I am very curious as to the source of your understanding for how high end consultants and speakers operate, because it very much does not match either my experience or the experiences related to me by people who I find credible.
For example, negotiating airfare and hotels doesn't happen. (This was not obvious to me when I started. Thanks Thomas.) You just say "We'll invoice you for them according to your standard travel reimbursement procedures." and that is the entire discussion. Rates are more fluid, particularly for first-time clients. There are different ways to manipulate one's rate, and there are other ways to manipulate total price of the engagement with add-ons such as scheduling flexibility as a line item.
You're correct that great consultants will not have any conversation about the difference between $59 and $64.
Patrick, rdouble is not being nice, but his major point is right. There are different forces in play for negotiating engineer's salary than a consulting engagement.
Employee compensation within a company needs to be equitable. Similar work for similar pay. Whereas terms of a unique consulting engagement don't affect anybody else. This is a huge driver of all kinds of compensation decisions, like standardized salary ranges, etc.
You are right about pattern matching. But unlike for an investment banker or a marketing consultant, for an an engineer his negotiation skills do not correlate with the quality of his work. More than that, an irrational but hard negotiator will come off as an dick. And employers avoid hiring irrational dicks as engineers.
But should you negotiate salary in general - sure. But you should realize it's a different situation than a consulting deal.
For example, negotiating airfare and hotels doesn't happen. (This was not obvious to me when I started. Thanks Thomas.) You just say "We'll invoice you for them according to your standard travel reimbursement procedures." and that is the entire discussion. Rates are more fluid, particularly for first-time clients. There are different ways to manipulate one's rate, and there are other ways to manipulate total price of the engagement with add-ons such as scheduling flexibility as a line item.
You're correct that great consultants will not have any conversation about the difference between $59 and $64.