{"id":50251,"date":"2020-12-05T04:12:08","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T09:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=50251"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:05:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:05:21","slug":"5-keys-to-growing-your-leadership-consulting-business","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/5-keys-to-growing-your-leadership-consulting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Keys to Growing Your Leadership Consulting Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly every leadership development consulting firm experiences the same challenge: managing client demands while expanding their offerings and growing their book of business.<\/p>\n

How do the best leadership consultancies balance these responsibilities? What do they do to succeed?<\/p>\n

5 Guidelines for Leadership Consulting Business Growth<\/h2>\n

Best Practices to Follow<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve seen what distinguishes the best, most growth-oriented leadership consulting firms from those who are struggling to survive. Here are 5 best practices that we recommend to grow your leadership consulting business:<\/p>\n

1. Think \u201cProgram,\u201d Not \u201cEvent.\u201d<\/h4>\n

The best leadership development practitioners understand that leadership development isn\u2019t an event \u2014 it\u2019s a process<\/em>. So if a potential client calls and requests a one-day leadership workshop, you can certainly start there, but use this as an opportunity to discuss what makes learning stick<\/a> and advocate how a larger initiative and longer-term relationship can be even more beneficial to their business and their employees.<\/p>\n

Learning initiatives that span a longer period of time have more lasting impact than one-day events, and for you, they have the added bonus of helping to ensure cash flow.<\/p>\n

2. Right-Price Your Services.<\/h4>\n

You probably became a leadership consultant because you\u2019re passionate about helping professionals grow and develop as leaders. Don’t take your commitment to your profession so far as to under-bill for your time though, or underestimate how \u201ceasy\u201d it will be to deliver a service, therefore not pricing it correctly.<\/p>\n

Also, remember that leadership development consulting is a specialty service \u2013 it\u2019s not a commodity. If your firm is seeking to compete on price, be cautious. It\u2019s diminishing the real value of your firm\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

The most stable leadership development firms approach their services with eyes wide open. Before pricing, benchmark your services to understand the competitive landscape, and understand their value \u2013 if you perform service \u201cX\u201d for a client, it will result in \u201cY.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cY\u201d has a financial outcome to it; leadership development research has proven it works to drive key organizational benefits<\/a>. The best leadership consulting firms understand that value, so consider a value-based approach to program pricing.<\/p>\n

3. Hunt and Farm.<\/h4>\n

Most leadership development consultants didn\u2019t start their firms so they could focus a majority of their time on business development and marketing. Yet these are necessary to grow your leadership consulting business. Client acquisition requires initiative, effort, and consistent activity. That\u2019s why the most successful leadership development consulting practitioners are always hunting and farming:<\/p>\n