Virtual HQ Solutions - Articles (Return to articles section)

Practice Development...are you really in control?

VHQ Article - Practice Development (MC).pdf

Anyone who has set up a consultancy practice will know, you need three key strings to your bow if you are going to make a success of it;

Many practices have these in place but are still not able to achieve sustained growth. Often, they remain vulnerable to an over-reliance on one or two clients, find managing large projects difficult or have issues controlling costs.

This is the first of six articles, from Virtual HQ Solutions Limited, providing an overview of these management issues and suggesting ways in which small consultancy practices can nurture their businesses for long term growth and profitability.

Building a Sales Pipeline

You probably don't need reminding that you should look to existing contacts and clients for your next sale - the cost of winning business this way is much lower than finding new clients from scratch - but keeping tabs on all of your contacts can be difficult when you're busy or a large project comes along.

If, for each of your contacts, you asked yourself "When did we last speak?", "What exactly was said or agreed?" and "Did I follow up as promised?" ... would you know? Making small contracts to do something and keeping your promises goes a long way to establishing trust. So, it's equally important to make sure that your colleagues can answer the same questions.

If you can track your contacts then you will remain informed and on the ball - if not, opportunities will undoubtedly slip through the net - but, to win more of these business opportunities, you and your team need a clear idea about what to do at each stage of the sale.

In our experience, taking appropriate action relies on having a trusted formula for managing sales opportunities and converting leads to contracts. Most successful companies have one. In the first instance tracking leads and recording contact activity is extremely important, but to progress opportunities and maximise your conversion rate you'll need a plan. In a team selling environment it is vital that the lead consultant sets tasks to help team members drive leads towards closure, faster.

Effective sales management is also about understanding the potential value and phasing of future projects - a forecast, if you will. Without this, it becomes difficult to plan or prioritise your ongoing sales effort and your resource requirements. This lack of knowledge is the basis of a feast or famine existence for so many practices.