Heather Townsend

Heather Townsend is the global expert on what it takes to make partner. She is the best-selling author of 5 books, including 'How To Make Partner And Still Have A Life' (co-written with Jo Larbie), 'Poised for partnership', 'The Go-To Expert' and 'The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking'.

How to choose what to specialise in (finding your niche)

Building your own practice often means you need to be known for something in particular. This ‘something’ is often referred to as a ‘niche’. In today’s marketplace it is very difficult to make make partner as a generalist. In this article, based on an extract from Poised for Partnership, we explore how to find your …

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Doing your due diligence: How to assess if your firm is solvent

When you admitted to the partnership as an equity partner, whether fixed share or full equity, you will be asked to make a large capital contribution to your firm. This means that you need to do your due diligence on your own firm, before formally accepting the offer of partnership. One of the areas of …

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How does a Mentor help you build your Business and Personal Case?

In the last few posts I have been discussing the role of your support team to help you progress successfully through Partner Track. In today’s post, it is now time to look at your Mentor. How, if you use them properly, they can be your secret weapon. In this article, based on an extract from …

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10 ways to stop procrastination from sabotaging your success

Procrastination is a deadly skill which will sabotage many a talented accountant, lawyer or consultant from achieving the career success they deserve. In this article, taken from an extract from Poised for Partnership, I discuss how to stop procrastination from seizing up your career and future. How to stop procrastinating From time to time, everyone …

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How do people on partner track waste precious time and effort?

The fundamental difficulty involved in the transition to partner is how to still hit your numbers whilst carving out time to build your Business Case and Personal Case for partnership. In fact, for a few years you are going to have two jobs: The day job, and then the extra one to build your own …

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How to safely demonstrate in your appraisal that you are ready for partnership

Sometimes, the only opportunity you have to talk formally about your career ambitions is in your annual appraisal. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your readiness for partner. However, many senior associates and directors blow this opportunity by not preparing properly for this very important conversation. In this article I will share with you …

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5 secrets to confidently and successfully give clients bad news

How to give clients bad news As a professional advisor, e.g an accountant, lawyer, or consultant, there are always going to be times when you need to give a client some bad news. The challenge is always how to deliver the news in a way which makes you feel confident that you can cope with …

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5 encouraging signs that your business development efforts and marketing plan are working

When you start a marketing plan, clients don’t normally fall out of thin air. Nor will every meeting instantly turn into a golden relationship. When accountants or lawyers are marketing, it takes time to build your brand, form strong introducer relationships, and generate awareness within the internal and external marketplaces. The early days of marketing …

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The ultimate guide to dealing with difficult or emotional clients

  How many times have you thought that your job would be much easier if you didn’t have to deal with difficult or emotional clients? The reality of a client-facing role in the professions is that difficult or emotional clients come as par for the course. I was running a training course on LinkedIn last …

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