Capturing follow-on business from current clients is relatively easy. But how does your consulting firm win that crucial, first project at a new client?
One effective approach, especially during times of high uncertainty like now, is offering an irresistible PIE.
Before I explain what a PIE is, let’s review the virtuous business cycle that can develop for your consulting firm:
Your firm produces outstanding work for your client, which…
…enhances trust in your consulting firm, leading to…
…more, large, lucrative consulting projects.
An obvious question surfaces: how do you start that cycle with a new client?
It’s fairly easy if you start your prospecting conversations with a high level of trust due to your reputation, brand name, or high-profile case studies.
In those cases, the high trust in your consulting firm (or you as an individual) outweighs any trepidation the client feels about engaging you for a high-fee engagement.
Conversely, if your starting point with a new prospect is moderate or low trust, closing a high-fee engagement is much harder.
One strategy is to bolster confidence in your consulting firm, which you can accomplish via thought leadership, industry presence, and multiple, trust-building conversations with your prospects.
Confidence-building through these approaches is mandatory for your consulting firm.
However, the strategy is time-consuming and difficult.
Fortunately, if you’re starting from a low trust position, there’s another strategy that works well:
Reduce the trust necessary to secure a project.
In other words, lower the risk of engaging your consulting firm the first time.
And the way you do that is by offering an irresistible PIE.
PIE = Prospect’s Initial Experience.
Your irresistible PIE is a low cost, low risk, high value project that can jump start the Trust Cycle.
You might think of this as a sample of your capabilities, or a pilot project, or a trial engagement.
Do you have a scrumptious PIE all baked and ready to serve?
Ingredients for an Irresistible PIE
Fast
A typical PIE is a short-duration project anywhere from one hour to a few weeks.
Finish up quickly so you can move onto the high-value, burning issues.
Simple and Repeatable
Promise value that is easy for prospects to understand and efficient for you to deliver.
If it takes you too long to explain your PIE, your prospect’s appetite will wane.
And if you create a new PIE from scratch every time, it will be horribly inefficient to deliver tasty results.
Clear, Immediate Value
Ensure your PIE delivers an obvious win, with concrete, easily recognizable value.
For that reason, assessments aren’t great PIEs—increased understanding isn’t concrete and the value isn’t immediate.
Direct Experience with You
PIEs should be as high-touch as you can make them, while keeping the fees low.
The whole point is to give your client a taste of working hand-in-hand with you.
Low Fees
Your PIE must be easy to digest financially, without discounting your fees.
In other words, your PIE shouldn’t be the same work at a lower fee.
Rather, your PIE is different work at standard or premium fees.
Connected to Follow-On
Create an obvious path from your PIE to the next engagement with your consulting firm.
Avoid selling during your PIE; however, before and after the project runs, clearly define how the initial project fits in with a broader stream of work.
Have you had success offering a low-risk, low-fee, high value initial experience to clients?
Text and images are © 2026 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
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