In the world of professional services, consulting, legal, creative, and advisory, delivering real value has never been more critical. Clients today are under pressure to deliver results, not just rack up invoices or slide decks. They’re demanding faster outcomes, deeper insights, and partnerships that help them move forward, not just stand still with a binder full of strategy.
We’ve been around for nineteen years. Three and a half years ago, we chose to reinvent ourselves. Part of that process is to increase new clients who need something a bit different from the past. It’s important to grow with our current clients. We also need to bring in new logos from our new offerings. We started a team that focuses on “hunting” new logos about nine months ago. Currently, there are two account executives on this team. We have learned a lot in nine months.
Most founders I talk to are trying to grow without stacking up overhead or hiring more people than they need. We’re no different. For us, digital transformation isn’t some trendy phrase; it’s just a practical way to deliver clearer, faster, and more valuable results for our clients.
In the competitive landscape of Professional Services, boutique firms often face the challenge of growing, scaling, and eventually exiting successfully. Collective 54, the first community exclusively for founders of Professional Services firms, is dedicated to helping its members achieve these objectives. One effective strategy that firms can adopt is the Win, Keep, and Grow approach. This blog will explore how focusing on these three simple concepts can lead to profitable growth.
Early in my consulting career, I noticed something odd—smart, capable consultants showing up like robots. Great résumés. Fancy decks. But no humanity. No warmth. No soul. I remember sitting in a room of very senior executives as a 22-year-old with what I thought was a dumb question. My internal monologue went like this:
For consulting and professional services firms, the first 100 days of a client engagement are make-or-break. This early phase sets the foundation for everything that follows—building connection and credibility, aligning expectations, surfacing hidden risks, and accelerating results. At Empactful Advisors, we approach this critical window not as “ramp-up time,” but as a deliberate opportunity to deliver value, build trust, and shape long-term success.
As you know, growth isn’t just about winning one more client or launching one more offering. Growth must be sustainable and intentional. For my firm, this means identifying and nurturing partnerships that expand our reach and increase our revenue.
The bottom line: Just because someone refers business to you doesn’t mean you should take it. The wrong project can derail your momentum, burn out your team, and cost far more than the revenue it brings in.
Ask a founder if they have their Ideal Client Profile figured out, and most will say yes without hesitation. Ask their team, and you’ll hear a dozen different versions. That’s the problem. A vague or outdated ICP can’t guide decisions. It doesn’t scale. And it doesn’t protect the firm when the pipeline dries up.
“Once you have demonstrated you can help a company solve problems, they never run out of problems they want you to help them solve. ”You have a great business, and you know it. You know that you could double it if only…and then the list starts:• We had the right people• We could get in the right meetings with the right buyers• The economy would improve