January 27, 2025

When does it make sense to offer an advisory retainer?

Whether or not to offer advisory retainers depends heavily on who your ideal buyers are and what they’re facing.

Let’s start by backing up:

An advisory retainer is just one way to package consulting services.

So, before we can talk about advisory retainers, you need to be clear on what consulting is.

Consulting is trading advice for money.

In other words, if you are a consultant, it means that people pay you for your advice.

Why would someone pay you for your advice?

Because they’re facing a decision they don’t feel qualified to make on their own.

The bigger the decision and the more uncertain they are (and the more they trust you), the more they will value your advice.

And the more they value your advice, the higher you can set your price.

Now, back to advisory retainers...

If a client is going to have to make lots of big, scary decisions for an extended period, it makes sense to set up an open-ended recurring monthly subscription for access to your advice.