The topics we cover
All topics are focused on common challenges shared by consulting business owners, grouped under the following headings:
Growth Strategy, Value Creation, Exit Planning
People Strategy, Attracting and Retaining, Team Leadership and Capability Development
Differentiation, Pitching & Pricing, Product Architecture, IP & Methodology
Shrinkage, Margin, Resource Planning, Client Journey, ROI. Knowledge Management and Use of Tech
Sales Strategy , Procurement, Pipeline, Discounting, Negotiation, KAM, Process Optimisation
Strategic value proposition through to tactical use of LinkedIn
Financial Planning, Cash Flow, KPI’s, Reporting, Gain Share, M&A, Raising Finance
IIR35, GDPR, IP Protection, M&A, Equity Structures, Employee Incentive Schemes
Get a taste
Want to try us out before you join in? Then sign up to one of our online events and experience the value for free. You will get to hear from one our specialist advisers, meet some members and ask questions of our growth experts.
Marc’s advice and approach was thorough and fully tailored to the challenges we are seeing in the business.”
All The Consultancy Growth Network’s events are currently online and exclusively for our members. Non-members are invited to join one of our events (excluding our referral forums) as a free taster before choosing to join.
Recordings of all our events are available to members in the Growth Hub.
October 2021
November 2021
Keeping your consultancy's data secure and compliant
Interactive webinar
4pm
Thursday 25 November 2021
December 2021
January 2022
Workshop
Building a successful consultancy in the digital age
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 13 January 2022
February 2022
Workshop
How to grow your existing accounts
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 10 February 2022
March 2022
How to prepare your consultancy for a successful sale
Interactive webinar
4pm
Tuesday 8 March 2022
April 2022
Workshop
Diversity and inclusion best practice for consultancies
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 7 April 2022
May 2022
Workshop
Transform the performance of your consultancy’s finance function
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 5 May 2022
In Person Open forum
Networking & Learning
4pm, The Soho Hotel, London
Thursday 19 May 2022
June 2022
How (legally) to protect your consultancy
Interactive webinar
4pm
Tuesday 7 June 2022
July 2022
Workshop
Caring for your wellbeing in a growth environment
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 14 July 2022
*Events are subject to change.
The Consultancy Dashboard
Thursday 28 October 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm
What should you be measuring to increase your chances of success?
There are so many stats and benchmarks we could measure, it can sometimes be difficult to know which ones to keep an eye on. That is why we recommend consulting businesses create bespoke dashboards to monitor their key performance indicators (KPIs).
Attend this event to help work out what should be on your dashboard, including:
- A critical benchmark that most consultancies don’t measure properly
- Something you probably aren’t measuring at all… but really should
- A stat that represents the biggest determinant of your success
Technology sector referral forum
Thursday 4 November 2021
Digital Roundtable
12pm
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Get more done
Thursday 18 November 2021
Workshop
4pm
Imagine the step change it would make to your consultancy if you found an extra 3-4 days a month to work on your strategy, develop your team and yourself and be the leader you want to be, without increasing your working hours.
As a business leader you are no doubt already working hard, meaning that productivity gains need to come from working smarter, not harder. So we’ve invited one of our members, Simon Goodison from SNH (Smarter Not Harder) to share his insights into how you can unlock 15-20% of your untapped additional capacity.
Simon’s talk will include tools and techniques that will enable you to:
• maintain your focus and make the best use of your time and energy for the benefit of your business
• take back control and achieve everything you set out to achieve in your day to add the value where it’s most needed
• manage last minute changes to your schedule so that you have time left over to look after your personal health and wellbeing.
Keeping your consultancy's data secure and compliant
Thursday 25 November 2021
Interactive webinar
4pm
Data is the lifeblood of your organisation, one of your most valuable assets. Not keeping it safe puts your ability to operate at risk, as well as your staff and your clients.
Data security breaches are on the rise and fines are increasing, and Brexit has muddied the waters over GDPR compliance. Staying one step ahead of the measures you need to ensure your data is kept safe is a critical part of your consultancy’s operations.
In this interactive webinar, Adam Casey, Director of TMC³ (cyber security and data protection experts) and Frank Jennings, commercial and cloud lawyer at Wallace solicitors, will guide you through the what, when and how of data security, including:
- five practices you must adopt to avoid GDPR fines (they’re not as unusual as you think)
- what you don’t know about data protection that is critical to your business
- how Brexit has affected GDPR and the impact on your data security and compliance programme
- how to use cyber security and privacy as a commercial advantage
- current cyber security trends and threats and why you can’t afford to ignore them
- the essential elements of a robust data security strategy.
Networking with purpose
Tuesday 30 November 2021
Networking & Learning
5pm, London
Our first face to face event of 2021, ‘Networking with purpose’ is your opportunity to discuss your consultancy’s burning issues with our growth experts and specialist providers. You will also have opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with your peers via networking by specialism as well as over drinks and canapes.
If you are not a member and would like to register to join us, please email luke@consultancygrowthnetwork.com.
