The new course we are developing with Design London at Imperial College will recognise the specific challenges facing smaller design consultancies today in winning new clients, contributing more design input to existing clients, developing skills in business, marketing and sales as well as in new competencies such as service design.

At this breakfast owners of small design companies explored skills training to help them speak the language of business. We recognised that designers have particular needs in this respect as they are vocationally trained. Also more strategic design businesses need confidence and knowledge if they are to benefit properly (i.e. be paid proper management consultancy fees) for consultancy and innovation which so often is supplied free as part of the design remit. The course will be shaped to meet these needs.

Among the many issues discussed were:

• The opportunity that a downturn brings in forcing firms to innovate or liquidate
• The risk of working with firms that may not navigate their way through the downturn and may be squeezed out before their innovate their way to success
• What are your current and potential clients focussing on?
• How can you deliver better value?
• Translating innovation into business value.
• How can ambitious small design businesses punch above their weight?

To help us understand the priorities, designers were asked to put stickies with topics they want to be trained in, onto headed sheets. These included questions such as 'Could you take a stake (shareholding) in a client?' and 'How do I get the client to understand the importance of design in their business and so to make them keep coming back?' Other subjects raised included general issues such as help with growing and running a business-business, not just a design business, plus ways to create credibility when business doesn’t trust designers at a strategic level.

The four strands of the course are:
• Winning new clients: marketing and sales engagement – selecting markets, how to prospect, understanding the opportunities, who to engage with inside the business – how you develop and deliver your value proposition, how to put together a winning proposal
• Being strategic: growing business in existing clients: developing new competencies – align a strategy for innovation with their business strategy and priorities – expanding your portfolio of competencies into new design disciplines such as service or experience design
• Translating innovation into business value for your client: developing your business and consultative skills – speaking the same language and demonstrating the contribution of your innovation to their top and bottom line
• New business models: risk/reward sharing from joint IP development and licensing to revenue sharing