Advisory 101: Advanced Diploma

Overview of Modules

Module 9 – The Science Behind Engagement and Trust


This module explores the science of engagement and trust in client relationships and what are the key elements required. It explains how important quality open questions are and how virtual meeting toolkits can be used to structure and run meetings.

Why people do what they do, or just as importantly, don’t do, and how to deal with this in client engagement interactions is covered. At the end of this module Advisors will have a better understanding of the science behind engagement, what motivates people and building trusted business relationships.


Module 10 – Getting Serious About Advisory Growth 

This module explains the key performance factors driving growth in an accountancy firm as a WIN. It explores options on how to create space for growth and why a plan is so important.

The key elements of targeting client services will be explored. Targeting new clients and existing clients for increased spend, onboarding with advisory and using the 'whole of client', step by step engagement approach is covered. 

At the end of this module, Advisors will understand the key drivers of growth to target the various client groups and build a plan.


Module 11 – Getting Serious About Advisory Marketing

This module explains how to get more serious about advisory services by incorporating a client-centric, 'whole of client' approach in your firm’s positioning and messaging, both in your website and marketing materials.  

This is important in order to establish the Advisor’s personal brand within the overall firm’s brand and to consider the benefits of niche sector sub-brands, all incorporating the whole of client advisory messaging. 

At the end of the module, Advisors will understand what areas need to be considered to enable getting serious about advisory marketing.


Module 12 – Getting Serious About Advisory Process

This module explains how to get more serious about advisory services by implementing an integrated defined Advisory Process. The options for acquiring or developing a delivery platform and ideas on an Advisory Standard Operating System (SOP) are explored, as both are vital for the successful implementation of advisory services. 

The value and ultimate aim for an advisory client-centric culture in a firm are covered. 

At the end of the module, Advisors will understand what areas need to be considered to enable getting serious about an advisory process in the firm.


Advanced Diploma

Modules Covered

  • 1

    Advisory 101 Advanced Diploma

    • Introduction
  • 2

    Module 9: The Science Behind Engagement and Trust

    • Clients and Engagement

    • Relationships

    • Roles

    • Positive Change

    • Understanding Drivers

    • Framed and Structured Meetings
  • 3

    Module 10: Getting Serious About Advisory Growth

    • WIN Driving Growth

    • BUSY is a 4-Letter Word

    • Creating Space

    • Delegation

    • Having a Plan to Make Changes

    • Signing-Up Quality New Clients
  • 4

    Module 11: Getting Serious About Advisory Marketing

    • Client-Centric Marketing Messaging

    • Your Personal Brand

    • Your Firm’s Advisory Brand

    • Niche Sector Brands

    • An Advisory Client-Centric Culture in Your Firm
  • 5

    Module 12: Getting Serious About Advisory Process

    • Acquiring or Developing an Advisory Delivery Platform

    • An Integrated Defined Advisory Process

    • An Advisory Standard Operating System (SOP)

    • An Advisory Client-Centric Culture in Your Firm

Introducing the Advisory 101 Team

Bringing expertise together to The Advisory Qualification

Martin Bissett, Founder of USP

Martin Bissett is the founder of the Upward Spiral Partnership (USP), the international consulting firm that specialises in enabling the accounting profession to win higher-end clients, create leaders from their ranks and save lives.

His professional purpose is to alert the accounting profession to the profound outcomes that their advisory expertise can create in the lives of their clients.

At the same time, he also alerts the accounting profession to the profound difficulties that can arise in the lives of their clients when they choose not to educate their clients about the impact that their advisory expertise can have.

The Upward Spiral Partnership is the 4th business Martin has played a key role in building and the first of his own. 

In the first 5 years of USP, Martin has: 

  • Been engaged/retained by 4 of the World's Top 10 Accounting associations and 6 of the Top 10 in the UK. 
  • Authored 9 books including Passport to Partnership, content from which has been adopted into the curriculum of AAT Level 3 courses, and taught in selected UK colleges and US CPA Societies.  
  • Been retained by Accountingweb as a judge of their prestigious practice excellence awards for three years in a row. 
  • Been highlighted as ‘one to watch’ in AccountingToday’s Top 100 Most Influential countdown for 2 years running. 
  • Spoken on 4 continents. 
  • Created several trademarked items of intellectual property including the ACCOUNTS™ system and ‘Martin’s Relationship Pricing™’ Model. 
  • Written for several professional publications including AccountingToday, AccountingWeb, CPA Practice Advisor and Chartered One. 
  • Sat on many international expert panels and guested on professional podcasts in the US, UK, and Australia. 
  • Sits on a parliamentary steering committee tasked with bringing advisory services to the fore in the accounting profession. 


