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 sell litigation and other ‘distressed services’

Litigation is impossible to sell. After all you can’t just pick up a phone and cold call a prospect to see if they have a dispute and need your services. Nor do most rational people want to be a situation where they are in a dispute with someone. So therefore, how DO you sell your …

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7 probable reasons why your potential client is not returning your call

It was all going so well. In fact, as it turned out too well… All I needed to do was agree dates with the client for a series of workshops worth nearly £10k to us. That should be the easy part? Right? Wrong! I delegated the job of agreeing dates to my chief organiser, Lisa. …

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How my recent cycling trip can make it easier for you to build your own practice

In this short article I explain how you can make the seemingly impossible task of building a partner-sized client portfolio more manageable. It was the final stretch at the end of an exhausting bike ride. I’d already clocked up 10 miles of hilly off-road riding.  Before I could make it back home, I knew I …

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9 tried and tested tips to keep the faith with your business development efforts. (Part 2)

I’m sure we’ve all been in that stomach-churning position of wondering just exactly where you next new decent client is coming from. Or whether you are taking a leap of faith to start to win your own clients. It’s truly gut-wrenching, particularly when you have been actively getting your name out there and supposedly doing …

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9 tried and tested tips to keep the faith with your business development efforts. (Part 1)

I’m sure we’ve all been in that stomach-churning position of wondering just exactly where you next new decent client is coming from. Or whether you are taking a leap of faith to start to win your own clients. It’s truly gut-wrenching, particularly when you have been actively getting your name out there and supposedly doing …

9 tried and tested tips to keep the faith with your business development efforts. (Part 1) Read More »

How do I follow up without p*ssing off my potential client?

When you are waiting on a new client or lead to say ‘yes’, it can be a tense time. Are they serious? Have you won the work? Do you have the resources for the work? Will they answer your calls or emails? That’s the problem. You know you need to follow up, but what is …

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6 big clues to help you identify and stop wasting time on tyre-kickers

Tyre-kickers. Not a particularly nice word, and often used to describe prospects who don’t want to buy your service, or the upsell from your marketing activity. In this post I’ll give you six signs that should ring alarm bells that you are dealing with a tyre kicker. After all, they don’t usually have a big sign …

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3 avoidable but very common mistakes that speakers make which reduce their impact

In the last of a series of 5 extracts from an interview I did with Errol Williamson, I talk about the 3 most common mistakes professionals make when delivering speeches and presentations. EW: You’ve heard many business speakers deliver speeches and presentations, some have been great and some have been not so great, but what …

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4 reasons why you should collaborate with your partnership competitors

Most firms set a limit on the number of new partners they admit to the partnership each year. As a result the ones who make it have the strongest personal and business cases for partnership. Consequently, most senior associates in law firms and directors in the Big 4, accountancy, and consultancy firms are in competition with …

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