Scalability — to create success and be able to handle it

Growth bottlenecks make a business creak at its joints. Considering consulting companies, there are some limitations to how they can be scaled. Traditionally, the limiting factor has been the fact that consulting companies often sell people’s expertise and well, time. So, how do you scale something that is inherently tied to human capital?

One way to improve scalability is through accelerators like productised offerings, data assets and modules, frameworks and blueprints that make it easier for teams to succeed. Developing these can take time, but once they’re in place, they can increase efficiency and create consistency in service delivery. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking idea, but it works.

On the other hand consultancies can develop a delivery model that enables scalability and stands out as an accelerating asset. Personally, I think it is a good goal to build a model that does not rely heavily on individual people. It’s a tricky balance because consulting is a people business, but the more you can systematise success, the better it is for the whole team and business. 

A strong delivery model allows a company to create quality results repeatedly without being dependent on a few key individuals. Businesses that do this well tend to be more efficient, produce better work, and have a better base for scalability.

Sales can be a significant cost to a consulting company. There is a saying that it takes just as much effort to sell a 10k€ engagement as it does a 100k€ engagement. So, it’s desirable to make it easier for customers to buy bigger projects and scale sales and delivery. Team and deal size really matters.

One approach is moving beyond just selling individual consultants or CVs and instead focusing on selling teams and full solutions. But don’t you need to have a team to be able to sell one?

I’ve learned that many consultancies tend to dislike the idea of “selling CVs”. Somehow it is not as graceful as selling projects or full solutions. And of course, there is strategic value in being recognised as more than just a resource in the eyes of customers. However, this approach can be an effective stepping stone toward scaling and provide interesting work for consultants. And it allows the flexibility to make things work for success.

Another factor to consider is collaboration and joint offerings. If you have flexible strategies that can enable growth, why not use them? Too often, companies hesitate to collaborate because they are too proud or too focused on their own narrow approach. But joining forces can open doors to larger deals, teams, and thus scalability.

The most exciting thing about scalability in consulting at this moment is how technology, especially generative AI, can change the game. Think of the efficiency and consulting quality improvement. See the new accelerators. Imagine the new consulting business models. This is where things become interesting as I believe we are getting closer to truly delivering value instead of selling time.

I also believe that AI might expand the customer base for consulting firms. Traditionally, smaller companies have not been attractive clients for consultancies due to lower budgets and limited project scope. Cost-effort ratio has just been too poor to make them interesting. Now AI allows consulting firms to serve smaller businesses efficiently and profitably.

I believe the future will be more scalable and we will see new business models with innovative ways to deliver the core of consulting: expertise, problem-solving, and human insight. Personally, I find it exciting to see which firms will be the game changers of scalability in the years to come.