The outcome of Martin’s work is profitable new business for the practices he is engaged by, alongside the fine-tuning of teams of partners and emerging leaders who can develop new business by increasing their commercial awareness for themselves, without significant ongoing third party assistance. 

Previously, Martin served 10 years as a director (appointed at age 26) on the board of a marketing consultancy firm serving the accounting profession. There, he held the responsibility for the growth of the client base including six of the U.K.’s top 30 accountancy firms. 

He now coaches, mentors, speaks, trains and consults with accounting firms worldwide.

In total, he has worked with over 1800 firms of accountants and found it unnecessary to keep track of his contributions to the new business growth of those firms once it surpassed £500m collectively. 


John Thompson, Founder and MD of F3C

John is the Advisory Guy and is the Expert in how to successfully deliver advisory services.

He is one of the Founders and the MD of F3C, a company that enables accountants and their firms to build the structures and processes required to deliver advisory services by providing them with CAS - The Complete Advisory Solution

He is an FCA with the ICAEW and former national partner with a Top Ten firm. He was New Business Director in a Regional Practice which tripled their Top Line in two years by focusing on Advisory Led approaches before selling to a Top Ten firm for several million pounds.

He has also worked in the Corporate World with, what was at the time, the UK's largest Leisure Corporation and was FD of a fast growth SME.

He co-authored the Growth Program Service Manuals of a Top Ten firm where he trained and coached more than 100 partners and managers.

He continues to train and coach advisory skills and techniques, and the development of business advisory strategies, for firms of all shapes and sizes, and is also a NED and Board Advisor to several SME's.

He is a key member of the CAS Product Development Team.

John describes himself as a simple Geordie who fell into accountancy by accident, quickly realised that working with clients beyond the numbers is what makes the biggest difference to them, and now passionately believes there is a place for all accountants in an advisory led future.

Tony Sandbach, Co-Founder of F3C

Tony is one of the Founders of F3C, a company that enables accountants and their firms to build the structures and processes required to deliver Advisory Services successfully by providing them with CAS - The Complete Advisory Solution.

He is a Qualified Coach, an FCA with the ICAEW, and former partner with three Top Ten firms. He is also the former President of the East Anglia Society of the ICAEW.

As Chairman of the Audit Committee of a Top Ten frim and author of their Audit manuals, Tony travelled around the UK and Ireland delivering audit training and technical updates for partners and managers but also client engagement and the art and science of advisory services.

He co-authored the Growth Program Service Manuals of a Top Ten firm and continues to train and coach advisory skills and techniques and the development of business advisory strategies for firms of all shapes and sizes.

He is a key member of the CAS Product Development Team.

Tony describes himself as an army brat who grew up in Germany and Cyprus before returning to the UK when his father set up an engineering business in the North of England, before training as a Chartered Accountant.

Richard Walters, CEO of HWL Innovation Ltd

Richard Walters is one of the leading experts on strategic planning for entrepreneurial owner-managed businesses and led the way as a Thought Leader in the UK, as the inventor and author of the Strategic Planning Toolkit and the Complete Advisory Solution, which have been successfully used by accountants with their clients, for over 15 years now in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Africa and the USA. 

He started, as so many chartered accountants, by forming his own start-up practice, and developed an expertise in advisory services which enabled it to grow significantly and when it was sold to a Top 10 firm, he employed approximately 80 people. Richard now focuses on helping accountants grow client-centric, 'whole of client' advisory services in their firms using virtual meeting toolkits through a number of strategic partnerships around the world.

Richard is the author of the acclaimed thought-leading book for accountants, ‘Delivering Advisory Services – the essential guide’ and is author of several books on small and medium-sized business strategy and success, with book total sales now over 100,000 worldwide. 

He is also a serial entrepreneur and notably took one business in partnership with others, from an innovative cottage industry manufacturing start-up to its ultimate sale to a public listed company and to this day the boiler is Europe’s biggest-selling electric boiler.