9 profit levers you can control

When you run a consultancy, it’s easy for the urgent to crowd out the important. I’ve been there myself. Clients come first, internal projects overrun and leadership meetings focus on operational matters rather than strategic decisions that lead to higher profit margins.

After coaching hundreds of firms and analysing years of data at The Consultancy Growth Network, one thing’s clear to me: successful consultancies focus on a few controllable profit levers, review them monthly and act early when performance drifts.

When you can point to a clear benchmark, the conversation changes. ‘We are at the low end of acceptable gross margin’ is very different to ‘Surely we should be making more money?.’

When every proposal is checked for price realisation against a target gross margin, your net profit stops being dependent on those few bigger deals and starts to become consistent.

How does your firm compare to these gross margin percentage benchmarks?

Based on 5 years of survey data from our Consultancy BenchPress, we have identified the following gross margin benchmarks.

Pulling the profit levers

We have created a checklist containing the nine levers you can control each quarter to turn debate into decisions  with as little as twenty minutes work a month. It includes:

• benchmarks and targets so you can see exactly where you sit each day
• 30, 60 and 90-day actions that are small, specific and doable
• guidance on lifting utilisation that protects client value and margin.

If you apply these actions, you will be well on your way to joining the top performing consultancies, making 61%+ gross margin and growing faster.

Built on real consulting data

Our checklist is drawn from the latest Consultancy BenchPress insights. It reflects the data from 300 UK&I boutique consultancies. It’s not theory, but patterns that we’ve seen work.

Matt Beattie | BeyondFS

“When we joined the Network we were around 36% gross margin and now we’re north of 50%.”

“When we joined the Network we were around 36% gross margin and now we’re north of 50%.”

Can I get some help?

Yes! It’s what we do.

The Consultancy Growth Network is an exclusive community designed for consulting business owners and their teams. We provide members with valuable insights, introductions, and practical advice to help them achieve success. At our heart is a panel of Growth Experts, all of whom have grown and sold at least one consultancy. The Network also includes specialist providers in key areas such as sales, marketing, and people. With over 400 participants, members enjoy a variety of benefits, including access to online and in-person events, a supportive Slack community, and a dynamic library of learning videos, tools, and templates, all designed to help you grow your consulting business.