Heather Townsend
Member Since: 4th Feb 2008
I help professionals become the Go-To-Expert. Unusually for someone with an Engineering Degree, I accidentally became a writer and used my knowledge on social media to write the current best-selling and award-winning book on networking, The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking. People frequently talk about me as someone who really knows her stuff – which may be the reason I have, over the last decade, worked with over 300 partners, coached and trained over 1000 professionals at every level of the UK’s most ambitious professional practices.
I am honoured to have been asked to judge the British Accountancy Awards in 2011 and 2012. I am a member of the Accountant's Club Global Advisory Panel.
I’ve always loved a challenge which is why I have solved the problem in my latest book, which has perplexed many consultants, lawyers & accountants – ‘How to make partner and still have a life’.
The Excedia Group was founded by myself and Jon Baker to bring clarity, perspective and knowledge to help our clients achieve their business goals. We specialise in working with highly technical individuals, typically lawyers and accountants, helping them to get out of their comfort zone and build a profitable and sustainable client portfolio whilst handling the challenges of leading a business.
My work splits into about 50% Executive & Business Coaching with Partners & potential partners, with the rest split between training, consultancy and writing.
My articles & quotes regularly appear in the press, e.g. Financial Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Accountancy Age, ACCA's AB Magazine, and Daily Mail.
To book me for a speaking engagement please contact my PR Agency, Meerkat PR, on 020 8563 0182, and ask for David Stoch. For any other work related enquiries, please contact me directly on 01234 48 0123 .
My clients have included: Deloitte LLP, BDO LLP, Penningtons, Barnes Roffe LLP, TCS Global, Haines Watts, MSI Global Alliance, UK200 group, Bevan Brittan LLP, Macintyre Hudson LLP amongst others.
My answers
Thank you Tom.
I don't think that face-to-face networking will ever die or go away. It's just as important as online networking. The people who really do generate exceptional results via networking will always use a mixture of online and face-to-face methods to generate these results.
Having had a fair few proposals either rejected or put on hold in the last 6 months, I feel your pain.
*** it, it hurts.
I agree with you, learning to bounce back from rejection is a skill which needs to be learnt.
I'd also ask you what are the trends in why your proposals are getting knocked back?
Really pleased you enjoyed the article, Andy.
apologises for the formatting errors! I will be highlighting this technical problem to training zone.
Good luck with your courageous goal John. My courageous goal is to double my business's turnover and profit. This will mean a radical change in my role and take me out of my comfort zone.
Thanks Dominic!
Enjoy those first magical (sleep deprieved) weeks as a new parent!
Good Luck
Heather
Hello Sharon,
Great advice (as always) in this blog. If I can add one point to this, is for trainers to consider networking time and cost as part of their marketing budget. If they are not networking to generate profile or business, then to consider the reasons why they are doing it - e.g. building their knowledge or building their community. It is OK to network to build knowledge and community - and when you are freelance trainer, this is a vital part of the support team that we need to build around us.
In my opinion, the real sweet spot comes when you can find cost and time effective ways of networking to build your knowledge and community - linkedin, twitter coupled with a virtual mastermind group are excellent for this. Then use the face-to-face networking time to build profile and business.
Kind Regards
Heather
Author of The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking
Free advice on business networking
Thanks Richard - you make a very good point about the ultimate decision maker. Any consultant needs to get used to asking at the fact-find stage who will need to approve the spend on training before it will be agreed.
Heather
So true!