BearingPoint: Off Teams...To Clients

Why It Matters

This view signals that consulting firms will continue investing in client travel and in-person engagement to win trust and deliver advisory services, affecting recruitment, billable models and hybrid-work policies. For new consultants, success depends on mastering interpersonal client skills, not just virtual tools.

Summary

BearingPoint leaders emphasized that building client relationships requires in-person time and cannot be fully replaced by technology. Chief people officer Damian Plassy framed the firm as a P2P (people-to-people) business, underscoring trust, partnership and informal interactions as core to consulting. While digital tools and virtual meetings have roles, the panel argued consultants—especially new graduates—must spend time face-to-face on client floors to develop intimacy and credibility. The message was a practical reminder that client work demands presence beyond remote collaboration platforms.

Original Description

Charlie Sorensen's advice (BearingPoint) for anyone entering consulting:

Get off Teams. Go see your clients.

The water cooler conversations.

The time on the shop floor.

The trust that only builds in person.

Consulting isn't B2B. It's P2P - people to people.

It sounds cliché. It's also the truth.

Watch the full panel discussion: https://managementconsulted.com/podcast/energy-consulting-exploding-3-insiders-2026/

#managementconsulted #bearingpoint #energyconsulting #consulting #clientrelationships #careeradvice

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