The Most Underrated Growth Tool: The Post-Project Review
Most founders think growth comes from more leads, new offers, or better sales tactics. But one of the most powerful growth tools is already sitting inside your firm: the post-project review.
Pro Serv Blogs
Consistent Growth Through Account Strategy
For founders of professional services firms, growth cannot depend solely on chasing new logos. The most sustainable path to scale comes from expanding within your existing accounts. Many founders in Collective54 tell me that Account growth is critical, and has historically been their top growth lever. But it’s not predictable, and seems like it’s very much customer driven – not sales driven. Account growth delivers higher margins, lowers client acquisition cost, and creates fertile ground for referrals and reputation.
ChatGPT Is My New Best Salesperson
Whether you love it, hate it, or try to pretend it doesn’t exist, generative AI is out there changing the way people buy just about everything. If you think it hasn’t made its way into the B2B buying cycle just yet, I’m here to share some very recent data points that say otherwise.
Founder Dependency: AI Will Replace You Faster Than You Think
For decades, professional services firms have survived, and even thrived, on founder dependency. The founder was the rainmaker, the strategist, the client-saver. Clients bought you. Deals closed because of you. Delivery worked because of you. In Era 1 and Era 2, this model slowed scale but didn’t always kill you. You could grind harder, hire around the edges, and keep going.
The Hard Truths of International Business Expansion: Lessons from the Trenches
When we started expanding SureStep internationally in 2009, the world looked very different. The G7 dominated global economics, the US dollar reigned supreme, and “going global” seemed like a straightforward extension of domestic success. Fast-forward to 2025, and nearly everything about international expansion has changed.
From Headwinds to Tailwinds: A Practical Guide for Professional Service Leaders Facing Revenue Pressure
If you run a boutique professional services firm, you’ve likely felt the ground shift under your feet: slower inbound, elongated cycles, clients insourcing, price pressure from AI, and teams stretched thin. The symptoms are familiar; the diagnosis varies. This post offers a practical, founder-friendly playbook, rooted in Greg Alexander’s The Boutique and fresh insights from fellow C54 founders, to stabilize revenue, rebuild momentum, and emerge stronger.
You’ve Locked the Budget — Now What? Turn a Journey-First Plan into a Budget that Wins in 2026
In May, I argued that 2026 growth planning has to start journey-first—not budget-first. Map how buyers actually discover, evaluate, and choose you; then align teams and targets to that reality.
Your Leadership Is the Bottleneck
As a professional services firm grows, a critical shift occurs. The charismatic energy and work ethic that powered you in the early days must evolve into a more systematic and scalable form of leadership. While focus is needed on financial, sales and operational execution, the true engine of sustainable growth often lies in a known but poorly executed element: communication.
Mission Critical vs. Discretionary: How to Protect Your Firm When Budgets Tighten
Why This Matters: When the economy turns, CFOs sharpen their pencils. Discretionary services get cut. Mission-critical services stay. If your firm isn’t positioned as essential, you are at risk.
You’re Managing Your Business Like It’s Still Day One
You started this firm because you were brilliant at something. Your expertise. Your vision. Your hustle. That scrappy, hands-on approach got you here.