If you focus on market rate dynamics you are going to fail your client. Because market rates have nothing to do with your client’s business.
Business is about customers, employees and suppliers. None of those have to do with market rate dynamics. If you don’t understand their relationship with customers, how can you advise them on their best site? If you don’t understand their transportation variables, how can you advise them on impact to suppliers? If you don’t understand the type of person that works for the company at the site, how will you know how commute patterns impact hiring and retention?
If you don’t nail down those facts first, you can’t even begin to have a conversation about market rate dynamics. And if you haven’t gotten to that part of the conversation, what exactly are you talking to them about.
Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. That’s the order. There’s no magic formula to jumping past the middle parts.