David A. Fields Consulting Group When to Accept (and Reject) Projects Outside Your Consulting Firm’s Focus
Barnstable Balderdally, EVP at Ghoti Corporation (a.k.a. FishCo) asks whether your consulting firm can help with his plasma node leadership challenge. Two options:
- “Yes we can!” you confidently pronounce. Although plasma node leadership isn’t your consulting firm’s focus, you feel great about the lucrative project you’re about to capture.
- “No, I’m afraid that’s not in our wheelhouse,” you respectfully reply. Although you’ve declined a tempting opportunity, you’re invigorated by your disciplined adherence to your consulting firm’s strategy.
Which is the right answer when a prospect invites you to work on a project outside your firm’s core focus?
The easy answer is Yes.
That’s a layup. Barney wants you, you want business, you exchange “I dos” and life is good.
The courageous answer is No.
Saying No is much more difficult than agreeing to move forward. However, that courage will reward you and your consulting firm with a number of benefits:
- Creates Room for Good Projects. Turning down off-strategy projects, low margin projects, and projects with undesirable clients reserves capacity for on-strategy, high-margin consulting projects with fabulous clients.
- Drives You to Win Good Business. You’ve made room for the type of engagements your consulting firm wants—and now there’s a hole in your revenue plan that you have to fill!
- Enhances Your Ability to Win Good Business. Clarity and specificity sell consulting projects. Rejecting Barney’s plasma node leadership project makes it easy for Barney and every other prospect to be crystal clear on where your consulting firm adds value.
More work in your core also strengthens your credibility, which enhances your right to win. - Increases Referrals. The clarity and specificity that boosts sales also makes it easy for Barney to remember you and refer you to others.
Should you ever say “Yes we can” to off-strategy projects?
Of course!
It’s unrealistic and pollyannaish to adopt a blindly rigid stance.
Guidelines for Saying “Yes We Can” vs. “No Thank You”
Say Yes to Projects in Your Core Focus
This one is obvious.
If a prospect requests a project that fits your consulting firm’s capabilities and focus like a glove, say Yes and win the project!
Say Yes to Current Clients
If Barney is a current client, say Yes (if you can deliver with quality).
Expanding within current clients is good consulting business and broadens your consulting firm’s capabilities.
Plus, the types of follow-on opportunities existing clients typically offer either fit your consulting firm’s core focus or are natural extensions.
Say Yes to New Clients if You’re Running on Empty
If your consulting firm literally has no clients or you’re at serious risk of not bringing in enough revenue to pay your bills, the market might be sending a signal that your firm needs to shift direction.
In that case, saying “Yes we can” could be the first step in establishing a more profitable, successful consulting firm that focuses on, say, plasma node leadership.
On the other hand, if you’re not running on empty and Barney would be a new client, say No!
An unfamiliar prospect offering you an off-strategy consulting project is a trap.
Accepting these initiatives dilutes your consulting firm’s focus and the deleterious long-term effect on revenue exceeds any short-term influx of cash.
Of course, as your consulting firm continues to grow, the core focus of the firm naturally expands to include related offerings or new industries.
We typically recommend adding closely-related offerings to your firm’s focus area while you’re building the area up to $3 million in revenue.
Then, as a practice area consistently exceeds $3 million in consulting revenue, consider developing another core focus at your firm.
When prospects suggest an off-strategy consulting project to you, do you typically respond, “Yes I can” or “No thank you”?
Text and images are © 2026 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Great advice David. In addition to the reasons you listed, off-strategy projects also usually are more work, have lower margins, and involve lost opportunity costs. On YouTube there’s is an inspiring short video about how far Matthew McConaughey was willing to wait for the roles he wanted.
Exactly right, Gwen. Bad work crowds out good work … and it’s bad in all sorts of ways!
I appreciate your smart addition to the article, Gwen (and the tip about the video).
There’s another alternative. You can politely inform the prospect that the project is not in your wheelhouse, and refer a trusted colleague that is able to perform the work and take a referral fee. Another strategy is to take the project and subcontract it to someone who has expertise in the subject area.
Rather than saying “yes” and being unable to deliver quality work, or simply saying “no” and receive no revenue, refer someone who can do the work and receive a portion of the revenue. Receiving a 10-20% referral fee is definitely better than receiving $0. In fact, the practice of referring others could become a profit center in and of itself!
The referral strategy also works if you have the high quality problem of being at capacity. In other words, if your firm is booked solid and can’t take on any other projects, then you can simply refer the work to a strategic ally and take a percentage of the revenue. This is a WIN-WIN. The strategic ally is able to acquire a client without marketing/advertising costs and you’re able to realize revenue without the cost (money, time, resources, etc.) of delivering a project. Of course, this can be a two-way street where strategic allies refer work to your firm for a referral fee. Pretty cool, huh?
