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Transform your IT services career in just 90 days
As you aim for more senior roles in IT services companies, you'll find that consulting skills are not just highly valued, but expected.
The reason for this is simple: consulting skills are the lifeblood of IT services. They are the keys to engaging, scoping, estimating, selling and delivering solutions and services.
Problem is: your IT services employer won't teach you these skills. They expect you to bring them. And if you can't, they'll promote - or hire - someone else.
So, how can you get those skills?
The most common approach is "organic learning", where you learn from others and by figuring things out yourself, mistakes and all.
Problem with this approach is that it takes years to become proficient in the customer, business and solution sales skills you'll need. During this time, you'll likely miss out on tens of thousands of dollars in potential earnings.
But now there's a better, faster, simpler and cheaper way to gain those high-value consulting skills.
What is AscendPro™?
AscendPro™ is a unique professional development programme created by Consultant Academy
to help IT services pros like you get better job prospects in just 90 days.
What high-value skills will I learn with AscendPro™?
You’ll learn the critical consulting skills that all IT services companies rely on:
customer collaboration, business acumen and solution sales.
Customer Collaboration
➡️Understanding the customer’s business context
➡️Collaborate with customers to build trust and credibility
➡️Use influence and persuasion to win business
Business Acumen
➡️Speaking the customer’s language (value, outcomes, risk) fluently
➡️Position your company’s unique proposition
➡️Understand your company’s key metrics, drivers and priorities
Solution Sales
➡️Scope and estimate work accurately and consistently
➡️Produce compelling proposals to win business
➡️Write bullet-proof statements of work to drive delivery
Why Should I Consider AscendPro™?
The skills you’ll learn with AscendPro™ will give you a competitive advantage when you’re seeking promotion or looking for a new role. Even against much more experienced candidates.
Who is AscendPro™ designed for?
AscendPro™ is designed for all IT services professionals looking for career acceleration:
Benefit from a fast-trck to IT professional services that would otherwise take years to achieve.
Benefit by positioning for senior roles with much higher pay and increased job security.
Benefit from advancement of their customer, business and commercial skills.
Benefit from deeper consulting talent in their teams, contributing to higher revenue per consultant, greater scalability and flexibility.
How can AscendPro™ help me?
AscendPro™ helps IT pros like you stand out in a crowded jobs market and:
1️⃣Get out of the tech trap
IT professionals often find themselves labeled as "great technical resources" which can limit career growth, salary potential, and job opportunities.
2️⃣ Stay relevant
Adding consulting skills to your tech will give you more career options and will continue to be highly relevant throughout your professional career.
3️⃣ Increase your value
IT professionals who possess consulting skills in addition to relevant tech skills will find themselves in high demand, as this combination is highly valued by IT services companies.
4️⃣ Save years & thousands of dollars
Although IT services companies highly value consulting skills, they don’t teach them. IT pros are expected to “BYO” skills, or learn them organically. This will take years and cost tens of thousands of dollars in missed potential earnings.
5️⃣Get transferrable skills
Consulting skills comprise customer collaboration, business acumen and sales skills. These are transferrable, across roles, companies and even industries.
How does AscendPro™ work?
The programme follows a structured process running 90 days, combining in-person coaching sessions with self-paced learning. The coaching sessions prepare you for the self-paced learning and then go deeper with real-world scenarios, discussion and role-play.
All activities happen within a community, so you can connect and collaborate with others on the same journey.
1-1 coaching is available as an add-on, if you need to go deeper, faster, for example to prepare for a new role.
1️⃣Goal Setting: envision your future career
What role do you want? Who do you want to work for and how much do you want to earn?
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals form the foundation for your five-step plan.
Goal-setting comprises online assessments, group coaching and an in person interview with Consultant Academy founder, Doug Baxter.
2️⃣Assessment: what’s holding you back?
Are you seen as just a tech resource?
Not "client-facing"?
No business acumen?
No sales experience?
Lacking conviction?
Lacking self-belief?
Invisible?
Use our self-assessment tools to pinpoint your skill gaps and areas for improvement. Review and tailor in person with your coach, Doug Baxter.
3️⃣ Plan: your personalised development plan
Your path to transformation comprises a personalised development plan, based on your goals. This is supported by a detailed personal behavioural assessment
4️⃣Transformation: gain critical consulting skills
Through a combination of in-person, online coaching sessions plus integrated self-paced learning, you’ll learn critical consulting skills in these areas:
Customer Collaboration
Business Acumen
Solution Sales
5️⃣Transition: get ready for your new role
As you progress through the AscendPro™ programme, you’ll also be working on your enhanced employee proposition. Guided by your coach, you’ll position yourself as the stand-out candidate to reflect your value proposition with clarity, credibility and confidence.
How does AscendPro™ coaching work?
Coaching is the core of AscendPro™.
➡️Members attend group coaching sessions on alternate weeks to “learn ahead” before undertaking self-paced learning and real-world assignments. For example, learning how to use benefits mapping when collaborating with customers, to prove alignment of solutions and services with desired business outcomes.
➡️Assignments and progress are reviewed in the next coaching session, with discussion and real-world examples. The cycle continues throughout the 12-week programme, supported by reinforcement and accountability systems.
➡️Coaching adds huge value to professional development by providing an interactive, collaborative learning experience while encouraging engagement and accountability. Members who regularly attend coaching sessions are 10x more likely to complete courses and assignments and achieve their professional goals.
Group & Cohort Coaching
AscendPro™ members* attend online group coaching sessions on alternate weeks to review project work from the previous week and to prepare for the next week.
Consultant Academy has found that learners are much more likely to continue with a programme of learning, and show better results, when regular coaching is used to reinforce learning and drive collaboration and accountability.
Personal Coaching
For accelerated progress and deep learning, AscendPro™ members* have the option of further personal coaching sessions based around tailored assignments, scenarios and role-play.
This provides the opportunity for deep dives into topics, allowing for customisation and tuning to suit the individual. For example, IT pros looking to move into Principal Consultants or Practice Lead roles will benefit from Personal Coaching.
What results can I expect from AscendPro™ ?
AscendPro™ helps you improve your value proposition to employers, to open up better job prospects, and higher-paid roles.
Part of the AscendPro™ programme is reviewing and updating your Resume and LinkedIn profile. Using LinkedIn’s AI tools you’ll do a "before & after" comparison - before you update your profile, and after.
You can expect to be a better fit for roles that require your technical skills plus the high-value consulting skills you gained from AscendPro™:
What are the benefits of the AscendPro™ community?
➡️The AscendPro™ community provides an interactive, collaborative learning experience while encouraging engagement and accountability.
➡️The community is the starting point for all activities, including courses, events, assessments and coaching. So members have a single place to go for everything, available on desktop and mobile.
➡️Being able to connect with others on the same journey, share information and celebrate achievements means you always have a place for advice and other points of view.
What do I get with my AscendPro™ membership?
AscendPro™ membership includes everything you'll need to be successful:
☑️ Live, online group coaching
☑️ Access to the Consultant Academy community
☑️ On-demand self-paced courses
☑️ Resume & LinkedIn profile review and recommendations
☑️ Online Skills Assessment
☑️ Certification & Digital Badge
☑️ Online AI assistant
For accelerated results, the programme can also include additional personal 1-1 coaching. Let’s discuss your goals and needs to decide if that’s appropriate for you.
How does AscendPro™ membership work?
AscendPro™ membership is available on a month-by-month basis. There’s no mininum term, but the entire programme will take 90 days to complete, following a fixed schedule. New intakes start monthly and are limited to a maximum of eight members.
How much does AscendPro™ cost?
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