What part of the expert call fee is my consulting rate (e.g. on GLG, Alphasights or Guidepoint)?

Hi James,

That’s a good question but also a tough one to answer! The expert network pricing is not very straightforward because most expert calls are sold as a part of prepaid bundles. Clients can negotiate very different prices per call credit depending on how many credits they buy. Also, some expert networks (for instance, Dialectica) will pay you the same rate but will sell the call with you for much cheaper than their competitors (such as Guidepoint).
My ballpark estimate would be that a call with an expert who charges 200 USD per hour could cost around 800-900 USD to the client on average. That might seem like a huge margin, but note that the expert networks have to compensate the recruiters, maintain their IT systems, ensure compliance monitoring etc. Moreover, clients sometimes change their mind, switch the focus of the project, or cancel the project altogether. In that case, all the recruitment work already done by the networks will be in vain and they try to compensate for such losses through higher margins.

Hope this helps!

Like Michel Page, Korn Ferry and Robert Half charge for a placement, so as Expert Networks (EN) for placing an expert. Given the nature of the industry, the cost per call varies widely since it depends on who clients negotiate their contract with the EN, as well as the standard price that EN charges per call, which can go from $700 up to $1100.

Like the comment in this thread, although the margins seem to be big, the ENs need to maintain their operations, global offices, and teams.