Unfair Advantage - Blog

The joy of consultancy

27 July 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Simon Clark

Growing a consultancy firm is hard work. We often write about the challenges with clients, staff, sales and operations (and, of course, how to overcome them). But it’s not all hard slog. There are clearly some very rewarding aspects to leading an ambitious professional services company.

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Use animated gifs to improve your help content

25 July 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Kayleigh Bates

Video clips make your content more engaging

Getting your message across to your target audience requires you to use all the tools you can find. One that we use is the gif, a very short video or animation whose filename ends in .gif. Gifs are attention-grabbing, and you can make your own with very little effort or cost.

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Boost your marketing performance: 5 top tips for consultancies

20 July 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Guest blog

Word of mouth, networking and perhaps the odd email campaign will bring in a certain amount of business. But is this low-impact approach enough to cut through the endless noise from your competitors? And will it feed your future sales pipeline?

There comes a point when you need to invest in the medium- to...

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How to make a professional video or animation without professional help

18 July 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Kayleigh Bates

There’s lots of evidence that producing video from your website gets way higher levels of engagement than text alone. The Content Marketing Institute said in 2016 that 62% of B2B marketers found video effective.

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How to sack a difficult client...and end up better off

06 July 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Elisabeth Geake

How do you let a difficult client go? This SlideShare sets out how to reach the decision, and then how to let go in a way that works out best for everyone.

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Am I normal? How much profit you should make, and other yardsticks for consultants

29 June 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Elisabeth Geake

Are you charging your clients too little - or too much? Getting the profit margin right can be a balancing act when you’re setting up a company, or starting a new line of business. But don’t spend ages wondering what you can, and should, charge: there are rules of thumb for this, and for many other aspects of...

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Growing pains: solving the crises that hit as your business becomes more successful

27 June 2017 |

Category: Advice

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When consultancies grow, they typically endure a series of crises on the way. And often these arise when the things that have made the firm really successful thus far turn into the things that are holding it back. In this article, we look at five crises and how to overcome them so you can power ahead.

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When work dries up, don’t panic - lay the foundations for growth

13 June 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Simon Clark

In periods of uncertainty, you might find your people at a loose end, without active client work to do. This is a superb opportunity to use their skills for your firm’s future benefit. We look at what to focus your people on, and how to ensure your cost base is flexible.

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How to sell when nobody’s buying

13 June 2017 |

Category: Advice

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Author: Simon Clark

This has to be one of the toughest things you’ll face in business. But you can get through. We reckon the key to surviving times of uncertainty - crisis even - is persuading clients that you can weather the storm better together. Here are 7 ways to sell to clients who find themselves under stress.

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Sustaining your consulting business in uncertain times

13 June 2017 |

Category: Advice

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How do you sustain your business when clients have stopped making decisions or, worse, started to terminate projects? In this blog we look at how events can be opportunities in disguise, and explore some sensible precautions to take, to make sure you weather the storm.

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