Speakers
Growth Experts: Dom Moorhouse, Marcia Marini, Marc Jantzen, Augusto Negrillo, Sarah Matthew, David Bailey, Richard Squire
Specialist advisors: Caroline Boston (New Minds), John Woodhouse (Wallace solicitors), Fantasia Bell (Wow accountants), Matt Hodkinson (Total Growth Ownership), Bruce Ramsay (Consulting M&A)
Member open forum and Christmas party
Thursday 9 December 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm
A freeform clinic (a live Slack open forum if you like) giving members the opportunity to speak to our growth experts and specialist providers to ask any questions that are critical to their business at the moment. And in line with the open and collaborative atmosphere in the network, members will also receive input from their peers.
The event will be followed by our Christmas drinks.
Financial services (banking) sector referral forum
January 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Building a successful consultancy in the digital age
Thursday 13 January 2022
Workshop
4pm
Professor Joe O’Mahoney is a Professor of Consulting at Cardiff University and has published three books centred on his research on the consulting industry.
His most recent book is based on interviews with 72 founders who grew and sold their consultancies, 2 international surveys, and a long career researching and advising consultancies.
The talk will focus on:
- the common characteristics of consulting firms who have successfully grown
- the alternative to the ‘scaling’ mantra
- tips to avoid common mistakes that consulting founders make.
In addition, attendees will come away understanding the key characteristics that distinguish high performing consulting businesses from the rest.
Findings from Consultancy BenchPress 2022
Thursday 27 January 2022
Networking & Learning
3.30pm online & in person
Peter Czapp, who has been benchmarking businesses for nearly ten years, will be sharing the key insights from Consultancy BenchPress 2022, the UK’s largest survey of founder-led consulting firms.
Along with Marc Jantzen and his fellow Growth Experts, Peter will delve into the data behind the key questions answered by 100s of consulting firm owners and offer actionable advice to those owners seeking to learn from the top-performing consultancies.
This year’s insights will include:
– where consulting businesses are expecting future growth to come from
– the big opportunities for consultancies post Covid-19
– what the top performing consultancies are doing to retain and attract talent
– what rewards and benefits are expected in a post-pandemic era
– the resourcing models and hiring plans of the most profitable consultancies.
If you have completed the Consultancy BenchPress survey, please join us for this event either in London (email luke@consultancygrowthnetwork.com for details) or via Zoom.
How to grow your existing accounts
Thursday 10 February 2022
Workshop
4pm
We all know that existing clients have a greater propensity to buy than new prospects – so why is it that founder-led consulting firms fail time and again to consistently and creatively invest in growing their existing relationships?
Unlocking the potential that sits within your consultancy’s current account base relies on you having the right focus and processes in place.
To help you get this right, we have invited Alan Morton, Managing Director at SBR Consulting, to share:
- the account planning best practices employed by the fastest growing consultancies
- the key account management templates and tools that build on the foundations of service delivery excellence
- the critical behaviours for executing account plans that delight and retain existing clients in the long term.
Public sector / local government sector referral forum
February 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
How to prepare your consultancy for a successful sale
Tuesday 8 March 2022
Interactive webinar
4pm
If, at some point, you plan to find an investor in or buyer of your consulting business, it is valuable to know in advance what the process will be and the preparations you can make to achieve a successful sale.
In this session Bruce Ramsay of Consulting M&A, who has successfully led many consulting clients though a sale process, will cover:
- the priority actions that you need to complete before any transaction activity begins
- the critical stages in a transaction, whether you are responding to an approach or launching a full sale process, and how to manage them
- the vital stages at which value can be won or lost, and what to do to optimise your position.
Retail / ecommerce / FMCG sector referral forum
March 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Online Open Forum
Thursday 17 March 2022
Networking & Learning
4pm
Our open forums are a fantastic opportunity for consultancy business owners to get free insight from a range of specialists with a wide range of skills and capabilities, on the things that really matter to them.
Our Growth Experts and specialist providers will be available via Zoom for roundtable discussions in smaller groups, to talk with you about whatever challenges you are facing in the areas of:
- strategy and structure
- people and leadership
- sales and marketing
- operations and developing IP
- selling your consultancy.
True to the Network’s open and collaborative culture, attendees will also receive input from their peers, many of whom are going through similar challenges or have already come out the other side.
Building the habit of service delivery excellence
Thursday 31 March 2022
Workshop
4pm
A strategic objective for any growing and ambitious consultancy is for consistently excellent service delivery.
There are many component parts to achieving this ‘upper quartile’ brand reputation, not least staff quality and training. But the absolute foundation is the existence of a practically designed service delivery framework and a quality management system (QMS).
In this session, Dom Moorhouse, Growth Expert, will encourage you to get beyond the ‘hygiene factor’ treatment of service delivery and quality management to truly strengthen your client relationships. He will share his own real-world experience of the pragmatic application of well-designed systems and provide immediately actionable examples and actions to embed the habit of service excellence in your consultancy.
