Why You Pay Consultants 20K+ A Month on Retainers
A train bogged down. The company who owned it couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. In desperation, they hired an expert engineer. The engineer looked at the train. In five minutes, it was up and running again. The engineer showed the source of the problem – a broken nut for a bolt.
When the company asked how much would this cost, the engineer replied “$1000.”
The company owners were flabbergasted. “$1000 for a broken nut?”
“No.” The engineer replied. “$1 for the nut. $999 for knowing where it was.”
This is partly why you pay for consultants – for the knowledge and the experience.
What’s the other REAL reason why companies pay consultants on retainers? It is so that nobody else gets the consultants.
Have you ever thought about why big companies San Miguel Beer hire all the top lawyers in the Philippines? The top brass of all law firms? So all the suing artillery is in their hands. No one will mess with them with that kind of firepower.
I gained this insight from a former mentor who worked as VP in Del Monte. The had all the top law firms in their pockets. If a small lawyer would make the mistake of messing around with with them, he’d soon find out what he was really up against… and quickly withdraw.
Simply put, you’d prefer to have those consultants on your side that on your competitors.