4 Things Typical Consultants Should Promise, But Don’t.

Every dollar you allocate to consultants, agencies, or partners comes from somewhere else in your business. It’s not casual money. It’s capital you’ve decided to entrust a third party with – because you believe it can produce more value in that third party’s hands than it would if directed elsewhere.

That trust carries an unspoken expectation: Prove it was worth it.

Unfortunately, recent studies show that while consulting and marketing services continue to grow, only a fraction of buyers feel they get consistent ROI. A report from Management Consulted found that only 5% of companies investing in advisory services see returns that they ultimately deem worth the effort (greater than 3:1).

Don’t get me wrong – a 3:1 return on investment is fine. But what about the opportunity costs that aren’t factored into that ratio, specifically the time and bandwidth it takes from your workforce to assist typical consultants in completing their analyses? Could it be that that return is actually closer to 1.5:1? Are your consultants being transparent with you about that?

What You Should Expect:

• A Vision of Current State vs. Future State: What will revenue look like if we do nothing different? What will it look like if we do? What’s that difference in real dollars?
• Predictable Progress: You deserve to know whether or not you’re winning throughout the game, not just at the end of it.
• The Uncovering of Hidden Opportunities: What good is a partner that tells you something you already knew?
• True Accountability: Be honest, how many third party partners in your past have actually stood by their work? Dollars to donuts most of them have made empty promises.

We believe these expectations – and exceeding them – are table stakes.

Don’t you?

Stark Townend – November 11th, 2025

NorthShift’s mission: To provide companies with our proven experience building optimized revenue engines and improving business valuation through the power of AI, and to do so without the burden of large overhead or expensive full-time hires.

We believe: Any company can grow, and building things that deliver value is a joy.

We combine the power of AI with the rigor and wisdom of human experience.
We value transparency, predictability, and accountability.
We create solutions with milestones, momentum, and results.