Objections Can Stymie Your Consulting Firm’s BD. Here’s How to Avoid Many of Them
Read the following true story of a consultant who tried to win an important engagement and lost it. See if you can spot her mistake.
Molly Milkcakes, a consultant with Local Universal Consulting (a.k.a. LUC), was at a hot prospect’s office trying to close a project.

She eloquently outlined the benefits of LUC’s offering and, while the decision makers nodded along, she ran through the alternative approaches.
Then Molly deftly offered the following arguments in her quest to seal the deal:
“You don’t need to worry about this project extending past the end of your fiscal year, which I know is on the horizon. Our entire approach is based on rapid sprints that eliminate the risk of missing important deadlines like the one you have coming up.”
“Also, the time required of you will also be minimal. I’m aware of how consulting projects like these can be a time-drain, and we’ve designed our client interface to minimize that burden. I’d guess your entire time commitment during this engagement is less than two days.”
“Finally, we can also work with you on the payment terms to make the fees more manageable. I recognize that all three alternatives we’ve suggested are substantial investments, and we can be flexible on terms, as needed, to make this work for you.”
What do you think of Molly’s responses to objections about duration, time requirements, and fees?
My thought: those responses were cogent and well-articulated.
In fact, Molly had previously prepared responses to the most common objections her consulting firm had faced from other prospects.

So, why did Molly lose the consulting deal? Where did she go astray?
Molly’s arguments were responses to objections never raised by this particular prospect!
Based on her conversations with previous prospects, Molly made assumptions about what the objections would be, and projected her own fears and concerns about her consulting proposal.
Ironically, by raising all these extra issues, Molly lost a deal she could have won. Bummer!
She’s hardly alone in committing this error.
Consultants often preemptively try to overcome objections they’re afraid their prospects have, even though those objections weren’t voiced.
Past failures understandably make you prone to see phantom objections in your prospects’ vague statements.

Fortunately, you can take two steps to avoid this unforced error:
- Don’t answer concerns that haven’t been raised by your consulting prospect!
- Listen. Rather than assuming you know what your consulting prospect’s objections are, ask them, listen, and ask for clarification.
Is there a time to preemptively address objections? Yes.
Your consulting firm’s marketing materials can anticipate and address common concerns.
On the other hand, during live conversations, listen carefully to your consulting prospect. Ask for clarification and address the concrete challenges you hear, not the phantom objections you imagine.
Have you ever answered an objection the prospect didn’t actually raise (oops)?
Text and images are © 2025 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Good point, David! I didn’t think of this risk but have been doing this ‘pre-emptive response to phantom objections’ to my clients while talking about the time it will take. Will be careful going forward. Great advice, thanks!
It’s a very easy trap to fall into, VR. Good on you for recognizing, acknowledging it and addressing it with your BD efforts!
Great tips!
Thanks, Aaron–I appreciate your feedback!
Really great advice…even extending beyond consulting BD.
Too often, I think we (I?) am fearful of those concerns so I try and “head them off at the pass”.
It’s probably a pride-protection process. (Hmmm…trademark that perhaps?) Yet, as you point out, often we’ve “pre-protected” something that doesn’t even exist in the mind of our prospect. And now we’ve planted a new seed of doubt that didn’t exist.
Good stuff, David. Thanks!
You’re right, Rick, that this preemptive risk management extends far past BD. You see in all facets of life more cause being harmed by preventive measures that probably weren’t necessary. Consulting is all about risk management–yet, we often approach risk management in unsophisticated, sub-optimal ways.
I’m glad you broadened the discussion, Rick!
Great story, David. I totally agree with you. After I read your description, I thought how important it is to listen carefully to any objections before responding.
Exactly right, Jim. Listening is critical. It’s also surprisingly difficult!
I’m only here to compliment you on your subtle reference to one of my favorite Russel Crowe movies of all time!
Well, I’m glad you’re here for any reason, Michael! Yes, that’s a great movie–it also contains a lesson that we often reinforce with clients who are struggling with mindset issues: Just because your mishegas/craziness seems real to you doesn’t mean you have to interact with it. You can acknowledge that your unhelpful thoughts/feelings are mishegas, and then ignore them.