Growth can disguise quite a lot in a consulting business. Revenue increases, headcount expands and everyone gets busier. But none of that necessarily means the business is becoming more profitable, more competitive or more valuable.

A specialist consultancy we worked with was growing, but not in the way it needed to.

The business had established expertise and a credible position in its market. The question was how to turn those strengths into a more successful commercial business. Simply asking people to sell more wasn't going to be enough.

Some more fundamental decisions were needed. Which services offered the greatest opportunity? Were clients paying appropriately for the expertise they received? Was the business pursuing the right opportunities? And was its approach to winning work helping or hindering its ambitions?

We led changes across the commercial side of the business, from its services and pricing to sales and marketing. The aim was to create a business that could grow without relying simply on doing more work with more people.

International expansion was part of that ambition, including establishing a presence in the US.

The business subsequently delivered stronger profitability and revenue growth. Just as importantly, it had a clearer commercial direction and a stronger basis for future expansion.