Luk’s Bi-Weekly 'Think Piece' For Consultants

Edition #62 - November 2, 2022 

Dear reader, 

Here comes the 62nd edition of my newsletter. 

Today, I'd like to explore the business impacts of consulting positioning. I am always eager to understand more about how successful consultancies approach business development. In this edition, I'm sharing some of the most important learnings from such conversations.

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

Client Learnings

Client questions and case studies from the consulting frontline.

Any consultancy can replicate the secret of this highly profitable consulting firm

Most of the time, consulting leaders reach out to me because their firms are experiencing problems: their business growth has stalled, or they keep having to offer discounts to win projects, or they find themselves going through tedious client recruitment processes where their consultants have to follow up on their pitches multiple times.

However, I also spend a lot of time talking to firms that do not need my help. They are hugely successful – they have high profits, their consultants are known as experts, they have low consultant turnover, etc.

So today, I’d like to share a story of a mid-size consulting firm I got in touch with not too long ago. Let’s call it Consultancy X.

This firm’s annual revenue per full-time employee is 2-3X the market average. They constantly turn away requests from prospects because they do not fit their narrowly defined area of expertise. In fact, there is a waitlist for Consultancy X’s services. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Well, suffice to say, they do not need my help.

The reason I’m sharing their story? Because the secret to their success is not some superhuman abilities or an immense amount of luck. It’s a straightforward strategy that any consulting firm can adopt and adapt to its context.

Read why Consultancy X is so successful.

Would you like to send a question for one of the following newsletter editions? Please send it to me here. 

The Irresistible Content

I write a lot. Here's the update from the past 2 weeks.

The latest blog article: Consultancies Must Rethink the Way Their Prospects Buy

“How does a prospect become a client in your consultancy?”

I posted this question to a group of senior consulting leaders not too long ago during a workshop session.

The answers varied greatly and most involved explaining a complex – and, at times, confusing – a process with continuous back-and-forth until the prospect is sent a contract for services that outlines the work and deliverables, ending in both parties signing it.

My other content from the past 2 weeks

LinkedIn post: “Luk, we are creating a lot of content but nothing really happens”.

LinkedIn post: I hope you don’t talk like this to your consulting prospects.

LinkedIn post: Why should we hire your consultancy? Here’s a 5-step framework to answer the prospect.

LinkedIn post: Stop comparing your consultancy with the competition all the time.

LinkedIn post: Show me a consulting P&L, and I will explain the quality of the consultancy’s positioning, focus and specialisation.

The Authority, previous edition: Edition #61

 The Inconvenient Number

Evidence-based learning for consultants.

Here's How I Can Help

Better consultancy firms, better consultants.

🅾️ Assessing the Consulting Firm's Market Positioning

Many consulting firms make the same mistake – rushing to pitch their services without putting enough effort into their positioning.

It always seems so counter-intuitive to me. It makes growing a consulting business so much harder, such a poor positioning. 

Without a strong market positioning, you do not have a proper framework to organize your priorities, client work, and business development. Moreover, your target market has no clear idea of what you do, how you do it, and why what you do is of value. 

I can help you assess the consulting firm's strengths and the areas for improvement. So take a piece of paper and a pen and return to the drawing board. Get the foundation right, and the rest will follow. 

My assessment takes you through a rigorous process of diagnosing, researching, assessing, and comparing the touchpoints that connect your consultancy with your ideal audience for the years to come.

If you don't assess your positioning every 2 to 3 years, you might have missed a few things on the market. 

Interested? Here's a detailed info page. 

🅾️ In-company business development workshops for consultancies

Are you seeking help to build and grow the foundations for a solid business development footprint in consulting?

I can help with short virtual interventions, 2-hour virtual workshops, half-day or full-day classes (virtual or live in West Europe), or 2-day boot camps in a retreat format. 

Everything is possible. 

Interested? Here is further information.

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Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #61

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