Who decides which model fits?

You do, with our recommendation. On the first call we describe which shape the question in front of you actually has, and why: the model follows the problem, not the other way around.

Can a defined-scope engagement turn into a retainer?

Sometimes, and only if the work earns it. A diagnostic occasionally surfaces a standing need neither side anticipated at the start. It is never assumed, and there is no default renewal built into any scope.

Is a phased engagement more expensive than committing to the whole thing upfront?

It is usually cheaper in expectation, because the decision point between phases is real: if the diagnostic changes the picture, later phases change with it instead of running against a plan that was already wrong. See /how-we-work/pricing-and-scoping for how each phase gets quoted.

01How we work

Engagements come in three shapes.

There is no rate card and no package tier. What decides the shape of an engagement is the shape of the decision behind it, and it's usually one of three.

Sleek modern architecture at a harbour edge: an illustrative image for a defined commitment structure.

Why three, not a menu

A model is a commitment structure, not a price tier.

Most advisory pricing pages sort clients into tiers ("starter," "growth," "enterprise"), as if the size of the business decided the shape of the work. It doesn’t. A ten-person company facing an irreversible market-entry call and a thousand-person company facing the same call need the same thing: a defined question, answered rigorously, once. What actually decides the shape of an engagement is whether the underlying need is a single decision, a program too large to scope in one pass, or a standing function that needs an outside voice indefinitely.

That's the logic behind the three models below. None is a discount or an upsell of another: each is the right structure for a genuinely different kind of problem, and the first call (see what the first call covers) is where we work out which one you actually have.

The three models

Defined-scope, phased, or retainer.

A single decision, answered and enacted, with a fixed start and end.
This is the default shape for a strategy call, a market-entry question, or a specific operating problem: anything where the question can be stated in one paragraph and the engagement closes when it's answered and the first moves are underway. Most engagements take this shape.
The question is real but too large to scope in one pass: a digital transformation, a change-management program, an AI rollout across several functions.
The first phase is a defined-scope diagnostic that produces the plan; later phases execute against it, each scoped and quoted on its own, with an explicit decision point between phases rather than an open-ended commitment.
A standing need rather than a single decision: ongoing SEO strategy, a data-governance function that needs a continuing outside voice, or a leadership team that wants a regular sounding board through a stretch of change.
Scoped as a fixed cadence of time and a defined set of responsibilities, reviewed on a schedule both sides set upfront, not renewed by inertia.

Which practices lean which way

The practice area is a signal, not a rule.

A strategy consulting question (enter this market or not, reposition against this competitor or not) is almost always defined-scope: it has a start, an answer, and an end. Change management and digital transformation engagements are usually phased, because the diagnostic genuinely changes what phase two should be: committing to the full program before the diagnosis is done is how transformation budgets get wasted.

Ongoing functions read differently. Search doesn’t hold a ranking once and stop, so SEO consulting is frequently a retainer. The same is true of a data strategy function during a multi-year build-out. None of this is a fixed rule: a company can have a one-off SEO diagnostic, and a strategy question can recur often enough to justify a standing advisory relationship. The category is a starting signal; the actual decision in front of you decides the shape.

Questions

Before you reach out.

Who decides which model fits?: You do, with our recommendation. On the first call we describe which shape the question in front of you actually has, and why: the model follows the problem, not the other way around.
Can a defined-scope engagement turn into a retainer?: Sometimes, and only if the work earns it. A diagnostic occasionally surfaces a standing need neither side anticipated at the start. It is never assumed, and there is no default renewal built into any scope.
Is a phased engagement more expensive than committing to the whole thing upfront?: It is usually cheaper in expectation, because the decision point between phases is real: if the diagnostic changes the picture, later phases change with it instead of running against a plan that was already wrong. See /how-we-work/pricing-and-scoping for how each phase gets quoted.

The rest of the methodology.

Not sure which shape your decision needs?

That's exactly what the first call is for. Tell us what you're facing and we'll tell you honestly which model fits: no obligation, no packaged pitch.

Start a conversation Or call (415) 634-5434

No obligation · a scoping conversation first