How Much Does a Strategic Planning Consultant Cost?

If you needed open heart surgery, would you shop for the lowest price or the best cardiologist? Apparently, some folks would opt for the discount…

When comedian Albert Brooks was producing videos for Saturday Night Live, he actually ran ads in several New York newspapers offering “half-off” heart surgeries. The SNL mockumentary featured Brooks as a doctor selling cut-rate coronary bypass procedures. Thankfully, no operations were actually performed, but real-life bargain hunters did meet with the team of pseudo-surgeons.

This spoof makes a serious point: When excellence matters, going with the lowest bidder is seldom a good idea. There are some things in life that are too important to enter into with anyone other than a highly trained expert.

That’s especially true when you’re looking for a strategic planning consultant.

How Much Does a Strategic Plan Cost?

I’ve worked as a strategy consultant for 30 years. Whenever I meet with a new potential client, two questions always come up:

  • What do you charge for strategic planning? 
  • What will your exact role be if we hire you for our group?

Both are fair questions. I generally choose to explore the second question first because the depth of my involvement as a consultant will ultimately determine how much the cost will be to supply a quality outcome. How much strategizing (planning), implementation (facilitating), and follow-up (accountability) are required for a plan to succeed are major criteria in determining fees.

Average Cost of Strategic Planning

Depending on the size and complexity of your organization, the cost of hiring a consultant to help you design and activate your strategic plan can vary widely.

Asking, “How much does a consultant cost?” is like asking, “How much does a new car cost?” The answer for both is: It depends. The cheapest car in America is the Mitsubishi Mirage at $18,160. The most expensive is the Lamborghini Revuelto at $608,308. The Lambo hybrid has twelve cylinders producing over 1,000 horsepower. The Mitsubishi has three cylinders putting out 78 horsepower. 

In short, the price varies with the product. 

Consulting a business about its strategic planning utilizes a combination of time and talent. Consultants usually charge for time based on their level of expertise, experience, and accreditation. This combination drives the price range and can translate to different processes and end products. 

When you’re budgeting to bring on a strategic planning consultant, consider the kind of services and benefits your company needs, such as:

  • Identifying and clarifying key priorities for the next three to five years 
  • Setting clear actionable goals with agreed-upon steps to reach them
  • Strengthening the internal sense of community and alignment of purpose
  • Helping to understand and assess your position and role in the market

Low-Cost, Affordable Strategic Plan

As I mentioned before, focusing solely on price when seeking strategic planning services often leads to subpar results. However, this doesn’t mean that cost isn’t important. If budget constraints are a concern, it’s essential to adjust expectations accordingly. 

Avoid dreaming of champagne on a beer budget. Instead, clearly define what you truly need. For instance, some of my clients require comprehensive facilitation, coaching, and project management guidance, while others only need monthly coaching sessions. Let your needs determine your budget, not the other way around. 

Why Work with a Strategic Planning Consultant?

The biggest reason to hire a consultant is their specialized expertise. Just as a comedian is not qualified to do heart surgery, very few people are qualified to create, implement, and monitor the progress of a strategic plan. Helping you develop and refine the strategies, tools, and systems necessary to successfully achieve your vision takes top-tier training and hands-on experience.  

There is verifiable value in working with a knowledgeable consultant who has personally seen—and dealt with—the myriad of potential issues that can (and often do) come up while a group is formulating or utilizing their brand new shiny strategic plan. Having an expert guide you through the pitfalls can make the difference between being derailed and getting back on track to reach your goals. 

There are at least six proven, demonstrable benefits of working with an experienced strategic planning consultant, including:

  1. Shared experience & expertise: I’ve been there, done that—and I love to share what I’ve learned! With 30 years of consulting, I’ve seen strategic plans that produced great results and others that failed due to over-ambitious goals, insufficient support, and lack of accountability. A qualified strategic planning consultant will ensure that your strategy sessions achieve the desired outcomes—and won’t waste the valuable time of your key players. 
  2. Objectivity: A strategic planning facilitator serves as a neutral, objective guide and “outside observer” with a unique impartial perspective that’s not clouded by emotion, tradition, or blind spots. Having “fresh eyes” on your group ensures the planning process is productive, effective, and inclusive.
  3. Experienced mentor: Three decades of experience have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and best practices that I now draw from as a strategic planning facilitator. Before becoming a coach and consultant, I developed a broad business background. That expertise allows me to learn and absorb the culture of each company I consult with—to successfully create realistic business strategies that will enable their organization to reach the next level.
  4. Improved conflict resolution: As a neutral outside consultant, a facilitator will use communication, collaboration, and compromise among the parties involved to help mediate and resolve conflict. By addressing and resolving disagreements among leaders and teams, they produce a more positive and productive environment. That’s my role—to resolve and leverage conflicts in your team for the greater good by ensuring all participants feel heard and valued so that, ultimately, the truth is uncovered.
  5. Extra accountability: A strategic planning consultant is responsible for helping the team set clear goals, develop actionable plans, and execute them effectively. This requires holding teams accountable—by monitoring progress, evaluating results, and making adjustments. It all starts with setting clear expectations and getting a commitment from leadership. A good facilitator will schedule return visits and follow-up meetings to assess performance.
  6. Increased ROI: Allocating funds for the right strategic planning consultant is an investment that pays for itself many times over. I have many success stories of diverse groups who experienced significant growth in revenue and impact. If you’d like to contact me, I can give you success stories from organizations similar to your own. 

Factors That Affect the Cost of Strategic Planning

No two businesses or nonprofits are identical, and the needs of each will vary. The size, complexity, and organizational structure of your group will impact cost. Other considerations may include:

  • A larger number of stakeholders to poll and participants to be heard will increase the time to harvest input and review results
  • Extended implementation of tools and systems will sometimes require extended time and effort from a consultant.
  • Outdated or obtuse sign-off practices can delay key approvals, cause delays, and slow down the pace of planning strategies
  • Some organizations need extra team building and executive coaching to build the trust and cohesiveness required to benefit from strategic planning
  • Failure to have key leaders “buy in” and commit to “work the plan” may require extra consultations between the normal quarterly meetings
  • Skepticism or opposition by execs who view strategic planning as a waste of money vs. a beneficial investment will require more facilitator time 

The Cost of Not Creating a Strategic Plan

Imagine driving at night with no headlights. Now turn the GPS off. Now blindfold the driver. That’s what it’s like to operate a business without a strategic plan. Without clear goals and objectives, employees won’t know how to prioritize projects, allocate valuable resources, or manage their time.

Without a strategic plan—as facilitated by an outside consultant—leaders lack the perspective needed to anticipate and cope with changes in their industry or market. They may fail to anticipate challenges and lack the agility to adapt operations in response to changing conditions. This could lead to incurring opportunity costs, failing to stay competitive, or even becoming obsolete.

Without a solid strategic plan in place, organizations may face employee retention issues and workforce shortages. Poor staffing levels, inadequate training, and high employee turnover can lead to lower service or quality issues and signal clients to look elsewhere. This erosion from failing to strategically plan may cause an organization to lose ground to its competitors, negatively impact its market position, and even put its long-term sustainability at risk.

Bottom line? When the purpose, vision, and goals of any organization are unclear, that group may miss opportunities for growth.

Get a Free Quote for Strategic Planning Today

If you’re interested in learning more or feel like my experience as a strategic planning consultant may be beneficial to your future growth, let’s have an informal conversation to discuss rates and opportunities.