Exactly, Jeremy. I’d guess most readers know that “No” isn’t the end of the conversation and that, at a minimum, you continue to build the relationship, offer guidance and, if possible, suggest another resource.
We typically recommend against taking the project and subcontracting if the project is outside your strategic focus. That’s usually the worst of all worlds–you’re diluting your practice, diverting your attention and making lower margin.
Referring work for a fee (standard in the industry is 10%) is definitely a legitimate path. And although building a practice area or profit center focused on referrals probably isn’t advisable for most consultancies, the occasional inbound or outbound referrals is standard fare for most firms.
Thanks for adding your thoughts to the conversation, Jeromy.
I don’t mow my own yard. I hire people to do it.
I’m not that good at plumbing. I hire an expert.
Don’t do things you don’t like and aren’t that good at, especially if you don’t anticipate wanting to develop that expertise for future work.
Refer the business to some one who is good at it. It makes friends and satisfies clients.
Well said, Jay. You do you. Let others do what they do. (Easy to say, but harder when the cupboard’s bare and someone offers a cookie.)
I’m glad you chimed in today, Jay!
Great timing on this article, as I was approached by a new client (but someone I have known for years) to do some non-core work. Sometimes, it seems like you are reading my mind, David! 🙂
Is it a core service? No.
Do we have the skills and knowledge to do the work? Yes by pairing 2 great consultants together.
Do we *want* to do the work? I personally don’t, but I have team members who are interested.
Will we do it? Most likely yes to the context and proposal conversations. Then the question becomes a decision for the potential client – are they willing to pay the $$ for 2 consultants doing the work versus 1?
Great case study, Carol. I’ll be interested to hear whether you ultimately take the work. At least it fits under the umbrella of what you could do (based on how you described it)
And yes, of course, our new AI tech records all consultants’ thoughts. Isn’t that how the world works now?????
Great input Carol. I like how you effectively moved the decision to the client – if they are willing to pay double then everyone will be happy in the end.
Mostly agree, Brian. However, even if a client is willing to offer you a dumptruck full of money to take on a project doesn’t mean taking it is best for you (or your client). Revenue can be a very, very strong draw and we need to be on our guard to protect the long-term interests of everyone.
Either way, I’m glad you jumped into the fray today!
Thanks David. I always learn a lot from your scenarios and comments.
Revenue indeed is a strong draw, especially with unused capacity. I have suffered one time a poor fit project when I needed the revenue and it ended not great. Never again!
Most of us need to learn the hard way, Brian. If you only make the mistake one time and stick with “never again” you’re way ahead of the curve!
The option I have had is still to consider how to get to yes…in your wheelhouse: —how might their knowing, liking and trusting you be used to help them find the right company or make that execution better for their business. You have magic sauce that may not be a fit, but you also have the brand you have built with them in the 6 fields pillars. Use it to be helpful.
Absolutely, Kendall, you always should seek to be helpful, whether it’s taking the engagement, giving a bit of advice, or directing them to another consultancy. You’re right on the mark with that one, and I appreciate your adding your perspective to the conversation.
Agree with you Kendall. I’ve also had success saying no to the broader project, but then counter-offering to take on a smaller component that’s a good fit for me — and still helpful to the client. It was a good learning in business development for me in my early days: saying “no” surprised my client and cemented their trust in me. Whereas carving out the piece I where I knew I could add value was a great relief to them too.
I like it – might be able to use this approach on a current proposal. Thanks for sharing.
Go team!!
Well said, Lisa. Carving out your lane in a project that transcends your firm’s focus is an excellent path forward. And good on you for quickly learning to build Trust by saying No!!
I think there’s a third path. Oftentimes the client is asking your help because there’s something you do which they DO value, even if plasma nodes aren’t your core. If you can find someone who does plasma nodes, plus add what’s special about you that the client thinks is important, you can strengthen your relationship with the client in many ways. It’s often not so lucrative in the near-term, and it’s work, but it builds trust and lets you understand if you should invest in doing more plasma node work in the future.
You’re right, Steve, that if the prospect is coming to you it’s because the Six Pillars are mostly satisfied (Know, Like, Trust, Need, Want, Value), which is why you can win an engagement quickly. And perhaps there’s another way to add value outside the problem at hand. It’s more an issue of focus than capability. Bringing in an outside expert that can do the work could be okay, but if that’s taking you away from your firm’s focus, it may end up being a net negative for your firm.
As you’ve noted though, if your focus can bolt neatly onto what the prospect is looking for, that could be a win-win. You just have to tread very carefully to ensure it doesn’t look like you’re trying to bolt your mostly-irrelevant cookie baking expertise onto a plasma node project.
Great addition to the thinking in the article, Steve!