Social / Sustainability / Charity sector referral forum
April 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Diversity and inclusion best practice for consultancies
Thursday 7 April 2022
Workshop
4pm
Your consultancy’s employees, clients, future talent and everyone else it reaches are impacted by your approach and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Ensure you and your team understands how DE&I relates to business performance, and what best practices you should use to design and implement your DE&I strategy. Join Caroline Boston from New Minds to hear:
– the benefits of diversity for your business, your people and your clients
– how to create an inclusive workplace – key questions to ask yourself and practical suggestions that you can implement right now – that won’t cost the earth
– how to take the first steps to building a more diverse team, and how to sustain and build upon this in the longer term.
We all know that having a diverse, equal and inclusive business is the right thing to do. This workshop will go further, demonstrating the cultural and commercial benefits too.
Technology / big data / cloud sectors referral forum
April 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Pricing creativity for consultancies
Wednesday 27 April 2022
Networking & Learning
3.30pm
Blair Enns is CEO of Win Without Pitching and author of ‘Pricing Creativity: a guide to profit beyond the billable hour’. His book has inspired several members of The Consultancy Growth Network to change their pricing strategy, with significant results.
Even for high performing consulting businesses, on average, a 10% increase in price delivers a 50% improvement in net operating profit.
Blair will join us to distil pricing theory into principles, rules, tips and tools, all directly relevant to consultancies.
Transform the performance of your consultancy’s finance function
Thursday 5 May 2022
Workshop
4pm
As you grow, it’s easy to forget to upgrade your finance function in line with your growth. This can end up holding you back, preventing you from fulfilling your full potential.
In this workshop, Peter Czapp from The Wow Company will show you how you can transform the performance of your finance function, including how to:
• increase profitability – put systems in place to ensure every project is profitable
• upgrade your reporting – have the key metrics you need to run your business available at the click of a button
• improve cash flow – make simple changes that will improve your cash flow
• reduce complexity – simplify your systems and processes so things happen easily.
Insurance
May 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
In Person Open forum
Thursday 19 May 2022
Networking & Learning
4pm, The Soho Hotel, London
By invitation only: Our open forums are a fantastic opportunity for consultancy business owners to get free insight from a range of specialists with a wide range of skills and capabilities, on the things that really matter to them.
Our Growth Experts and specialist providers will be available for roundtable discussions in smaller groups, to talk with you about whatever challenges you are facing in the areas of:
- strategy and structure
- people and leadership
- sales and marketing
- operations and developing IP
- selling your consultancy.
True to the Network’s open and collaborative culture, attendees will also receive input from their peers, many of whom are going through similar challenges or have already come out the other side.
Speakers
How (legally) to protect your consultancy
Tuesday 7 June 2022
Interactive webinar
4pm
At best, problems arising from gaps in your consultancy’s legal protection can be a temporary inconvenience. At worst, they can be wholly destructive.
Three lawyers from specialist solicitors Wallace LLP will be explaining the commercial, technical, employment and corporate laws that are most relevant to founder-led consultancies right now.
Join us to find out how best to protect your consultancy from a legal standpoint.
Utilities / Oil and Gas
June 2022
Digital Roundtable
12pm
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Defence and Aerospace
July 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
What is your Growth Strategy?
Thursday 7 July 2022
Networking & Learning
3.30pm
Do you have clarity as to where you are going, why you are going there and how to get there?
How confident are you in your strategic planning process?
How do you balance the need for a plan and not getting distracted, with not missing opportunities that could transform your journey?
Join Marc Jantzen, founder of TCGN and Sarah Matthew, Growth Expert as they explore:
- The one question you need to answer to simplify your strategic decision making process.
- A methodology for evaluating strategic options, whilst reducing risk and maximising the probability of success.
- A cyclical framework that will give you confidence that you have considered the right questions.
Caring for your wellbeing in a growth environment
Thursday 14 July 2022
Workshop
4pm
Founder and employee wellbeing is one of the great performance enablers of consultancies, yet it can often be viewed as a luxury in workplaces that are looking to scale.
In this session, mental health campaigner and Founder and CEO of FormScore, Rob Stephenson, will talk about why prioritising wellbeing is essential if we want to create high performance cultures. Based on both his personal and professional experiences, in this interactive session Rob will share practical tips for maximising the great wellbeing-performance opportunity, including:
- how to prioritise your own wellbeing and why this can have a huge impact on personal performance
creating a culture of permission for wellbeing that can positively impact team and company performance
how to apply these ideas in remote and hybrid working environments.
PE and VC
July 2022
Digital Roundtable
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
October 2021
September 2021
Private equity and VC sectors referral forum
Digital Roundtable
4pm
Thursday 23 September 2021
July 2021
Workshop
Marketing: Outstanding organic and pinpoint paid search
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 15 July 2021
June 2021
Growing your consultancy in 2021/22: the Growth Experts’ perspectives
Networking & Learning
4pm
Thursday 3 June 2021
May 2021
Workshop
SALES SERIES: Outreach: getting attention with email prospecting
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 13 May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
Workshop
SALES SERIES: How to ask for a referral and actually get one
Workshop
9am
Tuesday 30 March 2021
SALES SERIES: Love to pitch
Networking & Learning
4pm - 6pm
Thursday 4 March 2021
February 2021
Workshop
Is your people strategy up to the job?
