What do we sell when we sell consulting? We may be selling technical skill, a project implementation, or a report comparing different technical options. For any consultant who has worked for a professional services firm, there’s no question what the product is; like a lawyer or an accountant, we’re selling billable hours. When it comes to the profit and loss statement, the consultant’s ability to sell enough billable hours to be profitable is, literally, the bottom line. In
every management meeting at consulting firms worldwide, as the partners review results and make forecasts, the conversation inevitably turns to the utilization rates of the staff.
