27.1 What the Interviewer Wants to Hear
The interviewer usually wants four things:
- Recommendation: What should the client do?
- Evidence: What are the strongest reasons?
- Risks: What could undermine the recommendation?
- Next steps: What should happen next?
Core principle: Give the client a decision, not a summary of your notes.
27.2 Starting with the Answer
Begin with your recommendation immediately.
Instead of saying, “We looked at the market, competition, and economics, and based on everything we discussed…” say:
Answer first: “I recommend that the client enter the market.”
You can then qualify the recommendation if necessary: “I recommend entering the market, provided the client can secure the required distribution partnership.”
This answer-first structure reflects how consultants often communicate with senior decision makers.
27.3 Supporting the Recommendation with Evidence
After stating the answer, support it with evidence from the case.
Good supporting evidence is specific:
“I recommend entering because the market is growing at 12% annually, the client could capture an estimated $80 million in revenue, and projected margins exceed the company’s target.”
Avoid: Generic statements such as “The market looks attractive” when you have stronger quantitative evidence available.
27.4 Choosing the Two or Three Most Important Reasons
Do not repeat every finding from the interview. Choose the two or three points that most directly support your recommendation.
Ask yourself:
- Which finding had the largest impact?
- Which evidence most directly answers the objective?
- Which facts would matter most to the client?
Prioritization: Three strong reasons are more persuasive than eight disconnected observations.
27.5 Quantifying Your Recommendation
Use numbers whenever they strengthen the conclusion.
Instead of saying, “This could be profitable,” say, “The opportunity could generate approximately $30 million in annual profit, exceeding the client’s $20 million target.”
Quantification makes your recommendation more concrete and demonstrates that it follows from the analysis.
Important: Use only numbers you can support. Do not add false precision or invent assumptions at the end.
27.6 Addressing Risks
Most recommendations contain uncertainty or execution risk. Identify the most important one or two risks rather than listing every possible concern.
For example:
“The main risk is customer churn if competitors respond aggressively on price.”
Better still: Briefly indicate how the client could mitigate or monitor the risk.
Addressing risk strengthens your recommendation because it shows that you understand the decision is not risk-free.
27.7 Identifying Next Steps
Next steps should address the most important unresolved questions or implementation priorities.
Examples include:
- Validate: Test customer willingness to pay.
- Investigate: Confirm the cause of unusually high churn.
- Pilot: Test the proposed solution in one market.
- Implement: Develop a detailed rollout plan.
Good next steps: Specific actions tied to uncertainty or execution, not vague statements such as “do more research.”
27.8 Handling Uncertainty
You rarely have perfect information in a case. You can still make a recommendation while acknowledging what remains uncertain.
Useful language: “Based on the information available, I would recommend proceeding, although I would want to validate customer retention before making the full investment.”
This communicates decisiveness without pretending that unresolved questions do not exist.
27.9 Delivering a 30-Second Recommendation
A 30-second recommendation should be highly compressed.
A useful structure is:
- Recommendation: State the answer.
- Two reasons: Give the strongest evidence.
- Risk or next step: Mention the most important unresolved issue.
Example structure: “I recommend entering the market. First, it is growing rapidly and could generate substantial revenue. Second, the client’s projected margins exceed its hurdle rate. The main risk is distribution access, so I would next confirm whether a local partnership can be secured.”
27.10 Delivering a 60-Second Recommendation
A 60-second recommendation follows the same structure but allows slightly more evidence and context.
You might provide the recommendation, two or three supporting arguments, one quantified result, the major risk, and a specific next step.
Discipline: More time does not mean you should retell the entire case. Keep the answer prioritized.
27.11 What to Do When the Evidence Is Mixed
Sometimes the case does not point cleanly toward one answer. The market may be attractive while the economics are weak, or financial returns may be strong while execution risk is high.
In that situation, explain the trade-off explicitly.
Example: “I would not enter immediately. The market is attractive, but projected returns currently fall below the client’s target. I would reconsider if the client can reduce entry costs or secure a higher-margin customer segment.”
A conditional recommendation is often stronger than pretending the evidence is decisive.
27.12 What to Do When You Did Not Fully Solve the Case
You may reach the end without completing every analysis. Do not panic or apologize excessively.
Use the evidence you do have. State your current recommendation, explain its strongest support, identify the main unresolved issue, and specify what you would analyze next.
Good response: “Based on the evidence so far, I would lean toward entering because the market and competitive position appear attractive. However, we have not yet confirmed the economics, so I would validate expected margins before making the final investment decision.”
Final principle: A strong final recommendation is clear, evidence-based, prioritized, and practical. Start with the answer, support it with the most important facts, acknowledge material risks, and identify the next step. Your goal is to leave the interviewer with a crisp view of what the client should do and why.
