Consultancy firms thrive on expertise. Whether you’re advising on strategy, transformation, finance, operations, or people—your value lies in solving problems and delivering results.

But knowing your worth isn’t the same as consistently winning new work.

Business development often ends up squeezed between project deadlines and client delivery. For small and mid-sized consultancy firms—especially those without a dedicated BD function—growth can feel more reactive than strategic.

Common Business Development Challenges for Consultancy Firms

1. Business development competes with delivery.
You’re focused on client work, and rightly so. But BD tasks—outreach, relationship nurturing, marketing, pipeline management—often fall by the wayside when time is tight.

2. Lack of structured follow-up.
You have great conversations, warm leads, promising introductions—but without a system to follow up consistently, many opportunities go cold before they convert.

3. No clear value message.
You know you get results for clients—but explaining your offer clearly, quickly, and in a way that speaks to commercial needs (not just process or technical detail) is a common challenge.

4. Ad hoc marketing activity.
Many firms post occasionally, send the odd newsletter, or update their website once in a blue moon—but lack a regular rhythm of marketing and outreach that keeps them visible to the right audience.

5. Everything depends on a founder or partner.
For smaller consultancies, business development often lives in one person’s head—making it hard to scale, hard to delegate, and harder still to maintain during busy delivery periods.

What Good Business Development Support Resolves
Business development support doesn’t replace your voice, your relationships, or your expertise. It strengthens them.

With the right structure and tools in place, it becomes easier to:

Build a consistent pipeline without relying on last-minute outreach

Develop clear, compelling messaging that speaks to the needs of your target clients

Stay front-of-mind through regular, relevant marketing and communication

Turn interest into action with well-timed, thoughtful follow-up

Reduce the burden on senior consultants by making BD more efficient and repeatable

Ideal For:
Independent consultants and small firms trying to grow without hiring a full-time BD team

Specialist consultancies aiming to build a strong brand presence in a niche market

Partnership-based firms where BD responsibilities are split or unclear

Growing firms looking to scale through relationships, frameworks, or long-term retainer work

Teams that need help developing better habits around marketing, networking, and client follow-up