Delivery Model Selection

Delivery Model Selection

When to use

You're designing a new offer and need to decide how hands-on you'll be. Is this done-for-you (you deliver everything), done-with-you (you guide the client through the work), or DIY (they do the work with your framework)? And will you deliver in-person, virtual, or asynchronously? Your answer depends on client maturity, your time constraints, and your price ceiling.

The framework

1. Assess client maturity and willingness: Done-for-you works when the client is resource-constrained, has no in-house expertise, or is buying the solution, not the education. Done-with-you works when the client wants to learn and has 5+ hours/month to participate. DIY works only for clients who have solved 60% of the problem and need the last 40%.
2. Map your time commitment per delivery model: Done-for-you: high touch, 80% client conversations + execution. Done-with-you: medium touch, 50% teaching + 50% execution. DIY: low touch, 20% support + 80% self-service content. The model determines your price ceiling and how many clients you can carry at once.
3. Choose the time/location axis independently: In-person (you travel) adds scarcity premium (20–30% price bump) but limits volume (you're booked out in weeks). Virtual (video calls) is the default; async (Slack + recordings) is cheapest to deliver but requires client self-direction. Match to offer tier: $50K offer = in-person, $10K = virtual, $2K = async.
4. Validate against your positioning: If you position as a high-touch, premium advisor, done-for-you in-person earns the price. If you're positioned as an educator / framework provider, DIY or done-with-you virtual wins. Delivery model must reinforce your positioning. (A $50K offer with pure async delivery signals you don't care; clients reject it.)
5. Run a soft test with early clients: Offer the same service in two delivery models and track NPS, completion rate, referrals, and revenue. Done-for-you might earn 30% more but require 50% more time. The math determines scale.

How to apply it

An executive coach designs a "30-60-90 Day Onboarding" offer for VPs hired into new roles. She's deciding: should this be done-for-you (she coaches the VP + stakeholder briefings), done-with-you (she teaches the VP and the VP does the outreach), or DIY (VP gets a framework and Slack support)?

She segments by VP maturity: first-time VPs = done-for-you ($8K, 20 hours her time). Experienced VPs moving to new companies = done-with-you ($5K, 10 hours her time). ICs promoted to management = DIY framework + Slack ($2K, 3 hours her time). The client self-selects by choosing the tier.

She tests with 5 early clients: 2 buy done-for-you (enthusiastic, referrals, ask for follow-up retainer). 2 buy done-with-you (engaged but slow to act, don't convert to retainer). 1 buys DIY (completes it, no follow-up, no referral). She doubles down on done-for-you positioning, raises the price to $10K, and limits volume to 4 clients per quarter (80 hours/quarter = sustainable). She now has a waitlist.

She adds in-person "kickoff dinners" for done-for-you clients (30% price premium, 6 hours travel per client, 2–3 per quarter). The travel limits volume, but the premium more than offsets. Done-for-you + in-person becomes her flagship; done-with-you virtual is the "trial tier" for budget-constrained prospects.

Common traps

• Positioning a DIY offer as high-touch: "You get my framework + Slack access" is not the same as "I coach you through it." Clients buy what they think they're getting. A DIY offer signaled as premium (high-ticket price, glossy landing page) creates resentment when they realize they're 80% self-directed.
• Charging the same fee for two delivery models: If done-for-you and DIY cost the same, every rational buyer picks DIY. (You've signaled DFY has no extra value.) DFY should be 3–5x the DIY price, not 20% more.
• Async-only for a premium offer: Premium clients pay for access and attention. All-async delivery undermines the premium positioning. Virtual synchronous (calls) is the minimum; in-person is the differentiator.
• Overestimating client self-direction (DIY trap): You assume a $2K DIY buyer will work through your 50-page guide. 70% abandon by page 10. Only sell DIY to clients who've already done 60% of the work (they're not starting from zero). Or pair it with group cohorts (async community creates accountability).

Source credits

• Kathryn Porritt (100K Offer System): Delivery model (done-for-you, done-with-you, in-person/virtual) as core element of offer architecture; high-touch availability as premium differentiation.
• Ken Yarmosh (Scalable Service Offers): Time commitment and scalability constraints of each delivery model; done-with-you as the "teaching" model that positions the consultant as authority.
• Sean Anthony (Hybrid Install Offers): Hybrid delivery (some live group, some async documentation) as a scalable model for high-ticket coaching; phased commitment reducing friction.
• Alan Weiss (The Consulting Bible): Remote and virtual delivery unlocking higher fees (eliminates travel time while preserving perceived high-touch value).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: peterod99
• Source: peterod99/consultant-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.