Demystifying Sales
Practical business development skills for consultants. For senior managers and junior partners who are starting to carry a number.
Most consulting firms suffer from at least three of these five challenges.
- Struggling to generate sales outside of the relationships and network of the senior leaders.
- Have wasted money hiring sales leaders who promise a "black book" which ultimately doesn't materialise.
- Have a cohort of senior colleagues who are great at delivery but lack the confidence, network and time to sell effectively.
- Have a team which sees the use of the CRM as an administrative burden rather than a competitive advantage.
- Are not sure what sales methods, tools and tech have been proven to work for consultancies.
Your firm lives or dies on profitable growth, and that should start with every consultant. Leaving any investment in business development skills until a consultant joins the leadership team can lead to sub-optimal sales performance and the wrong people being promoted.
Practitioners, not theorists.
From FTSE boardrooms to PE-backed scale-ups, our team bring decades of consulting, sales and leadership experience.
Prof. Joe O'Mahoney
Professor of Consulting at Cardiff University and founder of Equity Sherpa, helping consulting firm owners 4x their equity value through revenue growth, cost reduction and a higher multiple. Award-winning authority on how boutique consultancies grow and sell, and author of Growth: Building a Consultancy in the Digital Age, drawn from 72 founders who grew and sold their firms. Built and sold his own firm, runs the Consulting Leaders Club for boutique CEOs, and is board advisor to consultancies between £10m and £30m.
Rachel Healy
Partner at Equity Sherpa, board advisor and business development capability builder, who has trained over 1,000 consulting professionals in commercial capability, at firms including Virgin Media O2, and began her career in sales at Guinness GB and United Biscuits. Her consulting career spans strategy and digital transformation at the BBC, ITV, Vodafone, Microsoft, Equinix, Axel Springer and the English Premier League, alongside due diligence for investors including The Carlyle Group, Macquarie and CPPIB on more than $2bn of deals.
Practical changes in behaviour.
Demystifying Sales builds on delivery expertise and equips future leaders with the skills, knowledge and confidence to make a valuable contribution to growth.
Grow revenue
By spotting more opportunities and extensions, building commercial confidence and creating cross-sell moments.
Increase margins
By understanding the quality of revenue and the importance of qualifying opportunities.
Deepen client loyalty
Through genuine problem-solving conversations and building stronger, long-term client relationships.
Alongside growing sales, investment in business development capability builds a stronger pipeline of talent, mitigates key person risk, and reduces dependency on what is quite often a "unicorn" senior hire.
Six areas, over two afternoons.
Growth mindset and strategy
Connect day-to-day delivery to revenue, margin and firm-wide growth. Understand, truly understand, how better qualification, pricing and positioning drive exponential value. Learn how personal contributions shape collective success.
Reframing "sales"
Ditch the gimmicks. Shift the narrative from selling to solving. Equip your consultants to spot needs, build trust and add value through everyday interactions. It is not about the pitch, it is about being useful, thoughtful and relevant.
Commercial confidence
Develop the courage and language to have confident business development conversations. Know how to spot growth opportunities, ask about budgets and plans without hesitation, and extend work through trusted relationships.
Relationship building
Demystify networking. Build authentic connections, lead catch-ups naturally, and run key account development activities with impact. Practical tips for informal conversations and first meetings, and learning when and how to make the turn to commercial conversations.
Visibility and thought leadership
Raise individual and firm visibility without the fluff. Understand how to build a credible personal brand through LinkedIn and client delivery. Make the most of your firm's marketing, campaigns and intellectual property. Get comfortable being seen.
Tech-enabled BD
Leverage tools that amplify consultant impact. Learn CRM shortcuts that work, AI-powered ways to personalise outreach, and how to use platforms like LinkedIn more strategically. Research clients smarter, not harder.
Small group practice throughout: role-play and a case study on real opportunities, with people trying things out between the two sessions.
Eighteen reviews from delegates
"It was enlightening Business Development masterclass today! Huge shoutout to the organizers for pulling off such a stellar event — who knew networking could be this much fun? Here's to turning those insights into action — let's conquer the world!"
"Insightful session and I took pages of notes. I have already shared some of the principles with my team. Thanks to all the presenters and the banter between you that increased the entertainment factor."
"Thanks Joe. Just wanted to say I thought the Business Development Masterclass session in London last week was brilliantly run and provided a great forum to learn and gain real life insights. The Baringa team have a follow up with Steve in the next couple of weeks to provide wider reflections, but personally I took a lot of value from the session."
"It was such an educational and enjoyable session. We were all blown away by how much we learned in a relatively short space of time. We are now excitedly re-planning our new business session with leadership tomorrow."
"It was a really interesting and thought provoking day. A lot of content covered, many thoughts and experiences shared, as well as practical hints and tips!"
"These are genuine thought leaders. Thoroughly enjoyed the session and have 20 pages of notes. Really rich experience.. and got Joe's book signed!"
What you need to know.
Dates
Thursday 22 October and Thursday 5 November 2026
14:00–17:30 UK time
Format
Two half-days online. Mini-keynotes, small group practice, peer coaching and live clinics
Take-aways
Personal growth plan, ready-to-use guides, curated toolkit list
Investment
£750 + VAT per delegate
Secure your team's places.
Thursday 22 October and Thursday 5 November 2026. £750 + VAT per delegate.
We will confirm your place and send an invoice. Questions, or booking for a wider team? Email maryan@equitysherpa.com