Key Takeaways No…. The question of hiring a CBDO was one topic of discussion at our most recent Boutique Leaders’ Club. Most experts will answer ‘no’ to this question. Indeed, I used to. The arguments against this type of individual are common: But. But…. I, and several of the CEOs at the BLC, had all seen […]
Should You Hire a Chief Business Development Officer / Chief Sales Officer? Read More »
Key Takeaways The Founder’s Burden and the Director’s Dilemma Over the last 20 years, I’ve advised over 200 boutique consultancies and their founders on growth or exit. The most common challenge I see in the sub-£7 million revenue bracket is the dependency on founders for business development. This reliance can have significant implications for the company’s future, including longer earn-out periods, diminished valuations,
The Dependency on Founders in Consultancy Business Development Read More »
Key Takeaways In the realm of boutique consultancy, the strategic use of intellectual property (IP) is pivotal. It encompasses not only your client-facing products and services, but also the core processes and systems underpinning our firms. In this article, I will explore different types of IP, their impact on growth, and strategies for effective management. Let’s explore how IP can be a key differentiator in our
Key Takeaways Over the last fifteen years, I’ve helped and studied over 200 founders of small consultancies that grew and then sold their firms. Aside from the lessons around growth and selling a firm, I collected significant data on the primary challenges of starting up a small firm and simply surviving the first few years.
The Five Growth Pains of Very Small Consultancies: Evidence on How to Avoid Them Read More »
Key Takeaways For the last century, consulting industry revenue has grown an average of 9% a year. But what most people don’t know is that over the last twenty years, the growth of smaller firms has been nearly treble that of large firms. As a management consultant, you have the rare opportunity to participate in
How Can Management Consultants Close More Deals? Read More »
Key Takeaways Brand storytelling is how you interact with your future clients for the first time. It goes beyond your services and products to your fundamental reason for being – your WHY. The guide below will detail how to tell your brand story and define your business so that you can stand out. What is
Telling Your Brand Story: a Guide for Small Consultancies Read More »
Key Takeaways One of the biggest issues faced when trying to grow a consultancy business is maintaining the quality of delivery as delivery is shifted away from the founders. Yet, finding these skills and managing the risk of employees is not straightforward, which prompts many growing firms to use associates. Here, we look at the
Using Associates to Grow Your Consultancy Read More »
Key Takeaways As an undergraduate, my philosophy Professor told me “the alternative to having a philosophy is not having ‘no philosophy’ but having a bad philosophy”. We can say the same about culture in consultancies. The Importance of Culture in Consultancies If you think culture is, as an old boss of mine put it, ‘for
Using Culture to Accelerate Growth: A Guide for Consultancies Read More »
Key Takeaways Humble Mindset Entrepreneurial Mindset Boss Mindset In my interviews and advisory work with successful consultancy leaders, I’ve noticed three common mindset traits. This is not to say that these traits will lead to success or that all successful leaders had all of these traits, but at least two out of three are evident
3 Mindset Traits in Successful Consulting Leaders Read More »
Key Takeaways Perhaps the 1980s ‘quality’ obsession was the last time that a word was as popular in business as ‘innovation’ is today. For consultancies, innovation is seen as a strategy to fight against the slow erosion of margins prompted by procurement, competition, commodification and fickle yet increasingly experienced. The Role of Innovation in Consultancies
Make Your Consultancy More Innovative: Put a Kipper on Your Head Read More »
