Professional services in a trust deficit economy

The million-dollar PowerPoint presentation is dying. McKinsey just cut 5,000 jobs. Accenture eliminated 19,000 positions. The Big Four slashed over 9,000 consulting roles. This isn't about AI replacing consultants. This is about clients questioning whether beautiful slides justify premium pricing. Traditional strategy consulting declined from 60-70% of engagements 30 years ago to only 20% today. The PowerPoint-heavy, recommendations-focused model that built the industry is losing its economic justification. Here's what's really happening → Information asymmetry (consulting's foundation) has vanished in the internet age → Strategic frameworks once exclusive to elite firms are now freely available online → Market research that required teams of consultants can be generated through AI platforms → Strategic recommendations lose relevance faster than implementation cycles can deliver results But the client procurement revolution is the real killer. 89% of buyers now demand ROI measurement from consulting engagements. Traditional consulting struggles with this accountability because strategic recommendations are difficult to measure and often fail in execution. Companies are expanding internal consulting capabilities with alumni from brand-name consultancies to solve problems at lower costs. From Walmart to Nationwide Insurance, they're building internal strategy and business architecture teams. The fundamental economics are breaking down Consulting traditionally bills based on time spent, not outcomes delivered. When clients can generate similar analysis internally or through AI platforms, polished presentations become impossible to justify economically. Value-based pricing is replacing time-based billing as clients demand accountability for results, not hours invested. From my perspective this represents a broader shift in professional services. The era of trust-based purchasing is ending, replaced by outcome-based accountability. The consulting firms that survive will need to fundamentally restructure how they create and deliver value → Outcome-based partnerships replace advisory relationships ⤷ Taking responsibility for implementation and results, not just recommendations → Technology integration enables rather than threatens value creation ⤷ Using AI to enhance human insight while focusing resources on strategy and execution → Specialization replaces generalist positioning ⤷ Deep vertical expertise and implementation capabilities over broad strategic advice → Collaboration models replace vendor relationships ⤷ Sharing risk and reward with clients through strategic alliance structures The future belongs to those who deliver measurable business outcomes, not beautiful slide decks. The "prove-it" economy has arrived for professional services. What's your take on the death of PowerPoint consulting? #Consulting #ai #bigfour #wetechiteasy

In this Age of AI, professional value will increasingly hinge not on access to knowledge, but on the credibility to wield it well. As LLMs and automation systems commoditize information and low-level analysis, the differentiator won’t be what you know, it will be whether others trust how you apply it. This shifts the locus of value from credentials and technical skill to lived experience, judgment and the demonstrated ability to steer AI outputs into useful, defensible and context-aware decisions. The credibility of AI-assisted work will rest on a professional’s track record: not just outcomes, but the consistency, transparency and integrity of the processes they follow. Clients and institutions will look for people who can bridge systems and synthesize ambiguity, to those who’ve made real calls under pressure, with stakes involved. Reputation will operate as a proxy for this practical wisdom: an informal but durable signal of trustworthiness in complex environments where the cost of failure is high and explainability is non-negotiable. This transition breaks with legacy models of authority. Traditional professional services such as law, consulting, auditing and education, have long relied on formal gatekeeping, time-based billing and tight control over proprietary knowledge. But once an LLM can draft the contract or outline the strategy memo, the question becomes: who can you rely on to edit, contextualize and stand behind that output in a way that survives litigation, board scrutiny or public exposure? That’s no longer about pedigree; it’s about judgment honed over time and tested in the real world. Expect to see new mechanisms for signaling that kind of competence. Verified work portfolios, audit trails and reputation scores will matter more than certifications or corporate logos. Peer feedback, client outcomes and open documentation of methods will become the raw material of trust. In high-risk or high-uncertainty domains, institutions will reward those who make AI legible, who can explain what was done, why, and with what limits. And those who can’t will be replaceable. In this landscape, know-how, situational fluency, pattern recognition and moral clarity, will be the true premiums. It’s harder to fake, harder to scale and all the more valuable because of it. AI will flatten the field, but that just makes the high ground more visible: the ability to lead through ambiguity, translate between systems and remain accountable even when machines do the heavy lifting. The future belongs not to those who simply use AI, but to those whose use of AI others are willing to trust. The Bottom-Line: There’s gonna be a lot of bullshit, but those who can back it up will do very, very well.

