The Practice of Professional Consulting

Managing Expectations

One of the critical tasks of winning business and successful consulting is to get the expectations right. The ability to manage expectations is part of a consultant’s core competency and involves both external and internal people on an engagement. Basically, there are three sets of expectations to be managed: those of the client, those of the project team, and those of the consulting firm’s senior management.

Clients’ Expectations

It is crucial for consultants to openly discuss, test, and validate assumptions about the client’s expectations for each of the following elements:

• Quality standards and how they will be measured
• Use of client facilities and equipment
• Access to needed information
• Client participation in project ...