Challenge

The firm was focused on small accounts with high cost of sale for each win, price was nearly always critical, meaning enormous pressure on their ability to achieve profitability. To survive rather than standstill, the client recognised they needed to go after and win larger, more profitable engagements to ensure greater utilisation, sustainable revenues and greater value. 

Solution

There were two behaviours Openside’s bespoke programme addressed:

1. Business development behaviours to build better, deeper relationships with clients at the C-Level, ensure proactive selling in and selling on, not resorting to price as a differentiator, framing critical conversations and value propositions in larger engagements.
2. Better team-working behaviours for a unified approach so that new colleagues were immediately productive in client engagements.

 

Outcome

Our client sponsor said it improved and developed leadership in 2 ways:

1. Behaviour – more effective presentations and personal style
2. Intellectual behaviour – becoming a ‘thinking partner’ for clients

 

Participants recommended the programme to colleagues at all levels saying it was 100% useful for developing skills and suggested the main benefits across roles:

Senior Managers, VPs/Directors and Partners – being able to rehearse and receive feedback on ‘live’ cases during the programme

Managers and Senior Consultants – getting help with expanding existing client opportunities and structuring proposals 

Business Analysts and Consultants – making teams more commercially aware by giving an introduction to the concepts when they start at the firm

Feedback

One of the major business wins was a €1m deal, attributed to applying the principles and training from Openside.

After the initial pilot, the programme was amended to incorporate feedback and run monthly to cover up to 100 participants, followed by a roll-out to high potential senior managers the following year.

Post-programme feedback revealed that the learnings extended beyond the classroom, with participants from different departments offering practical support for each other’s business development initiatives and their personal development plans.