Building credibility to secure new work
‘These skills aren’t just for winning new work – it’s core to all the work we do. This helped me negotiate a 40% increase in fee.’
So what was the impact?
The client highlighted the development programme as an essential part of their growth strategy.
The partners and directors who took part gained greater clarity, focus and confidence in the firm’s longer-term sales strategy – and went back to their local offices to share their learning. There is now a waiting list for partners and directors keen to develop their understanding and ability to have more impactful conversations with potential clients.
‘These skills aren’t just for winning new work – it’s core to all the work we do,’ said the Head of Marketing and Sales. ‘This helped me negotiate a 40% increase in fee.’
Telos Partners’ impact at a glance:
• Audit partners and directors are clear on how to prioritise and pursue opportunities
• Participants are more confident in their ability to connect, listen and build credibility with targeted pursuits
• Raised profile of the internal Bids and Pursuits team, who are now actively sought out to support new opportunities
• A credible list of opportunities to pursue, aligned to the client’s strategic plan
• Tools and skills gained are being applied to all areas of participants’ work, leading to real increases in fees and the ability to push back when right
Client story
When a fast-growing global accounting firm realised their audit partners and directors needed to be more diligent in the way they identified, pursued and converted strategically important leads, they approached Telos Partners for help.
The client recognised that what their partners and directors required wasn’t just the knowledge of ‘what’ to do when pursuing opportunities.
They also needed an understanding of ‘how’ to do it in a world where people are still at the heart of decision-making, but any relationship has to be completely independent.
Telos Partners worked closely with the firm’s Clients and Markets Partner and their internal Bids and Pursuits team (who’d created the process) to design a bespoke development programme.
The programme brought the bids and pursuits process to life, enabling participants to look at how they applied the skills required to their real-world pursuits. Professional role-players were used to provide real-time interaction and feedback on the way in which the partners and directors built their own credibility.
Telos Partners also worked with the client’s internal Bids and Support team specialists who worked with participants on real opportunities – the aim being to enable the initial pilot programme to be rolled out.