Luk’s Bi-Weekly 'Think Piece' For Consultancy Owners

EDITION #89

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Dear reader, 

Here comes the 88th edition of my newsletter. 

In this edition, I am discussing a performance evaluation strategy that can help consultancy owners and leaders gain a deeper understanding of the business (and its hurdles).

I still get surprised by the lack of insight depth of the P&L and balance sheet of consultancy owners or partners. There's more to assess. I share the buyers' lens of consultancy evaluation in my new article. 

As always, I hope I can create a bubble of calmness with my bi-weekly ‘think piece’, a place of stillness in the face of everyday stress—a chance to reflect on what really matters in your consulting work.

Enjoy reading, 

Luk

MY NEW ARTICLE

Adopting the Buyer’s Lens to Improve Consultancy Performance

Having spent years assessing and improving the performance of boutique consultancies, I've developed a keen eye for the nuances that differentiate a successful consultancy firm from the rest. My approach goes beyond traditional financial analysis, delving into the deeper operational and market dynamics.  

I discovered that a consultancy performance assessment is almost exclusively conducted by looking at the P&L/financial statements. That’s absolutely needed, of course. However, for me, it never felt enough.

So, step by step, I've built an additional 'evaluation layer' by incorporating the typical considerations an external buyer of a consultancy would use in making a purchasing decision, focusing on key areas that influence their choice in selecting and evaluating a consultancy.  I will call it the ‘buyer’s lens’ in this article.  

I invite consulting leaders and boutique consultancy owners to reflect on this evaluation approach to assess their business through a more independent lens and use it to improve their consulting businesses' sustainability and profitability.    

READ MY NEW ARTICLE

MY RECENT ARTICLES

STRATEGY

Moving Away From Early-Stage Characteristics as a Boutique Consultancy

AUDIENCE EDUCATION

How I Share My Expertise with My Audience of Consultancy Owners

PROFITABILITY

The 4 I’s of Service Design for Boutique Consultancies

MANAGING A CONSULTANCY

How Boutique Consultancy Owners Can Reclaim Their Quality of Life

MY LINKEDIN POSTS

REVENUE GROWTH

Boutique consultancies should generate at least 70% of revenue from existing clients. 

STRATEGY

Best revenue practices to tackle economic slowdown in consulting. 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The consultancy’s proposal win rates tell me almost everything. 

STRATEGY

Is your consultancy stuck in the cycle of low revenue, one-time projects? 

REPUTATIONAL FOOTPRINT

I recommend that every consultancy assesses its expertise reputation regularly. 

SERVICE DESIGN

Every consulting service can be productised! 

STRATEGY

Consultancies that cannot develop existing clients have an existential health challenge. 

MY SUNDAY SHOUTOUTS ON LINKEDIN

... to former Deloitte colleague and now consultancy founder Tanguy Dulac for sharing and summarizing this Revelio Labs consulting study. Definitely worth reading if you are in consulting.

... to my former Deloitte colleague Josh Bersin. I bet you’re an expert at something. We all are. But how will it feel when a Generative AI becomes deeper and more expert than we are? That’s what Josh talks about in a new podcast.

MY BITE-SIZED ADVICE

In this section, I recap the pieces of advice and inspiration I share with my followers on LinkedIn every Monday – all learned or observed throughout my personal journey as a consultant.

Follow #consultingmonday on LinkedIn to never miss a dose of inspiration at the start of the week.

STRATEGY

When evaluating boutique consultancies, I often find that many are selling 'vitamins': they promote their broad expertise, years of combined experience, and unique methodologies. However, it would be better to focus on selling 'painkillers'. This means offering specific solutions to distinct problems within a particular business context, promising tangible impacts, and guaranteeing specific outcomes. When I have a pressing problem, I don’t buy vitamins. I buy painkillers.

AUDIENCE EDUCATION

LinkedIn has proven to be an effective audience engagement channel for me. I write daily, reply to all the comments, and thank my followers for new perspectives. Now, here's ‘the shocker’: I never do outreach, I never send connection requests on LinkedIn (maybe 10 per year), and I haven't spent a minute on direct sales. And yet, I doubled my followers from 5k to 10k in 2 years. I am fully booked—100% inbound. So, to every consultancy owner or leader, don't you dare to tell me LinkedIn doesn’t work. It does. Every consultancy can do it.

HERE'S HOW I HELP CONSULTANCIES

If you knew a way to become a high-performing consultancy, would you adopt it?

Stupid question, I guess.

My High-Performing Consultancy Review provides a 360-degree evaluation of challenges such as:

- market positioning and target audience;

- visibility and reputation in the market;

- new client acquisition;

- existing client development and retention;

- pipeline predictability;

- expertise differentiation;

- business performance measurement;

- key player retention.

You'll receive a detailed report of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and areas for improvement, along with quick wins and actionable insights to help unlock your consultancy's full potential.

Don't settle for mediocrity. Book your High-Performing Consultancy Review today and take the first step towards a brighter future for your boutique consultancy. 

Here's a detailed article explaining the Consultancy Performance Review. 

PS. My ideal clients: founder-led boutique consultancies with revenue between 2M and +/- 20M and/or between 20 and +/- 100 consultants. 

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