News

Integrating lateral hires: why firms can’t leave success to chance

03 September 2025

Lateral hiring continues to rise across professional services firms in the UK, but while it has become a core growth strategy, the success rate remains patchy. Some lateral partners thrive, unlocking new clients and fresh opportunities. Others struggle, with their early promise fading in the face of complex dynamics, cultural mismatches or lack of support.

Our latest white paper, Integrating lateral hires: what drives success in…

How to win more work from senior executives

24 July 2025

Engaging senior executives (whether of existing clients or new prospects) is often a key route to securing more high-value assignments. Yet building rapport and trust at this level can feel daunting.

In our experience, many professionals worry about how best to influence senior decision-makers. They often express concern that they won’t be seen as credible enough to truly engage at this level. Yet with a few thoughtful adjustments to your approach, it’s…

Could coaching give your BD a boost in 2025?

31 January 2025

With 2025 fully underway, many professionals have embarked on their journey to achieve this year’s goals and targets – particularly in relation to BD achievements. This is a good principle and helps to get the young year off to a strong start.

As Q1’s ‘busyness’ intensifies, many well-formed plans and good intentions can fall by the wayside. One tool, however, that helps professionals remain on track is coaching.

 

The benefits of…

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and prosperous 2025

04 December 2024

 

We would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a comfortable and prosperous 2025.

As part of our aim to lessen our impact on the planet, we won’t be sending Christmas cards this time.

Instead, we are donating the money we would have spent on cards, envelopes and postage to support the great work of Manchester City of Trees.

It is a charity committed to tackling climate change by planting…

Webinar: Simple ways to keep in touch with clients when you’re busy

28 August 2024

Many professionals find it difficult to keep in touch with clients without a deal, assignment or instruction on the go (and with numerous active clients to keep happy). But by failing to keep in touch, you can miss opportunities or (worse still) lead the client to believe you don’t care – prompting them to canvass a competing firm’s advice.

In this free 45-minute webinar, we will explore quick and simple ways to…

Introducing the new-look Business Development Academy

19 June 2024

We are delighted to announce the launch of our newly refreshed Business Development Academy. The Academy is designed specifically for professional services firms and provides just-in-time e-learning resources and tools for busy professionals.

 

A multitude of resources to choose from

The Academy delivers a multitude of helpful BD training modules, videos, webinars, podcasts, digests, and tools – all accessible on different-sized devices. These cover the latest best practice techniques in networking,…

Webinar: Quick-wins to get your 2024 business development off to a strong start

04 January 2024

With the dawning of a new year, January is a good time for professionals to plan their business development approach for the months ahead. At the same time, many are keen to get going on BD activities before the general ‘busyness’ of daily work takes hold.

In this free webinar, we will explore both BD planning considerations for the year ahead, and also quick-wins you can pursue now to get your 2024…

Put your 2024 business pipeline on a firm footing this festive season

14 November 2023

The end of the calendar year and run up to the festive holiday often marks a frenetic time for professionals.  Along with meeting work deadlines before the holiday, it’s a popular time to meet up with valued contacts and clients to thank them for their business and support.  On top of this, there is usually an increase in the number of festive gatherings and networking events to attend.

Despite all this ‘busyness’,…

Bite-sized business development tips for busy professionals

14 September 2023

Newly revamped for Autumn 2023, our popular Winning Business Digests give practical tips and insights for busy professionals.

These 4-page digital digests share easy-to-apply tips and the latest advice for over 45 business development, client management, financial management, networking, pitching, self-development and team management topics.

Over 45 digests to choose from

Available in a pdf format for desk-based and on-the-go viewing, the digests come in handy in various ways.

For example:
  • Add…

New workshops to boost the effectiveness of BD, Marketing and Communications teams

13 September 2023

Effective and impactful BD, Marketing and Communications teams are essential if firms are to make the most of current market opportunities.

Key to this is for those teams to work skilfully, proactively and positively with the firm’s partners, fee earners and other significant stakeholders.

Developing the necessary skills of colleagues, building morale and increasing team collaboration has however been made more difficult by the hybrid working environment.

In response…