I can say with full conviction - The era of lazy, lead-gen marketplaces is over. We've all seen them. - You need a lawyer, you get a list of 50 names and numbers - You need a specialized contractor for a critical project, you get a directory and a "good luck" This is not a solution; it's shifting the burden of trust and quality control onto a customer who is already in a high-stakes, high-stress situation. This model is fundamentally broken because it sells a connection, not a resolution. The future, and where the real value is being built, is in what I call "full-stack" or "managed" marketplaces. This isn't just about discovery. It's about ownership. It's about having skin in the game. A managed marketplace doesn't just connect you with a chartered accountant; it vets them stringently, standardizes the scope and pricing of services, manages the workflow through a dedicated platform, and most importantly, guarantees the outcome. It's the difference between being handed a phone book and having a trusted partner who takes responsibility for solving your problem. Think about the trust this creates. For a small business owner navigating the complexities of GST or a family dealing with a sensitive legal matter, this reliability is everything. They are not just buying a service; they are buying peace of mind. This deep trust allows these platforms to command a much higher take rate, moving from a 5% commission on a lead to a 20-30% share of the total service value. Why? Because they are delivering a complete, managed solution, not just a phone number. This is an operationally intense model, no doubt. Building the playbook to vet professionals, creating the technology to manage complex workflows, and building a brand that stands for unwavering reliability is hard. It requires patience and a deep understanding of the industry you're serving. But this complexity is precisely what creates the moat. While others are busy building flimsy bridges of connections, managed marketplaces are building deep, unbreachable fortresses of trust. In the chaotic, fragmented, and often low-trust professional services landscape of India, the founder who builds the most trusted platform wins. Not just the category, but the entire ecosystem around it. That's the real opportunity. What Urban Company built for home services, who’s creating that for X, Y and Z? Always excited to connect with founders doing that! ---- I've begun to share my learnings from the world of startups more frequently to gain wider perspective. Thus, if you hold any additions or differences to the thoughts I shared above, do share in the comments. That will help widen my thinking horizons. Thanks! Best, Shiv

Trust is the currency that determines whether deals close or stall—and the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that currency is in short supply. In fact, 68% of buyers believe business leaders are intentionally misleading them. That’s a trust deficit no pipeline can afford! I recently joined Steven MacDonald on the C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives podcast with Dawn Werry to unpack how today’s “trust crisis” is putting pipelines at risk—and what leaders can do about it. A few highlights from our conversation: ➡️ Trust is a currency buyers spend. Every deal requires them to invest political capital and take personal risks. A reputation built on reliability and performance reduces that risk, making it easier for buyers to choose you. ➡️Trust is built, or broken, at every customer experience touchpoint. From code quality to support, each interaction adds to or withdraws from the “trust bank.”  Every department needs to be accountable for how they earn and protect it. Make it a shared KPI! ➡️Customer voice > company voice. Campaigns always perform better when the customer’s voice leads. Skepticism toward marketing claims is at an all-time high, which is why peer advocacy carries more weight than vendor materials—the messenger is just as important as the message. ➡️Short-term vs. long-term isn’t an either/or. Today’s brand is tomorrow’s demand. Strong, trusted brands earn at-bats, lower buyer risk, and increase stickiness. Without trust, pipelines dry up fast. The investments you make today to strengthen your reputation protect tomorrow’s pipeline. 🎧 Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/drCYnEHA #B2BMarketing #EnterpriseSales #TrustEconomy #PipelineGrowth