Consultant results vs advice

It depends upon how the relationship is established. Of course, all clients want results, but making specific things happen may just be out of the hands of the consultant.

When the relationship is first being established, the consultant should be able to evaluate how much they can improve the client's situation and make that information known.

Example: A consultant evaluates the client’s situation and says something like this: "There are definitely some areas that we can change and you will see almost immediate improvement, and here are some of those (list goes here). But there are other areas where I will provide you and your team with ideas and advice, but I won't be able to change the corporate culture overnight (or lack of capital, or fire your son-in-law, etc.), so any results we get in that area will depend heavily on you and your organization."

Then the client can decide whether to continue with the consultant based on balancing the value of the combination of advice and results.