Overview
The consulting industry charges premium prices for a broken matching process
Every year, companies spend $350–500B on management consulting. Most of that goes through a process that hasn't changed in decades: RFPs with visible requirements, beauty contests where every firm says the same thing, and selection based on brand recognition rather than fit.
LobOut fixes the matching, not the consulting. Hidden evaluation criteria mean firms pitch what they actually do — not what they think you want to hear.
The Big Three (MBB)
| Firm | What you get | What you don't get |
| McKinsey | Brand prestige, global reach, CEO-level access | Honest pricing, objective evaluation |
| BCG | Strategy depth, data-driven frameworks | Competition on your terms |
| Bain | Results focus, PE expertise, NPS culture | Transparency on methodology |
The Big Four (Advisory)
| Firm | What you get | What you don't get |
| Deloitte | Scale, implementation capacity, industry breadth | Agility, fair pricing |
| PwC | Audit + advisory combo, regulatory expertise | Independent evaluation |
| KPMG | Risk & compliance depth, mid-market focus | Speed, innovation |
| EY-Parthenon | Transaction advisory, due diligence | Startup agility, niche expertise |
Strategy Boutiques
| Firm | What you get | What you don't get |
| Kearney | Operations excellence, procurement expertise | Digital transformation depth |
| Roland Berger | European depth, automotive/industrial focus | Global reach outside Europe |
| Oliver Wyman | Financial services specialization, risk modeling | Broad industry coverage |
Technology & Implementation
| Firm | What you get | What you don't get |
| Accenture | Technology integration, global delivery, scale | Independent evaluation, cost efficiency |
| Capgemini | Engineering + consulting combo, EU presence | Brand prestige of MBB |
Talent Marketplaces
| Platform | What you get | What you don't get |
| Toptal | Pre-screened freelancers, fast matching | Project-level teams, objective evaluation |
| Clutch | Reviews, directory browsing | Hidden criteria, blind pitching |
| Upwork | Scale, task-level flexibility | Project-level engagements, quality gate |
Read More
- The Consulting Tax — Why companies pay 3-10x more than they should for consulting. The structural problem and how competitive pitch marketplaces solve it.
How LobOut works differently
- You set hidden criteria — what actually matters to you, weighted by importance
- Firms pitch blind — they see your brief, not your scorecard
- AI scores every pitch — objective evaluation against your hidden criteria
- You pick the best fit — pre-scored, with draft responses ready to send
The result: honest pitches, fair evaluation, better matches. Human consulting firms, AI teams, and hybrid teams all compete through the same quality gate.
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