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Thursday 25 February 2021
How to handle procurement
Networking & Learning
4pm - 6pm
Thursday 11 February 2021
January 2021
Workshop
SALES SERIES: Enhance Your Value Proposition
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Thursday 28 January 2021
December 2020
What is it like to be led by you?
Interactive webinar
4pm
Thursday 10 December 2020
Workshop
Make 2021 your best year yet
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Thursday 3 December 2020
November 2020
Leading a high performing
consulting business
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Thursday 12 November 2020
Workshop
Leveraging team capability
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Thursday 5 November 2020
October 2020
The clues of success: insights from Consultancy Benchpress 2020
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Thursday 15 October 2020
Workshop
How to Handle an Approach
from a Potential Acquirer
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Thursday 1 October 2020
September 2020
The problem with marketing
and how to solve it
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Thursday 17 September 2020
Workshop
Optimising the balance of Employees and Associates in your team
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 3 September 2020
August 2020
Workshop
When David contracts with Goliath
Workshop
4pm
Thursday 13 August 2020
July 2020
Workshop
Who's buying who?
The market for consulting firms
Workshop
12 noon
Thursday 16 July 2020
June 2020
The big 5 – legal considerations
for consultancies
Interactive webinar
12 noon
Thursday 25 June 2020
Structuring your business
for success
Networking & Learning
6.45pm - 8.30pm
Thursday 4 June 2020
May 2020
Workshop
How do you build your reputation
and drive inbound enquiries?
Workshop
12 noon
Thursday 21 May 2020
Workshop
Why is it so hard
to hire great people?
Workshop
12 noon
Thursday 14 May 2020
April 2020
Building a sustainable, valuable
consulting business
Networking & Learning
9.30am - 3.15pm
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Workshop
Digital tools - high impact, low cost technology for consulting businesses
Workshop
12 noon
Thursday 2 April 2020
Getting to grips with your IP
Thursday 21 October 2021
Workshop
4pm
One of the cornerstone features of profitable, scalable and high-value consulting firms is a proactive knowledge management and intellectual property system.
Getting this right means winning more work at higher rates. Service quality and consistency are improved and team-level efficiency is enhanced*. The organisation as a whole learns better and grows faster.
In this session, Dom Moorhouse, Growth Expert, will explain the practical steps needed to start, or rejuvenate, your knowledge management and IP continuous-improvement journey. He will share his own real-world experiences of cementing these in the heart of the Moorhouse Consulting story and within a number of fast-scaling firms he has since advised.
*McKinsey: The average knowledge worker spends c. 20% of their workweek tracking down internal information or tracking down colleagues who can help with a task.
Speakers
Dom Moorhouse
Growth Expert
Utilities and O&G sectors referral forum
Thursday 7 October 2021
Digital Roundtable
12pm
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Marketing: Accurate attribution
Thursday 30 September 2021
Workshop
4pm
With the right marketing and lead generation reporting, you can not only determine where your new business is coming from, and how well your marketing efforts are performing, but also use those insights to inform and optimise an effective strategy in future.
With advancements in analytics and reporting, fewer than 25% of marketers now find themselves unable to demonstrate the impact of marketing upon revenue (HubSpot 2020).
In this workshop, Matt Hodkinson from Total Growth Ownership will share useful frameworks and templates to help you to:
- determine the right marketing and sales metrics to focus on in your consulting business
- gain access to relevant KPI’s using analytics and reporting technology
- learn the models of attribution
- start the journey towards becoming an insights-led marketing and new business machine.
Speakers
Matt Hodkinson
Total Growth Ownership
Private equity and VC sectors referral forum
Thursday 23 September 2021
Digital Roundtable
4pm
Supporting our members to gain introductions to potential clients is a core part of The Consultancy Growth Network’s proposition. Our referrals workshops help members gain access to referrals from within the Network.
Our introduction methodology is simple and based on the ‘give to get’ principle. In order to benefit from getting introductions, members need to be open to giving them. Introductions are only made when both parties are fully comfortable that there is potential value to the end client, and those that give introductions receive introductions albeit not necessarily from the same person.
Referrals workshops are open to members of The Consultancy Growth Network only.
Speakers
Your guide to strategic alliances
Thursday 16 September 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm
90% of founder-led consulting business owners see alliances as an important part of their upcoming business strategy. But only half consider their past alliances as having been successful*.
How do you develop a comprehensive strategy and approach to effectively use strategic alliances as part of your new business engine?
Alliance specialists Anoop Nathwani and Peter Simoons of Alliance Accelerator will be joining us to discuss the findings of our Alliances survey and take an in-depth look at some of the practical ways to develop your alliances and make them successful.
*The Consultancy Growth Network Alliances Survey 2021
Speakers
Marketing: Outstanding organic and pinpoint paid search
Thursday 15 July 2021
Workshop
4pm
Struggling to get attention online?
