Why won’t clients buy from you in 2026? And how to change their minds

Each quarter we ask clients about their business priorities and where they plan to use consultants. Where there is a mismatch—for example, where customer experience is high on their agenda but low on their shopping list from firms—we often attribute this to clients feeling they have greater expertise in this area themselves or that they have ready access to their own talent to solve this problem.  

To delve deeper into this dynamic, last quarter, we sought more detail on why clients say they are reluctant to use firms for some projects. The results should give firms pause for thought when pitching to prospects—their top three reasons are:  

1. That firms lack appropriate hands-on experience
2. It’s hard to justify consultants when they are cutting costs 
3. That consultants take too long to implement solutions 

So how can firms use this insight to position themselves for work? 

1. Tell a story that earns trust 

Clients are reluctant to use firms that they perceive don’t have hands-on experience in the specific area where they need support. The magic dust here is convincing case studies—simple in theory, hard in practice. Testimonials and advocates can be persuasive too.  

But one aspect that is less often talked about here is compelling storytelling. People engage emotionally with stories, and a narrative that communicates your experience, contains specific, relatable detail, and feels authentically you is a persuasive tool. It allows future clients to imagine what it is like being in the trenches with you.  

2. Put your human expertise front and centre 

Access to AI-enabled tools as part of the consulting process is a persuasive factor when pitching for work today—clients want to see firms modelling real use cases for this technology. But when it comes to hands-on experience, you really need to talk about your people and their expertise. There are many things that AI can do faster and better than humans, but it can’t replicate this. 

 3. Talk up your expert alliances  

No firm can have hands-on experience in all areas, and this is where partnerships can really play their part. As we discussed in our latest podcast, we feel that alliances will be a big differentiator in 2026.  

But clients often tell us that firms’ alliances and partnerships all look the same. Where partners have experience in specialist areas that the parent firm doesn’t (for example, sector-specific AI solutions or ESG data integration) then this is something to be explicit about. Firms aren’t shouting loudly or clearly enough about their alliances.  

 4. Understand the confidence level of your clients 

In our analysis over the past 12 months, we have seen clients’ confidence levels impact their appetite to spend. Those that are particularly worried about the effect of the macroeconomic environment on their business are more willing to spend on consulting support to help them navigate that turmoil.  

Confidence levels appear to impact the reasons why clients decide not to buy from firms too, with frightened and uncertain clients prioritising the access to hands-on experience that we’ve been discussing, while confident clients worry more about justifying spend at a time when they are cutting costs. Perhaps this pattern reflects that fear creates a burning bridge in an organisation and that spend is easier to justify when the alternative may be business failure.  

However, the proportion of confident clients rose this quarter, so firms need to be able to talk to these buyers too. For this group, being able to justify spend is critical. While keen pricing will be important, firms also need to speak convincingly to the reasons confident clients give for continuing to invest. Threats from competitors and changing customer behaviour top the list of reasons why these confident clients will be investing in their business and would make compelling messages in any pitch.  

If firms want to win a bigger slice of today’s consulting market, they must understand where their clients sit on the frightened-determined axis and pinpoint their particular needs. Hands-on-experience is particularly important to frightened clients, and to persuade them to bite, firms need strong storytelling, alliances they can shout about, and to be ready to put their human experts front and centre.     

What can firms do next? 

If you’d like to better understand what your clients are thinking and tailor your engagement to win their confidence, our experts can help. Get in touch today.