Helping to Build High-Performing Consulting Firms

🔴 EDITION #149 | May 6, 2026

Dear reader, 

Here comes the 149th edition of our newsletter. In our featured article, we discuss the problems many consulting firms experience with their go-to-market strategies, and why the capability- and industry-first go-to-market falls on deaf ears when it comes to prospects. 

We also explain a straightforward winning strategy that consultancies can assume instead.

Enjoy reading, 

Luk & Florian

Our New Article

How Consulting Firms Sabotage Their Go-to-Market

Millions get lost in how consulting firms go to market. And the unfortunate part is that, in too many cases, it is self-inflicted!  

Most consulting firms go to market by leading with lists of capabilities and industries they cover. It is the default. And it is this approach that is sabotaging the consultancies’ chances of success.  

In this article, we discuss why leading with capabilities and industries drowns consulting firms in the sea of sameness, and what the fix is. Heads up, though – while the fix is simple in theory, it is hard when it comes to making the trade-offs. 

Read the New Article

Our Recent Articles

VALUE PROPOSITION

How to Test a Consulting Value Proposition With Three Simple Questions

STRATEGY

Why Sales-Led Consulting Falls Short

CASE STUDY

The Best Consulting Pitch I’ve Ever Seen [Updated]

OUR BOOK IS COMING IN 2026:

Consulting Proposition Design Book

Mastering Value Proposition Design for Consulting Performance

Join the waitlist to receive early access, get invited to a few pre-launch activities, and receive the book at the special launch price.

Join the Waitlist

Our Recent LinkedIn Posts

🔴 LUK SMEYERS

VALUE PROPOSITION DESIGN

In a tougher market, weak consulting foundations get exposed fast.

STRATEGY

Consulting firms often organise themselves around the services they sell. Clients organise their search around what they struggle with.

CONSULTING GROWTH

The Consulting Growth Problem Hiding at the Front Door.

STRATEGY

Last week, a consulting partner challenged the theory of proposition design with the reality of revenue pressure.

VALUE COMMUNICATION

Most consulting firms are far too quick to confuse client-centricity with reinvention.

VALUE PROPOSITION DESIGN

If a consulting firm starts every project from scratch, it trades profit for complexity.

🔴 FLORIAN HEINRICHS

FUTURE OF CONSULTING

"We Have Great Expertise." So Does ChatGPT. And It Works Weekends. (Let's talk AI, shall we?)

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

"Cross-Selling" Is Usually a Proposition Problem in Disguise.

VALUE PROPOSITION

PE-Backed Consultancies Have a Proposition Problem Nobody Talks About.

STRATEGY

Most Consulting Firms Let Clients Run Their Engagements. And They Set It Up That Way Themselves.

DIFFERENTIATION

Why Your Consulting Proposition Should "Message Into The Pain"

VALUE PROPOSITION

A Clear Proposition Reduces More Than Just Sales Friction

DIFFERENTIATION

Proposition Design Helps Consultancies Differentiate.

Here's How We Help Consultancies

1. Consulting Value Review

A structured, 4 to 6-week, value-proposition-anchored rapid assessment of a consulting firm's growth and performance potential.

Best for:

• Buyers or Investors evaluating the proposition and performance of a consulting firm pre- or post-acquisition/investment

2. Value Maximisation Program

A 10 to 12-week intensive program designed to define, sharpen, and operationalise a firm’s consulting proposition. 

Best for:  

• Boutiques struggling with differentiation & business development
• Practices in large consultancies needing a clearer positioning
• Consulting firms launching new service lines
• Enterprise SaaS companies starting a consulting/service function or needing to improve their current consulting proposition

3. Service Portfolio Optimisation Program

A deep dive into the cohesion, efficiency, and superior client value of a consulting firm’s service portfolio.

Best for:  

• Large consulting firms with too many overlapping or unclear service offerings
• Consulting firm practices seeking to scale profitably by optimising service-market fit

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