While attention is at such a premium in this noisy, largely digital world of business, an outstanding organic presence, coupled with a pinpoint paid outreach programme, will give you the reach and attention you need to achieve your lead generation and sales goals.
Matt Hodkinson from Total Growth Ownership explained the techniques and strategies necessary to more consistently and reliably identify new prospects, including:
- what does great organic reach look like, both in the search and social media spheres
- how to achieve a dominant search ranking, using content and optimisation strategies
- what to look for in a successful paid media strategy, and how to do the numbers.
Speakers
Matt Hodkinson
Influence Agents
Pay and benefits: are yours working for you?
Thursday 1 July 2021
Interactive webinar
4pm
As a consulting firm, your people are your business. As you seek to deliver the best value for your clients while managing your own cost base, are you satisfied that the pay and benefits you offer are enabling you to attract and retain the best talent at each grade?
Caroline Boston from New Minds hosted this interactive workshop in which members learnt:
- what other firms are paying to attract and retain great people*, and how that impacts your business today and in the future
- how to reward performance and how to structure bonus schemes and align them with your culture, values and business objectives
- what benefits really matter to people, and how this has changed during the pandemic.
*Data from The Consultancy BenchPress 2020/21.
Speakers
Caroline Boston
New Minds
Marketing: Performance positioning
Thursday 24 June 2021
Workshop
4pm
Performance Positioning is about crafting a competition-less message that speaks to the needs of your buyer, massively increasing your conversion rate. Research in the CISO Insights Report shows that companies that optimise their positioning enjoy higher win rates, lower price resistance, and 3 times the number of closed deals, on average.
In this session, Matt Hodkinson from Total Growth Ownership provided a number of frameworks to help participants learn ‘in the moment’ and:
- identify and invalidate the leading competing solutions in your space
- use metaphors and storytelling skills to simplify the buyer’s understanding of the transformation you deliver
- create and visualise your unique mechanism, to streamline sales and add tangibility to even the most intangible solutions
- check all the boxes in the buyer brain, to make the sale a simple choice.
Speakers
Matt Hodkinson
Influence Agents
Building a super profitable consultancy
Thursday 10 June 2021
Interactive webinar
4pm
Nearly two-thirds of consulting businesses are not achieving premium levels of profit. *
In this session, we explored what profit you should be making, and shared proven strategies to help you achieve it. Peter Czapp from The Wow Company got you thinking about your:
- Planning – how to set yourself up for a profitable year
- Pricing – increase your day rates and win the right type of work
- Clients – unlock profit from your existing relationships
- Culture – get your whole team involved in increasing profit.
Plus, Peter shared the profit secrets from the top 10% of the most profitable consulting businesses, including practical tips you can implement right away.
* Consultancy BenchPress 2020/21
Speakers
Peter Czapp
The WOW Company
Growing your consultancy in 2021/22: the Growth Experts’ perspectives
Thursday 3 June 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm
This event was an exclusive opportunity for the owners and leadership teams of founder-led consultancies seeking to grow in the next 12 months to hear the specialist perspectives of our panel of Growth Experts, all of whom have built and sold successful consultancies and are active advisors to the sector.
During a panel discussion, 4 of our experts answered your questions, sharing the best advice they’ve ever been given, and explained what they would do differently if they were growing their own consultancy at this stage in the pandemic.
Our Growth Experts were then joined by specialist providers for roundtable discussions in smaller groups, to talk with you about topics including:
• strategy and structure
• people and leadership
• sales and marketing
• operations and developing IP
• selling your consultancy.
Our event finished with peer networking – your chance to get to know other consultancy owners facing similar challenges to you and to spot potential opportunities for collaboration.
This event was for owners and leaders of consulting businesses turning over up to £/$ 10m. As a taster, non-members of The Consultancy Growth Network could attend one event before choosing to join.
Speakers
How to leverage your equity
Thursday 20 May 2021
Interactive webinar
4pm
Some people say never start a business until you know your exit plan.
Understanding what you want to get out of building your business, including how much you want to own and how you share it with your partners and employees, can inform your strategic decision making many years prior.
Bruce Ramsay, from Consulting M&A, and John Woodhouse, from Wallace Solicitors, demystified your options, including share structures, share option and employee ownership schemes, and others, and explained how they manifest in different contexts.
Speakers
Bruce Ramsay
Consulting M&A
John Woodhouse
Wallace LLP
SALES SERIES: Outreach: getting attention with email prospecting
Thursday 13 May 2021
Workshop
4pm
In this digitally saturated world, how do you get in front of prospective clients? Have you tried email as a form of outreach, but not achieved the ROI you sought? Are you struggling to work out where and how to improve your results?
In this webinar, we heard how SoPro, the team of B2B marketers with plenty of clever tech and lots of data, start sales conversations using email.
Steve Harlow, Commercial Director, shared:
- the golden rules of prospect email writing
- SoPro’s tried and tested prospect email template, including the email subject lines that will enhance your open rates
- the importance, and structure, of a successful follow up email sequence
- how to handle rejections.
