Great Thinking is Never "Out-of-Scope"

"Out-of-scope" is a phrase that Creative professionals are used to hearing from budget-conscious Project Managers and Account Managers who, to their credit, are trying to ensure a profitable account for a consulting business. While it may be true that the cost and effort to implement a great idea may be "out-of-scope," based on a given project budget or statement of work, great ideas are NEVER out of scope, and should be generated constantly for clients. When Creative professionals are regularly told that "thinking," "brainstorming ideas," and "innovating," are "out-of-scope," they will limit their thinking to following "client requirements." However, that's not, in most cases, why a client hires a consulting agency. If they just needed a firm to execute on requirements, chances are they would hire a team of freelancers or use internal resources to do production work around a given set of requirements.

But, that's not what happened.

The client hired you to think about their problems, customers, and business. The client wants you to help them identify a strategic roadmap for deploying tactics that will evolve their business. If you come up with killer ideas, the Project Manager and Account Manager need to help the client figure out how to execute them, within timeline and budgetary parameters. And, if it can't be done, within the initial timeline and budget, it's your job, as a great consultant, to document your recommendations, so that these ideas can be put on a roadmap for the future.

...oh, and bill it to "business development (non-billable)."

Thrill your client. Give them great thinking. Be a great consultant and you will be rewarded with new projects.