The Secret Sauce - Top 4 SMB Consulting Firm Requirements for Success

60% of small to mid-sized firms cite “differentiating our firm from the competition” as a top priority, but how exactly is that accomplished?  How are some firms able to achieve more than 20% growth year over year, while others struggle just to complete and bill against existing engagements? What are the secrets of today’s fastest growing consultancies?

In recent weeks, Deltek has partnered with The Hinge Institute to highlight the best information available to the consulting market on becoming a “high growth” firm. Our aim is to empower you to think strategically about your plans for growth in 2020, and provide you with the tools necessary to achieve success.

We’ve introduced the details of Hinge Institute’s 2019 High Growth Study – Consulting Edition via webinar, blog, and panel event in Washington DC.

At the panel event, mid- and senior-level consulting professionals eager to learn the secrets to high growth were able to network and share information related to the traits, best practices and hallmarks of high growth firms, including how high growth firms:

• Design their social, content and brand marketing strategies
• Recruit and retain the best talent to create a competitive niche
• Lean in to technology to enable scale and increase margin
• Build pipeline and choose the most fitting engagements for growth

Though the panelists covered many aspects of business growth, conversation noticeably came back to one key topic again and again: the importance of ingraining a “people first” mentality as a priority to achieving growth.  How to attract the best people, keep them interested, and avoid burnout were discussed extensively. Experts agreed that not only was an emphasis on people required, but building a people-focused culture in a high growth consultancy was paramount.

For more insights on attracting and retaining top talent check out the 5 Key Takeaways LinkedIn post by The Hinge Institute’s Jon Tyreman, which includes additional commentary on:

1. Having a fundamental understanding of what eats your clients’ lunch
2. Leveraging automation and technology to proactively plan resource allocation
3. Investing in recruiting, training and development
4. Embracing digital marketing to build visibility around expertise 

As you plan for 2020, bookmark this blog and watch your email for future events and resources we’re cooking up with The Hinge Institute to unveil even more ingredients to becoming a high growth consulting firm.