningly common to see firms propping up legacy services or underperforming practices by taking away resources from better-performing service lines. That’s why it’s crucial to make the hard step of making evidence-based decisions on which service lines to cut and which ones to grow further.
  
  
• Refocus the portfolio around client-centered issues. Enough with the long lists of services. What is each service line solving for its ideal clients? That’s the question that should be at the core of operations.
  
  
• Sunset or reshape services that don’t serve the long game. Not every offering needs to exist forever. Some might be outdated, others were intended to be a one-time service offering but got extended indefinitely. Some might have potential but need repackaging and optimisation.

We aren’t talking about just editing a service list. It’s about refocusing the firm’s operating model around its strategic edge.

#3. Redefine Service Lines as Boutique-Grade Practices

Each service line should operate like a boutique consultancy within the broader firm, with its own defined audience, issue focus, success journey, and outcome promise.

When this happens:

• Practices become commercially powerful in their own right.
• Talent can actually succeed because they’re working within a clear, credible frame.
• Sub-propositions support the firm’s master narrative—like puzzle pieces forming a coherent whole.

The Business Case: What Firms Can Expect

Here’s what a strong, issue-led proposition unlocks:

• Coherence: Unified value across siloed service lines.
• Strategy: Tactics aligned around clear commercial goals.
• Stronger entry points: Easier market access through issue-led campaigns.
• Pricing power: More perceived value, less discount pressure.
• Shorter sales cycles: Clearer value = faster decisions.
• Scalability: A narrative that enables repeatability, not just one-off wins.
• Talent traction: Experts want to work for a firm with conviction and clarity.

Recommended reading: The Ultimate Guide to Consulting Value Proposition Design

The Maturity Journey: From Noise to Growth

In our experience, consulting firms that take on this journey typically go through three stages of commercial maturity:

Consulting Value Proposition Maturity

Phase 1: Commercial Clarity (0–3 months)

Before the redesigned overarching proposition and optimised service lines can have any impact externally, they must take root internally. That means marketing teams need to re-think their strategies, consulting teams need to internalise the new messaging and start reframing their conversations with clients, team leaders need to adjust how they manage their teams, recruit new talent, and communicate across departments.

That’s why, at this stage, the main outcomes are:

• Sharper proposition, clearer messaging
• Stronger early-stage engagement
• More focused and qualified pipeline

Phase 2: Commercial Impact (3–12 months)

Now that internal changes are more or less settled in, consulting firms can expect to see some external results. It’s becoming less of a struggle to attract and convert the right prospects, marketing messages are receiving stronger engagement, and consulting teams don’t find themselves struggling to justify the prices as much.

Some of the most visible indicators in this phase are:

• Shorter sales cycles
• Greater pricing power
• Better client expansion

Phase 3: Structural Scalability (12+ months)

Phase 1 is about bringing internal changes, Phase 2 is about testing out these changes externally to collect proof, and Phase 3 is about scaling. Now that it is evident that the new system is working, consulting firms can start taking advantage of the firm-wide sales power, where it is no longer up to a couple of rainmakers to bring in the clients. Individual consultants, marketing executives, senior leaders – everyone is communicating a unified narrative. 

That’s why at this stage, consulting firms typically experience:

• Less founder- or partner-dependent growth
• Repeatable business development
• More stable, reliable pipeline

Conclusion: Clarity Is the New Consulting Edge

The impact of AI goes beyond changing how consulting is delivered. It’s forcing firms to rethink what they are.

In a world where talent is no longer scarce and clients have near-perfect information, the real differentiator isn’t the size of a consulting firm or its slides.

It’s the proposition.

Because without a clear, focused, and credible proposition, talent can’t thrive, buyers don’t care, and growth doesn’t scale.

Capability-selling builds complexity. Proposition-selling builds commercial strength. The firms that embrace this shift will define the next era of consulting.

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