Ep. 137 — 55% of Consulting Firms Run Negative EBITDA While the Top Performers Hit +27% — Here Is What Separates Them - with Connor Budden

55% of the professional services market is running negative EBITDA.

Most blame the market. Top performers don’t.

Connor Budden, Global Director at SPI Research, joins Sammy to unpack what nearly two decades of benchmark data reveal about performance in consulting and professional services. While many firms point to difficult market conditions, SPI’s data shows that top-performing firms continue to grow and protect profitability by operating differently. Connor explains the five performance pillars behind SPI’s maturity model, why leadership has the highest impact on firm performance, and how the best firms build stronger systems across talent, client relationships, AI adoption, and project focus.

You’ll learn:

1. Why market conditions do not explain the full performance gap
2. What the top 5% do differently across leadership and operating maturity
3. How high performers use feedback, focus, and client outcome tracking
4. Why AI adoption works better through small, compounding improvements
5. Where to start if your firm wants to move toward higher performance

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Connor Budden is open to connecting about professional services performance, benchmarking, and operating maturity.

If you would like to exchange perspectives, reach out on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-budden/

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Sammy and SAWOO offer a B2B community-building service that establishes you as a
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Get in touch with Sammy Gebele on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammygebele/

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