Is there a single, underlying factor behind every objection to consulting fees? And, if so, is it one you can address?

There is, and you can.

The opportunity will become clearer when we separate push-back on the consulting fees from faux objections that are really clarifications of parameters.

Your clients’ statements about budget limits, signing authority, and so forth are clarifying the parameters of your engagement.

They are simply a limit on the level of consulting fees that is allowable or feasible for your client.

Once you set aside clarifications, you’re left with honest-to-goodness dissatisfaction with your requested fees.

And your prospects’ real objection to your consulting fees boils down to the exact same underlying issue that drives every single complaint about pretty much everything:

Fairness.

When Cudby Client, CEO of PretzelSuite, reviews your proposal, she’s considering the ROI, and she’s also evaluating whether your fees are fair for the consulting work you’re proposing.

Fairness is all about comparison.

Comparisons to expectations or benchmarks or alternatives.

That’s why clients issue tightly written (though often misguided) RFPs.

It’s also why they ask for hourly rates and day rates—because those are concrete, easy-to-read measures clients can use to compare consultants to each other or internal staff or expectations.

You win the fairness game—and overcome fee objections—by controlling the comparator.

When you determine the basis for your prospects’ comparisons and you directly call out the fairness issue, objections to your cookie consulting fees crumble away.

For instance, when you shift the discussion from fees-for-tasks to fees-for-outcomes, the client’s sense of what’s fair is reconsidered.

To make this even more tactical, next week I’ll share a script structure that builds on fairness to support premium fees.

Think of an instance when a prospect pushed back on your fees.

Was the underlying objection a fairness issue or a parameters clarification?

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