If you want to ratchet up the revenue that flows into your consulting firm and the profits that land in your pocket, you need to increase your value to clients.
The 3D model below will help you expand the value of your firm’s services, the fees you command and the margins you enjoy.
The 3D Model of Consulting Value
Degree
Degree answers the question, “How far can your consulting firm move the needle?” on the issue you address for your clients.
For instance, if you increase sales, can you heighten sales results even further?
If you cut costs, can you slash more aggressively?
If you boost morale, will participants in your projects skip down the halls humming merry tunes?
Adding to the Degree of Impact isn’t always easy.
When clients view results as binary—success is either achieved or not—they won’t value your consulting firm’s ability to create “even more” results, and the client may award the project to a low-fee competitor.
On the flip side, your consulting firm’s ability to affect the degree of impact is a perfect setup for offering alternative approaches with varied scope and fees to your clients.
Depending on what approach (and fee) appeals most to your clients, you can win the low-fee project while still maintaining your margin, or win the high-fee, high-impact engagement.
How can you increase the Degree of Impact your projects create for clients?
Diffusion
Diffusion is the art of bringing additional dimensions of value into play in your current projects.
If you increase operational efficiency, could your engagements also reduce employee attrition or increase customer retention?
If you successfully rebrand the client, could your projects also open the door for innovation?
If you improve meeting efficiency, could every lunch meeting include pizza? (I’d sign up for that one.)
To leverage Diffusion as a value-enhancer, your client must recognize and truly appreciate the results you can create on additional dimensions.
How can you widen the aperture on the value your consulting firm creates for clients?
Duration
Duration embodies the longevity of your results.
If you teach negotiation skills, can the concepts be embedded in a system that lasts years after your project concludes?
If you bolster leadership, can you create rituals that ensure the client doesn’t revert to their old, unhelpful behaviors?
If you’re updating an IT system, can you ensure it’s future-proof for at least, say, three months? (Seems daring, but could be possible.????)
Winning on Duration requires you to think beyond the immediate win and, importantly, to extend your prospect’s vision into the long-term as well.
How can you make your results stickier and longer-lasting?
Degree, Diffusion and Duration are all legitimate paths for building your average project size.
Which of the three dimenstions works best for expanding the value of projects at your consulting firm?
Text and images are © 2026 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
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