How to Make Partner Podcast

Heather Townsend
  • 5.0 (1)
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  • Updated Weekly

How to make Partner is the place to learn about how to progress your career in professional services and what the partners in your firm are really looking for. howtomakepartner.substack.com

  1. 5d ago

    How to motivate the juniors you think are snowflakes

    Your junior's coat is on at the dot of five, just as the client's comments land. You're left wondering whether you're stuck with a team who don't want to work as hard as you did, and how you get them to put in the extra hours when the client needs them. That's what this episode is all about. Many people on Partner Track have one management style, and expect their team to work the way they did at that age. Getting the best out of your juniors means flexing that style and taking on the job of motivating them, because developing a team beneath you is part of what your partners expect of you. They'll be watching whether juniors want to work on your matters, and whether you can get good work done through them.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 flexing your management style gets more out of each person on your team How to ask for extra hours so your team are there when the client needs them Where to find the team members who will repay your investment with loyalty How to decide how much time to give each person you work with If you find this episode useful, don't forget to like it and then subscribe so you don't miss another episode. If delegation itself is where things keep going wrong, listen to our H2MP podcast episode 53, Why Delegation Keeps Failing. What Help Is Out There For You? If you're thinking, 'I can see I need to flex my style, but my team changes on every matter and half of them aren't even in the same office', our Progress To Partner Academy can help you. That's precisely why we have the on-demand course 'How to Create a Strong Hybrid Team' in the Progress to Partner Academy. It gives you the frameworks and communication strategies to build a cohesive, high-performing team, no matter where they are located. Links Poised 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/ Courses in Progress to Partner Academy to help with building a team are also available individually: How to Create a Strong Hybrid Team How to Excel as a Line Manager  How to set performance objectives for your direct reports How to give negative feedback without it being a career-limiting move Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Oct 10

    How to make partner from a satellite or regional office

    You're on Partner Track in a small satellite or regional office. The partners who will decide your future sit together at HQ and see each other every day, whilst you’re one of the boxes at the bottom of the screen. There isn’t a lot of resource in your office, local clients push back on your firm’s rates, and there may only be room for one or two partners in what you do. So how do you make partner from there? That’s what this episode is all about. Working away from HQ doesn’t stop you making partner, but it does mean you can’t leave your visibility to chance, and it’s your job, not your firm’s, to sort it. Your partners need to know what you bring to the whole firm, and not only to your office, long before your name comes up at the partnership table. 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: Which people at HQ to spend your time with, so the right partners know what you do How to make your days at HQ count How to build a Business Case that doesn’t depend on a partner vacancy opening up in your office How to protect your rates and build a team you can rely on 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? For more advice from me about building your internal firm network, read: 6 reasons why you shouldn’t neglect your internal firm network if you want to make partner If you’re thinking, ‘That’s all very well, but my office only needs one partner in what I do, and they’re not going anywhere’, our Progress To Partner Academy can help you. I’ve popped a link to our Progress To Partner Academy, which contains our Game Plan - How to Raise Your Profile and the courses How to become known as the Go-to-Expert, and How to Build a Cast-Iron Business Case for Partner. Links Poised 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

  3. Oct 3

    Why you struggle with pricing

    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 card How 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 cheaper The one question to answer before your next fee conversation, so you are more confident quoting a fee 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 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. Links Poised 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

    Why you struggle with pricing

  4. Sep 26

    The billable hour is breaking. What do you do if that's still how you bill?

    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 partner 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, ‘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. Links Poised 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

  5. Sep 19

    Your client thinks AI should make you cheaper. Now what?

    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 fee Why letting a client test the AI shortcut themselves can work in your favour What separates partner-level thinking about pricing from managing one fee on one call 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, '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. Links Poised 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

  6. Sep 12

    How to make it easy to introduce others in the firm to your client

    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 need The one question that tells you whether your client is ready to meet a partner How to spot the opportunity when casually talking with clients Which 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.  Links Poised 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

  7. Sep 5

    How to stop wasting time on leads that are going nowhere

    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 time How to talk about money early without frightening off your prospect What it means when somebody says they have no budget, and when to keep going Two things to do before a first meeting with a prospect, before you waste too much time or emotional energy on the prospect 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 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. Links Poised 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

  8. Aug 29

    The lead has gone quiet. What now?

    You had a great conversation. Got excited about the new business. It all seemed like it was going to happen. Then they ghosted you. So how do you get these leads going again without seeming like a second hand car sales person? When the lead goes quiet, we often take the silence to mean they’re not interested. Whereas what they’re really saying is not yet. Your challenge is how do you stay in touch, so that when they are ready to restart the conversation, they pick up with you. The best rainmakers are brilliant at staying in touch with prospects until they are finally ready to buy. 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 buyer controls the speed of the sales process, and how to handle this The three questions to ask at the end of a conversation, and how they give you permission in your own mind to follow up What to send a lead once you have moved them to long lead status The signals that tell you a “not yet” is warming up again, and what to do when you spot one 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 don't want to be the person who keeps chasing potential prospects", 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. Its module on sales takes you through what happens between that first conversation and the signed instruction. So that following up becomes just part of your business development activity, rather than something you need to psyche yourself up for. Links Poised 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

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How to make Partner is the place to learn about how to progress your career in professional services and what the partners in your firm are really looking for. howtomakepartner.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Heather Townsend
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Heather Townsend
  • Show Website
    How to Make Partner Podcast