Speakers
Steve Harlow
SoPro
The equity growth wheel
Thursday 29 April 2021
Interactive webinar
Through a real-time self-assessment exercise, this workshop helped our members understand how to drive growth in the value of their business, and how those strengths will be viewed by a potential acquirer or investor.
Even if you are not currently considering a sale, looking at your business through the lens of an investor is a powerful exercise. It helps you identify areas to focus on that will support you in building a more sustainable, profitable business.
Speakers
Bruce Ramsay
Consulting M&A
SALES SERIES: How to ask for a referral and actually get one
Tuesday 30 March 2021
Workshop
9am
Why are referrals so valuable? Three good reasons are:
- they are more likely to convert than any other source of lead
- they carry the lowest cost of sale than any other deal
- your client is more likely to treat you like a partner leading to longer term engagements.
Despite the fact that on average 41% of consulting business revenue comes from referrals, the vast majority of consulting businesses do not have a documented, thought through referral strategy. This workshop changed that by:
- sharing key learnings around both the processes you need to put in place and the mindset shift you need to create
- based on a proven methodology, working with you to develop the specific language you need to use to maximise the return on your referral requests
- creating an environment where participants got the opportunity to make a referral request of fellow owners.
Speakers
Thomas Coles
Effective Interim
SALES SERIES: Love to pitch
Thursday 4 March 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm - 6pm
Only 22% of buyers believe that people selling to them understand their issues and can articulate where they can help. As a result, 89% of buyers feel that sales meetings are a waste of time. *
In an increasingly crowded and competitive environment, our ability to pitch ourselves, our businesses and our ideas is critical to standing out.
In this session Alan Morton from SBR Consulting shared his key tips for how, as consulting business owners, you can ensure you have the confidence and capability to prompt your prospects and clients to move forward, with you, for mutual benefit.
*Global buyer study by Forrester
Speakers
Alan Morton
SBR Consulting
Is your people strategy up to the job?
Thursday 25 February 2021
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Your approach to how you organise, resource, develop and motivate your team has a fundamental impact on business performance and growth. Caroline talked through the critical components of a consulting business’s people strategy and equipped you to self-evaluate your own approach, looking at:
- the first crucial step that you should take to improve your people strategy at each stage of business maturity,
- the essential tools and processes that you need to have in place as you grow, to ensure you can attract and retain the right people for your business,
- the key factors that drive retention in consulting firms.
Speakers
Caroline Boston
New Minds
How to handle procurement
Thursday 11 February 2021
Networking & Learning
4pm - 6pm
A building block on route to creating a sustainable consulting business is winning bigger and bigger deals. It is much easier, and typically more profitable, to run fewer bigger deals than many smaller deals. Winning bigger deals often requires jumping over new hurdles and one of those hurdles is PROCUREMENT. We created a rare opportunity to get inside the heads of typical procurement professionals.
Our speaker, Alan Gotto is a leading professional services procurement expert, chair of the Consulting Procurement Council and CPO at Constellia, the professional services spend management consultancy.
Following this session, members were able to engage more effectively with procurement and navigate their processes to sell more profitable work.
The session included:
- what procurement is – so that you know what you are dealing with
- how to build a relationship with procurement – if you should
- how to win competitive tenders – including drafting proposals, delivering presentations, handling rate negotiations, panel formations and reverse auctions.
Speakers
Alan Gotto
Chairman of the Consulting Procurement Council and CPO of Constellia
SALES SERIES: Enhance Your Value Proposition
Thursday 28 January 2021
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
As consultants, we are sometimes too competent for our own good: we can solve whatever problem our client throws at us. As a result, we end up with a collection of competencies that we struggle to take to market, rather than a clearly defined value proposition for which we strive to become famous.
This workshop provided you with a vehicle to assess your Unique Value Proposition, and identify key areas to work on to improve.
It gave you a methodology to re-consider your level of differentiation (or lack of) and provided examples of how your business can be transformed through crystal clarity of your proposition.
Speakers
Marc Jantzen
Founder, The Consultancy Growth Network
What is it like to be led by you?
Thursday 10 December 2020
Interactive webinar
4pm
Especially during times of turbulence, leadership is a differentiator on the battlefield.
Martin Coburn, leadership facilitator, director and coach, and founding director of Natural Direction, explained the difference that you make in your business to your people and your clients, and encouraged you to reflect on questions like: ‘What is it truly like to be on the receiving end of my leadership?’ and ‘When was the last time I really thought about my personal reputation?’.
Leading others begins with mastery over leading self. So as we moved into the new year, Martin provided a clear framework for you to think about your personal leadership and the areas where you can either improve or strengthen.
