Insights / Business
How to Write a Consulting Brief That Gets Useful Proposals
A consulting brief is a decision document for both sides. It helps your organisation decide what support it needs, and helps potential advisers decide whether they can offer a useful approach. A brief that says only “improve growth” invites generic proposals. One that prescribes a detailed solution before the problem is understood can rule out better options. The goal is to describe the outcome and constraints clearly enough for proposals to be comparable while leaving room for an adviser to explain how they would work.
Start with the decision, not the consultant
Write down the business situation in plain language. What is happening? Who experiences the consequences? Why does the issue matter now? What decision will leadership need to make at the end of the work? Distinguish observations from explanations. “The handoff from qualified lead to proposal takes longer than expected” is an observation to investigate; “the sales team needs new software” is already a hypothesis.
A compact problem statement can follow this pattern: “We need to understand [problem or opportunity] for [area or group] so that [decision] can be made by [date or event].” Add what is already known and what remains uncertain. If you have performance measures, define their terms, time period, and limitations. Avoid false precision: a number without a reliable source can mislead more than a clearly labelled estimate.
Describe the scope and the edges
Specify the business units, geographies, customer groups, processes, or time periods in scope. Then state exclusions and dependencies. For example, a review may examine the order-to-delivery process while excluding a technology replacement decision. Explain access constraints, important milestones, data availability, and any internal work already underway. Give enough context for advisers to identify practical risks, but do not bury the core question in company history.
Separate essential requirements from preferences. Essential items might include working with a cross-functional team or producing an executive decision session. Preferences might include a particular workshop format. If all requirements are labelled “must have,” bidders may optimize for compliance rather than relevance. The UK Government Commercial Function recommends specifications that explain the need and measurable outcomes while aligning detail to the result sought; see its guidance on writing a procurement specification.
Name useful outputs and completion criteria
A deliverable is useful when someone knows how to use it. Instead of asking for “a strategy deck,” consider requesting a documented diagnosis, options with assumptions and trade-offs, a recommendation linked to evidence, and a sequence of decisions with owners. For each output, say who will use it and what question it should help answer. Define completion in observable terms: for example, the sponsor can approve or reject the options using agreed criteria, and owners understand the next actions.
Do not over-prescribe the method if the adviser needs to investigate before choosing one. You can ask for a proposed method, work phases, participation needed, and points where findings will be reviewed. If you already know the required approach for a specific reason, explain that reason. This lets bidders distinguish a fixed constraint from an assumption open to discussion.
Make the working model explicit
Name the executive sponsor, day-to-day contact, decision forum, and expected participants. State how quickly the team can provide interviews, data, approvals, and feedback. Clarify whether the adviser should facilitate internal alignment, provide specialist analysis, train staff, or support implementation. Also explain what must remain with internal teams, what tools or data can be shared, and how sensitive information should be handled under your organisation’s policies.
A realistic timetable is more useful than an arbitrary short deadline. Include fixed decision dates and explain their cause. Ask respondents to identify the assumptions behind their schedule and what could change it. If the work is exploratory, consider a defined first phase with a decision point before committing to later phases.
Help proposals become comparable
Tell candidates what to include: their understanding of the issue, proposed approach, relevant experience, team roles, schedule, client inputs, deliverables, assumptions, and fee structure. Say how proposals will be evaluated and which factors matter most. A simple scorecard could assess problem understanding, quality of method, fit of team, practicality of collaboration, usefulness of outputs, and commercial clarity. Apply the same questions and information to each candidate.
Give all candidates an equal opportunity to ask questions. Share material clarifications with everyone when the process allows. This reduces the chance that one proposal is based on a hidden conversation while another relies on the written brief. Do not ask for extensive unpaid custom analysis; use a short discussion or presentation to examine thinking and fit instead.
A one-page brief outline
- Situation and problem statement
- Decision to be made and why now
- Scope, exclusions, constraints, and known evidence
- Desired outputs and completion criteria
- Sponsor, participants, access, and governance
- Timetable, proposal format, and evaluation criteria
Before sending the brief, ask a colleague who was not involved in drafting it to describe the problem, the requested outputs, and the decision owner. If they infer different answers, revise the document. For support shaping a focused engagement, visit Zendral’s consulting services page or contact Zendral.