Is the incidence of clients prevaricating, ignoring or failing to make timely decisions on proposals that meet their stated requirements on the increase in your experience?Finding the best way to push the process along without alienating a prospective client is an ever-present challenge. Any handy tips anyone?

It's not your imagination. My clients are reporting the same thing. I think it has much to do with budget holders finding that they are much more exposed than they were in a rising market.I heard of one instance recently where after a long discussion to work up a requirement, the apparent budget-holder made very positive noises about a project. Then suddenly, at the last minute, the project was offloaded onto another budget, the budget holder for which promptly said, "Get lost". It then emerged that it was not the first time it had happened with this blue-chip multinational.If I think of other instances that have come up, the problem often seems to arise from confusion on the client side. Projects that are worth doing often fall across boundaries and the black hole manifests itself when the internal client negotiation founders on who will pay for what. One in particular I have in mind is where the CEO has made a public commitment to achieve certain goals, so we are not talking about unimportant side issues.I wrote an article for Top-Consultant about this in 2008. It could probably do with some tightening up and updating, but the underlying principles are still relevant. [url]http://news.top-consultant.com/uk/News-4536.html[/url]Let me know if you find any of it useful.Malcolm Sleath, 12boxes.com

View from client side: don't underestimate the constant, constant challenge around funding and priorities going on in this financial enviroment. I'm running a top 5 programme with 9 figure budget; despite supposedly having mandatory, protected status, I have two people tied up pretty much full time on reshuffling between funding sources, facing reprioritisation challenges, rejustifying benefts etc etc Stuff does get reprioritised and canned at short notice. Typically also scrutiny is such at present that we need lots of detail on any given proposition before getting past the first hurdle - which will mean having a big, well fleshed out vendor proposal which may not make it past first base. I do hope that the consultancies are being pragmatic and recognising how the world has changed in setting people's conversion targets, as in my experience those pipeline processes can be pretty unrealistic at the best of times...

I second the views of rc. In the last six months I've managed four distinct RFP's, each one of which has gone to 2-3 consultancies on my client's PSL. On each and every occasion we've brought the firms in on short notice to react to a sudden and urgent requirement for specialist staff to help mobilise a new and crucial programme. Each opportunity has been at least £1M in advisory fees and one has been £3M+. On each and every occasion we've chosen the winner, orally advised them that they're our preferred choice and asked to start drafting work orders and started viewing CV's of specific consultants.Only one of the four has gone ahead! The rest have closed down, either due to project cancellation or re-allocation of existing staff on other cancelled or delayed projects.I also know of at least two banks where ALL consultancy spend is beign signed of at CEO level. Guess what that does to the success rate of RFP's?

Thanks for all your comments.Whilst I understand and recognise an increased level of scrutiny, perhaps even elongated decision making processes due to budgetary pressure and rapidly changing commercial priorities; it is not really the crux of my original comments.I am experiencing a significant increase in silence from prospective clients regarding proposals. I do not have a problem with a proposal being rejected or requests for modification in scope and methodology.The point I was trying to make was where once having received a proposal there is no feedback, no communication, no answers to follow-up requests, or stalling/stonewalling over protracted periods of time. This may be construed by some as being a peculiarly British trait (stereotypes r us!) of expecting a certain level of courteousy and professionalism from prospective clients. The maxim "no new is good news" does not, unfortunately,apply here!

On that more specific point I think the answer is a variation on the same theme. A lot of the perm employees I'm working with find it quite embarrassing that they drag consultancies in on short notice, make the sweat to get a proposal back, and then the project gets canned in (or more likely put on endless hold) just as quickly.Many of them then go silent on the consultancies for two reasons; embarrassment around all the U-turns and also the fact that in most cases they don’t actually have a definite NO, it just a very, very long winded maybe that might turn in to a Yes.But proably won't!

I'd agree with that. Flip side for me is that I am getting increasingly reluctant to leverage my consulting network on behalf of clients to get rapid respomse proposals or 'advice on account' because of the high incidence of time wasting; don't want to burn my contacts...

@rcAbsolutely! Same goes for recommending other contractors or even perm's for hire. This time last year I managed to introduce five ex-collegues (contractors) to the business. All hired, all still working here.In the last four months I've reluctantly introduced two other top-class contacts, both verbally "offered", then complete readion silence, then nothing.Now the boss asks me for more people and I just make polite excuses.