Working with MBB as a client

If you're contracting them for a DD, and not for something like portfolio value creation, consider the following:

• Check-ins once a week (considering a 3 week engagement). They will prepare a new or updated deck for each check-in. If you have more check-ins, they get mired down in needless slide creation. If you have fewer, then they tend to meander in their analysis.

• Depending on the task, asking very specific questions and/or asking questions you don't have the capability or bandwidth to get the answer to. An example of the former is primary research with data collected via survey. If you are wondering the answer to a question, and there is no data to currently answer that question, then have your consultants find it out. They cannot and will not come back to you without an answer.

• You should outline everything you want in the scope of work. This sounds obvious but at the end of the day, you point to the scope and say you contractually agreed to give my X, Y, and Z. You'd be surprised how many reputable consulting firms will deliver a product and it only hits on 75% of scope. This is how you get accountability.

• You should ask to review the survey and do so in detail. They will use a survey to collect data for market size. If they don't (e.g. Booz) you may want to evaluate their approach and consider a different consultant if the other approach doesn't suit you, because surveys are generally how you get N to get reliable market information. The survey will also be how you control how bespoke the analysis is. Surveys will be able to give you market size, market growth, TAM, and market share. If you really don't want something boilerplate, ask to not have a framework approach. Instead, you can have them structure the market in a mutually agreed upon fashion before launching the survey; for example, the way you calculate a business services market is vastly different than a consumer product market. You also will want to understand the nuances of your individual market (e.g., is this a new market? if so, maybe there are other layers of addressability to consider; ask your consultant and if they don't know, shop around).

• If you're trying to control costs on a smaller transaction (though it does not sound like it), look under the hood of expenses. Substitute 75% of GLG calls (~$1.2k ea) for proprietary LinkedIn expert outreach (max $150 ea). There are only so many top notch interviewees worth paying $1k an hour for, and many firms will just go get 50 interviews at ~$1k+ ea.