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Boardroom table for partner discussions If your firm is arranging an offsite/retreat/away day/town hall (call it what you will) partner gathering in 2023, what should feature on the agenda?

Whatever the event’s format, you’ll no doubt want partners to feel the time they’ve invested is worthwhile. They also need to come away feeling energised and motivated to support the points covered.

These are meetings that matter, and it goes without saying that it is…

To forge a strong network and attract new work opportunities, professionals need to have a profile and reputation which is well-known and respected in their chosen markets.

Professionals who do stand out from the crowd appeal to both clients and referrers alike. Such visibility and preference isn’t usually achieved by chance; it is more likely the result of a carefully executed strategy – often implemented over several years.

That strategy is ever-evolving to reflect…

With the easing of lock-down restrictions and more professionals returning to the office, many are looking to resume face-to-face contact with clients and contacts.

The business landscape, however, is very different to what it was before the pandemic. While some businesses continue to work remotely; others are adopting a hybrid approach which blends remote and on-site working.

Most professionals recognise that strong business relationships are built on in-person interactions and are keen to…

As a result of recent years’ events, virtual communications platforms such as Zoom and MS Teams have helped many organisations to reshape their working practices.

There has also been a recognition of the benefits that being ‘on-site’ with colleagues can have on an individual’s wellbeing and effectiveness.

Subsequently, and as many countries ease their restrictions in response to the pandemic, organisations are now planning for and adopting a hybrid approach. This is one…

A professional’s network can be a major source of work opportunities and referrals – and it makes great commercial sense to aim to attract work from those who know and respect you. The opportunities they bring are often easier and less time intensive to convert and are often less fee-sensitive too. What’s not to like about all that?

In reality, though, many professionals are disappointed by the volume and quality of referrals…

The current global situation and the need for remote working has led many of us to rethink how we manage our client and contact relationships and work.

Now more than ever, your clients and contacts need advice, and support to navigate their way through challenging and unchartered circumstances.

In this article we have shared ways we’ve been discussing with professional services clients to help them maintain and strengthen their working relationships remotely, and in…

Added value is always in the eye of the beholder – what’s valuable to one contact or organisation might not be valuable to another.

Typical ‘added value’ approaches used by firms, such as bulletins, training and even secondments have now become commonplace with clients expecting them as part of the standard service. In some cases, added value originally designed to foster greater goodwill and client loyalty has been reduced to commodity status.

At…

10 Trends in Today’s Pitching Landscape The pitching landscape for professional firms continues to be busy, whether that’s a possible by-product of the current economic and political uncertainty is hard to say. What is clear though is that clients are showing an increased keenness to review the value they gain from their advisers and re-assess their professional services expenditure and preferred firms.

In the current pitching environment, new approaches are emerging on both the…

The Autumn typically marks a very busy period for many professionals and a careful juggling act of both client work and business development (BD). This year many firms also face a time of political and economic uncertainty in their key markets.

Whatever the changes ahead, those professionals who maintain a regular BD approach will be more effective and successful at supporting clients and contacts, spotting opportunities and converting them…

For many professionals we work with, business development (BD) has to ‘slot in’ around a myriad of other client, staff and other business responsibilities. And yet how successful a professional is in attracting new work greatly influences the status they achieve in other areas of their professional life.

It’s important not to treat BD as a luxury – something to be actioned when more time magically appears in the diary. Instead, the…

Key themes for 2023’s partner discussions

Ways to build your market profile and professional reputation

Webinar: Resuming face-to-face contact with clients and contacts

Keeping in touch in the hybrid business world

Webinar: Making the most of your referral relationships

Strengthening contact relationships ‘remotely’

Adding relevant value

10 Trends in Today’s Pitching Landscape

Why your Autumn BD needs a 100 day plan

Foundation stones for personal business development success in 2019