HOW WE PRICE EMBEDDED ENGAGEMENTS
Why Our Embedded Engagements
Are Priced on Outcomes
Not hours. Not a timesheet. A base fee plus a bonus tied to results we agree on together before we start.
73% of clients now favor value based or outcome driven pricing over traditional hourly rates.
Nexus Expert Research, 2026THE PROBLEM WITH HOURS
Slide decks do not move the needle.
Outcomes do.
We do not deliver slide decks and leave. That has always been the SIG approach. Pricing by the hour rewards busy work over results, and it puts all the risk on you, the client, before anyone knows if the engagement will actually work.
The industry is already moving this direction. McKinsey now earns about a quarter of its global fees from outcome based pricing rather than billable hours, because clients are asking for it. TheStreet, 2026
This applies specifically to Embedded Engagements and Statements of Work, the projects with a defined scope and a measurable finish line. Advisory Retainer and Peer Advisory stay as monthly access, because that is ongoing coaching, not a scoped project. Workshop Facilitation and Training stay at a day rate or per person, because the output is the session itself.
WHERE THIS APPLIES
Advisory Retainer
Stays a simple monthly subscription. Ongoing access, not a project with a finish line.
Peer Advisory
Stays a simple monthly subscription for the same reason.
Workshops and Training
Stay at a day rate or per person rate. The deliverable is the session itself.
Embedded Engagements and SOW
This is where outcome based pricing applies. Real scope, real KPIs, real finish line.
HOW IT WORKS
A base fee, plus a bonus
tied to results you can verify
Clients now expect consultants to own meaningful portions of implementation risk, and to stay engaged through execution rather than handing off a report. TheStreet, 2026 Here is how we structure that.
Base Engagement Fee, about 65%
Covers discovery, delivery, and the roadmap or build itself. Paid at kickoff and at the midpoint of the engagement.
Outcome Bonus, about 35%
Paid when one to three pre-agreed, measurable KPIs are hit within an agreed window after go-live.
This split is a starting point, not a published rule. The final split gets negotiated per engagement based on risk and confidence in the KPI.
WHAT COUNTS AS AN OUTCOME
Real examples,
not vague promises
Specific, quantifiable KPI definitions are what make outcome based pricing work. Here is what that looks like for the engagements we run most often.
| Engagement | Example Outcome Metric | Measurement Window |
|---|---|---|
| ART Launch | Program Predictability Measure hits an agreed target | First 2 Program Increments post launch |
| Value Stream Build | Measurable reduction in end to end cycle time | 90 days post go live |
| Team Performance Program | Improvement in Team Performance score, measured with SIG’s own Agile Workshop Surveys | 90 days post engagement |
| Strategy to Execution | OKR or goal cascade adopted, confirmed by leadership alignment survey improvement | 90 days post engagement |
CLIENT RESULTS
Words from the
people we have served.
The team was nearly crying with relief from the clarity that Stephens Insight Group provided!
VP, DATA CENTER SERVICES
GLOBAL FORTUNE 500
If you are wondering if Stephens Insight Group can help you, I highly recommend you reach out to start a conversation.
CHIEF DATA OFFICER
HEALTHCARE AND FINTECH EXECUTIVE
Highly skilled at driving outcomes, Stephens Insight Group started adding value on day one!
HEAD OF GLOBAL IT PMO
FORTUNE 500 COMPANY
Ready to tie your next
engagement to real outcomes?
Start with a conversation about what a base fee plus outcome bonus could look like for your project.