The Value Formula New Consultants Miss

4 Minute Read Time

Ever notice how some consultants charge premium rates without blinking while others constantly struggle to justify their fees?

It's not about credentials, fancy websites, or even years of experience.

It's about something far more fundamental.

Something I call the "Transfer of Logistical Intensity."

After helping corporate L&D professionals transition into consulting, I've discovered the pattern that separates six-figure consultants from everyone else. And it has nothing to do with having the perfect LinkedIn profile.

The Hidden Currency of Consulting

Everyone remembers those high-stakes projects: 1001 moving parts, competing deadlines, and that stakeholder who keeps changing the requirements.

That feeling of drowning in details and coordination?

That's pure gold in the consulting world.

Here's why: Value = Transfer of Logistical Intensity

People don't just pay for your expertise. They pay to have logistical burden removed from their lives and businesses.

The more complexity, coordination, decision-making, or grunt work you take off their plate, the more you can charge. It's a simple equation, but most new consultants completely miss it.

I learned this lesson the hard way when I started my e-learning design agency.

We positioned ourselves as just another "e-learning development" shop. My initial clients kept comparing us to cheaper alternatives until we realized our fundamental mistake.

We weren't articulating the logistical burden we were taking off their plates.

Real Differentiation vs. Wordplay

Most L&D professionals try to differentiate through clever marketing language or highlighting their certifications.

But real differentiation isn't about wordplay. It's about actually doing something different.

Let me share what was actually happening in my e-learning agency behind the scenes:

• We coordinated and conducted all interviews with subject matter experts
• We had a proven process to extract vital learning scenarios from busy SMEs
• We transformed raw material into engaging interactive scenarios
• We handled all design and development into polished software
• We wrapped content in story to boost engagement and retention
• We leveraged visual communication to improve knowledge transfer
• We developed interactive design elements and sound effects
• We coordinated with LMS admins to ensure seamless implementation
• We provided 12 months of tech support if anything broke
• We handled all the creative heavy lifting clients couldn't envision themselves

The reality?

We were doing all this but marketing ourselves as simply "e-learning development" (the same bland label everyone else used.)

This first principle is worth tattooing on your consulting business plan:

What's avoided becomes scarce. What's scarce becomes valuable.

Vertical Value vs. Horizontal Services

Here's where most corporate professionals get it wrong when stepping into consulting. They try to go wide with their offerings:

• Instructional design
• Leadership development
• Team building
• Change management
• Performance evaluation
• ...and the kitchen sink

They think this "value stacking" will attract more clients. It actually does the opposite.

As one of my clients put it after making this mistake: "I was the jack of all L&D trades and master of none. Clients saw me as interchangeable with a dozen other consultants."

In my own business, I discovered that clients didn't just value our technical skills in creating e-learning. What they truly valued was that we relieved their burden of creative limitation.

One client told me: "What I'm really paying for is your ability to get the ideas out of my head and into a tangible learning experience. I don't know what's creatively possible in this medium, and that uncertainty is paralyzing."

True value doesn't come from stacking different services horizontally. It comes from going vertically deeper into one service and absorbing more of its complexity.

Going deep > Going wide when it comes to value creation.

Intensity Points: Your Value Calculation

Every consulting offer contains what I call "intensity points"—specific burdens that someone must handle for successful completion.

When I finally recognized this principle, I mapped out all the intensity points we were handling in our consulting business:

• Intensity Point 1: We'll do this…
• Intensity Point 2: We'll do this…
• Intensity Point 3: We'll do this…
• Intensity Point 4 → 10: And this,...and this,... and this,… etc.

Once I started explicitly communicating these intensity points in our marketing, something remarkable happened. Price resistance virtually disappeared.

The more of these intensity points you capture on your end and clearly articulate, the more you can charge. It's that simple.

Building value isn't about adding random services. It's about absorbing more logistical intensity within a specific service area and making sure clients understand that's what they're paying for.

The Supply-Demand Secret

When you take on the logistical intensity nobody else wants to handle, you automatically create scarcity.

Think about it: How many e-learning consultants are willing to handle the entire creative process from SME interviews to LMS implementation? How many will take on the burden of transforming technical material into engaging scenarios with proper storytelling and interactive design?

Not many.

This realization transformed my business. While other consultants positioned themselves as "hired hands" who would build whatever the client specified, we positioned ourselves as the complete solution that eliminated creative uncertainty and technical headaches.

And when supply is low, you can charge higher prices—while simultaneously attracting more interested clients. You become the rare solution that truly solves their entire problem, not just a piece of it.

Putting This Into Practice

Here's the approach that transformed my consulting business, and one I help other L&D professionals implement:

1. Make a comprehensive list of all the intensity points required for complete success in your area of expertise
2. Identify which points clients find most burdensome (hint: creative uncertainty and technical implementation are usually high on the list)
3. Note which intensity points other consultants typically avoid or charge extra for
4. Decide which ones you could reasonably absorb into your core offering
5. Explicitly articulate these absorbed intensity points in your marketing materials and client conversations

This is exactly what I did. I stopped marketing myself as just another "e-learning developer" and started explicitly communicating all the logistical intensity we were shouldering for clients.

For the L&D professional feeling undervalued and stuck in their corporate role, this mindset shift changes everything. You're not just selling expertise—you're selling freedom from logistical burden.

And that's something clients will gladly pay premium rates for.

Are you ready to transform how you think about your value?

The consulting world has plenty of room for experts who understand this fundamental truth:

The more logistical chaos you absorb, the more valuable you become.

Your next career chapter might just depend on embracing this principle.