Speakers
Martin Coburn
Natural Direction
Make 2021 your best year yet
Thursday 3 December 2020
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Peter Czapp, co-founder of The Consultancy Growth Network, explored how to make 2021 your best year yet. Peter took members through a planning framework that helped them:
- Work out what success looks like for you in 2021
- Score yourself in seven key areas of financial performance for a high-growth consulting business
- Position your business so that you win more of the work you really want
- Build a profit culture so that your whole team is engaged in increasing profitability
- Work out what you need to measure to increase your chances of success
Taking the very latest benchmark data for consulting businesses, combined with case studies from businesses that are thriving right now, this session was a great opportunity to do some planning to ensure 2021 is your best year yet.
Speakers
Peter Czapp
The Wow Company
Leading a high performing
consulting business
Thursday 12 November 2020
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Dom Moorhouse explored how leaders best maximise their team’s collective motivation which, in turn, unlocks the full potential of your consulting business venture.
Based on his own practical firm-building experiences and the results of detailed empirical research, Dom explored what really motivates team members to deliver great work in support of your company brand build. He described a six-part (Team-to-Tribe) model that can be used as the basis for your own team-development plans, as well as revealed the most important equation a business leader need ever know.
Speakers
Dom Moorhouse
The Consultancy Growth Network
Leveraging team capability
Thursday 5 November 2020
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
Deri Hughes, founder of Honeycomb PS, explained what significant ROI you can achieve if you have a strategic, structured and systematic approach to accelerating the development of your team, and the key steps you should be taking to achieve maximum returns.
Attendees of Deri’s interactive webinar assessed themselves against best practice in areas such as how clear your team are of your expectations and how well these map to your strategy, and how consistently and effectively you provide developmental feedback.
Members learned how to:
- define what your consultants need to be brilliant at to deliver your strategy
- get really crisp on the expectations you have of your team, to give them clarity on what good looks like at your firm
- implement the right systems, processes and training in order to help people to develop their skills as fast as they are able to.
Getting these three things right could as much as double your profit.
Speakers
Deri Hughes
Honeycomb PS
The clues of success: insights from Consultancy Benchpress 2020
Thursday 15 October 2020
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Peter Czapp, who has been benchmarking businesses for nearly ten years, shared the key insights from Consultancy BenchPress 2020, the first benchmarking survey for independent consulting firms.
Along with Marc Jantzen and his fellow Growth Experts, Peter delved into the data behind the key questions answered by over 100 consulting firms and offered actionable advice to those owners seeking to learn from the top-performing consultancies.
Members discovered what the top-performing consulting firms are doing in the following areas:
- winning new business – the top 7 ways that consulting businesses win new business, including a method that may surprise you
- day rates – day rates for all roles within a consulting firm and the margins and utilisation rates at each level
- earnings – what consulting business owners earn, including what the top 10% take home
Speakers
Peter Czapp
WOW Accountants
Marc Jantzen
The Consultancy Growth Network
How to Handle an Approach
from a Potential Acquirer
Thursday 1 October 2020
Workshop
4pm - 5pm
- Whilst you may not be considering a sale at this time, it is highly likely that you will be approached by a potential acquirer. The current market has its fair share of organisations looking for a good deal to boost their numbers quickly. How should you handle this to both maximise the opportunity it might present and minimise the time spent? This webinar covered the key “Dos” and “Don’ts”.
Speakers
Bruce Ramsay
Consulting M&A
The problem with marketing
and how to solve it
Thursday 17 September 2020
Networking & Learning
4pm - 7pm
Marketing is fundamental to the growth and development of your consulting business (you can’t rely on referrals forever), but it won’t work unless it is strategic and implemented effectively.
Matt Hodkinson, CEO of Influence Agents, shared what marketing activity will deliver the results your consultancy needs.
Matt explained the anatomy of an effective marketing strategy and took members through a 9 step process for developing a well-oiled marketing machine. This event was valuable to firms at every stage of growth.
Matt’s session was followed by an extended Q&A session and break out group discussion, in which advice from experts and individual stories covered topics including:
- How should I prioritise my marketing investment?
- How do I manage the relationship between sales, marketing and business development?
- What role should I, as owner, play when it comes to marketing?
- What marketing strategies have been successful for consulting businesses like mine?
Speakers
Matt Hodkinson
Influence Agents
Marc Jantzen
The Consultancy Growth Network
Ali El Moghraby
The Consultancy Growth Network
Optimising the balance of Employees and Associates in your team
Thursday 3 September 2020
Workshop
4pm
Caroline Boston of New Minds Resourcing and Growth Expert David Bailey hosted a webinar; ‘Optimising the balance of Employees and Associates in your team’.
Caroline and David focused discussion on:
– What are the options for achieving the right Employee : Associate model? How do these align with your strategic objectives?
– What are the advantages and risks of employing someone or engaging an associate? How can you mitigate the risks?
– What is best practice when it comes to building an Associate strategy? How do you execute that strategy?
– How should you differentiate from interim/bodyshop offerings when providing Associates on client engagements?
– What are the implications of IR35? Should you be seeking to transfer key Associates into permanent roles?
– How can you protect your IP when engaging Associates to work on your behalf/deliver your content?
