Engage the client in the diagnosis; don’t be prescriptive.

Earn different ways to engage your client in diagnosing the issues. Just by engaging your client in diagnosis, you take his confidence in you to the next level. He takes you as a peer, and that's a landmark in the fee determining process. You shouldn't prescribe, instead you and your buyer should jointly diagnose the issues. The simplest way to do this quickly is to provide a process visual and let the buyer decide where the organization belongs. You should ask the buyer to profile the organization for each factor. This way, the client perceives much greater value and you break that ice wall separating you from the client. The best example of diagnosis success is internists vs pharmacists. Internists make much more money than pharmacists because they are so much more valuable in diagnosing illness. And when the patient is involved in the diagnosis and the ensuing course of treatment, the quality and success of the treatment are greatly enhanced.