// The Business Development Compass Programme

Uncover what’s holding you back in business development.

This programme helps you gain clarity and focus to attract the right clients and deliver the results your firm needs with greater consistency and less guesswork.

// End The Guesswork

Build a clear, consistent approach to winning work.

Many firms approach business development in an unstructured way, trying various activities without clear direction or consistent success. As a result, business development often lacks the consistency needed to drive sustainable growth or reduce reliance on just a few individuals to bring in work. There isn’t a Business Development Culture in place.

The root of the issue is that most professional qualifications don’t develop the skills required to win and retain clients and individuals often like to focus on what they see as the ‘core work’.

The Business Development Compass Programme helps you to make change happen. It gives you a clear, practical understanding of your current business development efforts and pinpoints the key gaps that are holding you back.

I work directly with key individuals in your firm to assess the areas that could benefit from increased focus and development. You’ll receive a focused, easy-to-digest report outlining the specific areas that need attention, along with clear, actionable recommendations for each of these areas. I will also present the report to key team members so there is an opportunity to discuss your next steps and answer any questions.

These steps will include how to consider which services to offer in terms of profitability and expertise, through to deciding which activities to do, who should do them, how individuals can develop their skills and how to make business development part of business as usual.

// Stop the Stop-Start Cycle

Replace guesswork with a proven framework.

Building and maintaining client relationships isn’t optional, it’s essential. The Business Development Compass Programme gives you a focused path forward, so your firm can grow with clarity, confidence, and consistency.

The work will focus on the five key foundations of effective business development:

Have clarity on the Business Development Strategy – services they offer, why they matter, and which clients they serve best.

Understand their Involvement in helping the firm grow—and what contribution is realistic and meaningful at their level.

Develop a focused plan of Activities to engage the prospective clients, referrers, and existing clients that matter most.

Develop the Skills to consistently implement the activity plan and the skills that support my proven framework The 5 Ps of Proactive Business Development©

Build business development into their day-to-day work, so there is full Integration and it becomes part of how the firm operates.

See if this programme could be just what your firm needs.

// About ClientWise

Business development backed by experience.

I’m Joanna Gaudoin, Founder of ClientWise. I help professional services firms take a structured, people-focused approach to winning and retaining work from clients, prospects, and introducers.

With over 14 years of experience working closely with professional services firms and individuals, as well as a decade prior in marketing and consultancy, I understand what truly drives business development success.

I’ve seen firsthand the transformative impact when professionals grasp why their contribution matters and gain the confidence and skills to support their firm’s growth.

// Proven Results

Client Testimonials

We asked Joanna to help our 'pitch' team develop their presenting skills within a bid environment by raising the awareness of their communication style and suggested tools to improve their personal impact. This was followed by several workshops on: The Importance of Personal Impact, Rapport Building & Core Skills for those likely to be on a bid team.

Joanna helped our team build confidence when presenting, better understand their communication style and form new techniques to leave a positive impression when delivering pitch presentations as well as in general meetings both internally and externally. Joanna grasped our requirements and delivered a clear and simple programme for all levels across our business. I really enjoyed working with Joanna and highly recommend if your organisation needs support in this area.

Joanna designed an engaging and practical workshop for our second-year trainees on Business Development Skills. We were keen for this workshop to be practical-focused, as our trainees are very keen on having clear takeaway actions following a training session. We also wanted the workshop to place emphasis on building up an internal network within the firm, which Joanna did a fantastic job at incorporating.

This meant that although the trainees aren’t necessarily engaging in client development themselves yet, they now appreciate the importance of building their internal network and maintaining their existing relationships so that when they become more senior they have a built-in network. Joanna also led a section on how to effectively network at events, which the trainees found especially useful given the practical advice she shared in this segment.

Joanna came to our office to run a seminar entitled the Skills and Confidence to Get More Out of Networking. The seminar was excellent and very well received. Several members of the team mentioned what a great public speaker Joanna was and everyone from junior to senior team members learnt something new.

Joanna managed to effectively mix up the session so that there were periods of her speaking, chats and role play which meant no one got bored. It was a most enjoyable and useful session and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who needs help networking (which is, let's face it, all of us)!

Joanna has delivered content and events for ICAEW members on communication skills which are always well received. In both webinar and in-person formats the feedback has been excellent. At the dinner for business leaders at Chartered Accountants' Hall in London, she provided an informative and insightful presentation and subsequent discussion on how best to handle difficult conversations.

Joanna is an expert in her field and someone I highly recommend for improving communication skills in both professional and personal settings.

// Who I Work With

Is The Business Development Compass Programme right for you?

The Business Development Compass Programme is ideal for firms or departments of up to 250 people across the professional services sector, including law firms, accountancy practices, actuarial and consultancy firms, financial advisers, and private banks.

It’s for firms who know business development is essential and who are already dedicating some time and resources to it, but who aren’t seeing the results they want and need. This service will help you identify and recommend steps to take to address the key gaps holding you back.

Other services may be a better fit if:

You already understand your key gaps and want focused support to close them.

Consider The Business Development Accelerator Programme, designed to turn insight into action and boost results.

You want to upskill a specific group on a targeted topic.

Explore The Business Development Spotlight Training, which offers practical, topic-focused training tailored to a specific group of individuals within your firm.

Your firm has minimal business development activity, no clear structure, and limited involvement.

The Business Development Culture Programme helps build strong foundations from the ground up.

Let’s talk about your firm and whether The Business Development Compass Programme is right for you.

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