Speakers
Caroline Boston
New Minds
David Bailey
Growth Expert
When David contracts with Goliath
Thursday 13 August 2020
Workshop
4pm
John Woodhouse of Wallace LLP and Marc Jantzen explored the key things to watch out for when contracting with large corporate clients.
John shared real case studies on how the client – consulting relationship can break down and some top tips on how to both avoid it and prepare for it.
A surprisingly high number of consulting business owners find themselves in a legal battle over deliverables at some point in their career.
It can be very expensive, incredibly distracting and hugely damaging to your business.
This webinar helped members avoid ever finding themselves in that situation.
Speakers
John Woodhouse
Wallace LLP
Who's buying who?
The market for consulting firms
Thursday 16 July 2020
Workshop
12 noon
Bruce Ramsay of Consulting M&A and Marc Jantzen presented an overview of:
- Key trends in the M&A market, including deal values and deal structures
- Who the serial buyers are and who are they hunting for (both trade and PE)
- What looks attractive in a target firm
Speakers
Bruce Ramsay
Consulting M&A
The big 5 – legal considerations
for consultancies
Thursday 25 June 2020
Interactive webinar
12 noon
Building your consulting business on a sound legal foundation means you’re better prepared for what lays ahead. Wherever you are on your growth journey.
John Woodhouse and Frank Jennings, partners at law firm Wallace LLP, hosted a free webinar the covered the five most relevant legal topics in 2020:
- IR35 – how the new regime could be both an opportunity and a risk for your firm
- Brexit – techniques for preparing for changes to your client and supplier relationships
- Intellectual property – ways to determine the appropriate ownership, development, protection and exploitation of your IP
- Enterprise Management Incentives – why and how to motivate your team with EMIs
- Compliance – the regulations you can’t afford to ignore
Speakers
John Woodhouse
Partner, Wallace LLP
Frank Jennings
Partner, Wallace LLP
Structuring your business
for success
Thursday 4 June 2020
Networking & Learning
6.45pm - 8.30pm
Caroline Boston, Dom Moorhouse and Deri Hughes covered:
- Optimise your organisational structure
- Balance revenue generating staff and overheads
- Establish a management team
- Maximise the benefits of associates whilst mitigating the risk
- What level of governance is right for now and in the future?
- Where to build in-house capability, what to outsource
Our events are for owners of consulting business ONLY, turning over £500k to £20m. As a taster, non-members of The Consultancy Growth Network can watch one webinar or attend one event before choosing to join.
Speakers
Dom Moorhouse
The Consultancy Growth Network
Caroline Boston
New Minds
Deri Hughes
Honeycomb PS
Improve cash flow and get
paid quicker
June 2020
Workshop
Techniques to avoid both mounting debtors and difficult conversations with clients that can damage relationships
Speakers
Peter Czapp
Wow Accountants
How do you build your reputation
and drive inbound enquiries?
Thursday 21 May 2020
Workshop
12 noon
Marketing expert, Trevor Lambert presented a free webinar and focused on:
- What good content looks like and what you should avoid
- At least 8 touch points when you can use thought leadership to engage with target clients and get a better understanding of their challenges
- A sure-fire way of securing quality media coverage for your content
- The power of reciprocity and a counterintuitive way of getting target clients to register for more
- How to avoid one of Google’s hidden traps that could scupper your PageRank.
Our events are for owners of consulting business ONLY, turning over £500k to £20m. As a taster, non-members of The Consultancy Growth Network can watch one webinar or attend one event before choosing to join.
Speakers
Trevor Lambert
Marketing Expert
Why is it so hard
to hire great people?
Thursday 14 May 2020
Workshop
12 noon
Caroline Boston of New Minds presented a free webinar, focused on:
- The fundamental aspects to consider if you want to attract great candidates to your business
- The key selection tools that you need to enable the right recruitment decisions
- Common pitfalls when recruiting and practical tips for how to avoid them
- Why now is exactly the time to address recruitment challenges and position your business for growth.
Speakers
Caroline Boston
New Minds
Building a sustainable, valuable
consulting business
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Networking & Learning
9.30am - 3.15pm
To reflect the unprecedented times we are in and the necessary remote nature of our conference, we have adjusted the timetable while still giving attendees the opportunity to take a step back and think longer term about their business. Topics we will be covering include:
- The fundamental components of building a sustainable, valuable consulting business
- Methods for driving value in your rate card
- Personal considerations to ensure you last (and enjoy) the journey
- How to use the 8 lever model to maximise equity value including case studies and a self-assessment tool
Speakers
Marc Jantzen
The Consultancy Growth Network
Dom Moorhouse
The Consultancy Growth Network
Bruce Ramsay
Consulting M&A
Digital tools - high impact, low cost technology for consulting businesses
Thursday 2 April 2020
Workshop
12 noon
Deri Hughes of Honeycomb PS presented a free webinar focused on:
- Identifying which areas of your business would most benefit from some new technology
- How to figure out the right tool for your specific needs
- Get the most out of any tool you choose to implement
- Hear recommendations on specific tools you can benefit from immediately
Speakers
Deri Hughes
Honeycomb PS