How to Make Partner Podcast

You've scoped the job, you know what the firm needs to charge, but you are afraid of charging what it really is going to cost? So what are you actually afraid of? That's what this episode is all about.You may not set your firm's rate card. You do decide what goes into the scope, whether you go back to a client when the job grows, whether you write time off at the end of the month rather than pick up the phone, and whether a proposal explains what the client is getting for their money. Nobody signs those decisions off for you. How you make those decisions will determine whether you are ready for partnership OR you will be able to grow your practice sustainably.The fee you quote is capped by what you believe the work is worth to the person buying it, and by what you believe you're worth doing it.I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.In This Episode You Will Learn:What you can influence with the profitability of your work even when you have to work off a set rate cardHow small incremental decisions can significantly increase the profitability of your work.What a client is really telling you when they ask whether you can do it cheaperThe one question to answer before your next fee conversation, so you are more confident quoting a feeIf you find this episode useful, don't forget to like it and then subscribe so you don't miss another episode.What Help Is Out There For You?If you're thinking, 'I understand all of this, I just can't make myself do it when I'm sat in front of the client', our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.That's precisely why part two of this episode sits inside the Progress to Partner Academy. It takes you through naming the specific fear that's operating on you, testing it against what actually happens in firms, and working out where your number is coming from, so you stop pricing from your own pocket.LinksPoised for Partnership: https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life: https://amzn.to/4iLxugMProgress To Partner Academy (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership): https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe

You keep seeing headlines about the billable hour dying, clients demanding fixed fees, consultancies setting the pace years ago, and you are still sending out invoices built on hours.The question is not whether you should start changing from charging by time, but how to move away from this billing model.Sorting out your own pricing habits, rather than waiting for your firm to change its model for you, is exactly the kind of initiative that marks someone out as ready for partnership.I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.In This Episode You Will Learn:- Why AI is accelerating a market place change to fixed fees- How to start the process to move from billing by time to fixed fees or another way of charging- Practical habits to build now if you are still billing mostly by time- What all of this has to do with being seen as ready for partnerIf you find this episode useful, don’t forget to like it and then subscribe so you don’t miss another episode.What Help Is Out There For You?If you’re thinking, ‘This all makes sense, but I don’t have the time or the data to work any of this out properly,’ our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.LinksPoised for Partnership: https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life: https://amzn.to/4iLxugMProgress To Partner Academy (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership): https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe

You are sitting across from a client who has just asked why you have not passed on the savings from using AI. It is an increasingly common question. So how do you answer it without either caving on your fee or getting defensive about it? That's what this episode is all about.Whilst the presenting problem is how to answer the question about price in the moment with your client, the bigger issue is about understanding the real value you bring to your client. Plus how AI will reduce or increase that value. Sorting that out is not a job for your marketing team or your finance team. It’s the type of thinking that a partner will need to be doing.I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.In This Episode You Will Learn:Why the asking for a discount because the client thinks you can use AI to do the work quicker isn’t really the issue.How to respond, in the moment, when a client asks you to justify your feeWhy letting a client test the AI shortcut themselves can work in your favourWhat separates partner-level thinking about pricing from managing one fee on one callIf you find this episode useful, don't forget to like it and then subscribe so you don't miss another episode.What Help Is Out There For You?If you're thinking, 'That's fine for you to say, but if I push back on price and the client walks, that's on me,' our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.LinksPoised for Partnership: https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life: https://amzn.to/4iLxugM Progress To Partner Academy (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership): https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe

You have been sat in front of the same client for years. The work is good, the relationship is good, and none of it has ever gone anywhere else in the firm. Then somebody asks what work you have found for the rest of the firm this year. How do you have that conversation with a client without feeling like a second hand car sales person? That's what this episode is all about.Most of the mid-tier, global and multidisciplinary firms have made more work from existing clients their main route to market, which means you need to be good at introducing your clients to others in the firm. Almost nobody is taught how to do it. Account management is a skill, and it is one you will have to build yourself rather than wait for your firm to teach you.I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner. Here are 5 ways to work with me.In This Episode You Will Learn:How to earn the right to ask a client what else they needThe one question that tells you whether your client is ready to meet a partnerHow to spot the opportunity when casually talking with clientsWhich handful of colleagues you actually need to know to be great at introducing others into your client.If you find this episode useful, don't forget to like it and then subscribe so you don't miss another episode.What Help Is Out There For You?If you're thinking, 'I do not know how to have that conversation without sounding like I am selling', our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.That's precisely why we have 'How to Develop Work from Existing Clients' in the Progress to Partner Academy. It takes you through how to have the right conversations with clients that lead to new business. LinksPoised for Partnership: https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life: https://amzn.to/4iLxugMProgress To Partner Academy (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership): https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe

And how can you stop this happening time and time again. That’s what this episode is all about.Getting excited about a prospect is not the same as a signed up client. And its your job as a sales person to find out early whether a prospect is going to be a great client for you and your firm.Your partners are looking at whether you can be trusted to hit your new business forecast and bring in the right type of work, without burning through the little non-billable time you have.I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.In This Episode You Will Learn:The DUFF framework, so you can tell from one conversation whether a prospect is worth your timeHow to talk about money early without frightening off your prospectWhat it means when somebody says they have no budget, and when to keep goingTwo things to do before a first meeting with a prospect, before you waste too much time or emotional energy on the prospectIf you find this episode useful, don’t forget to like it and then subscribe so you don’t miss another episode.What Help Is Out There For You?If you’re thinking, ‘I struggle with these sales conversations, I just don’t know how to do it without sounding like I’m selling’, our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.That’s precisely why we have the on-demand course ‘How to Go from Coffees to Instructions’ in the Progress to Partner Academy. It has a module on sales that takes you through what happens between the first conversation and the signed instruction.LinksPoised for Partnership: https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life: https://amzn.to/4iLxugMProgress To Partner Academy (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership): https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe