Online roundtable · Thursday 19 November

Beyond referrals: building your firm’s growth engine with AI

Referrals built your firm, but you can’t plan around them. In 45 minutes, Sean Winter, CFA, shows the engine that wins clients beyond referrals, and where AI now does the work that once took a team. Then you compare notes with other firm leaders.

Request a place See the map ↓
  • WhenThursday 19 November 2026, 09:00 UK11:00 South Africa · 13:00 UAE and Mauritius
  • Length45 minutes
  • WhereMicrosoft TeamsJoins in a browser, nothing to install
  • WhoPartners, founders and business leaders at professional and financial services firms: law, accounting, advisory, consulting, funds and fiduciary
  • CostFree. Places are checked by hand to keep the room senior.

What you will get

What you leave with

  • The five stagesSee the five stages that win clients beyond referrals, and spot the weak one in your firm.
  • Where AI does the workSee where AI now does the work at each stage that once took a team.
  • A live AI testWatch what an AI tool says when a buyer asks for the best firms in a sector like yours.
  • A summary and your own mapA written summary afterwards, and a free map of your own market if you want one.

What you will see

The engine, stage by stage

From getting seen to clients who bring you the next one. The purple tags show where AI now does the work. Sean walks through each stage, with examples.

The client-winning engine

1GET SEENReferrals and partnersEventsLinkedInYour newsletterGoogle and ChatGPT2CONVERSATIONSThey get in touchA reply, an intro or your website3THE RIGHT PEOPLE?Can they say yes?A decision maker at a firm you wantStay in touchuntil they're readynot yetwhen they're ready4MEETINGSyesMeeting in your diaryYou walk in briefed5NEW CLIENTSProposalNew client↺ Every new client brings the next oneUnderneath it all: your CRM. Every contact, every conversation, every next step.AI writes in your voiceAI gets you foundAI builds and improves your websiteAI checks every leadAI writes the follow-upsAI briefs you before the callAI analyses every callAI drafts the proposal from the callAI keeps it complete and up to date

↺ Every new client brings the next one

Request a placeFree · 45 minutes · places checked by hand

How it runs

  1. Welcome and a round of names 5 minWho you are, your firm, and where your new clients came from this year.
  2. The map 12 minSean walks through the engine stage by stage, from getting seen to new clients, and shows what AI now does at each one. Includes a two-minute clip of an AI agent building an email workflow while you watch.
  3. One live moment 3 minWe ask an AI tool, live, who the best firms are in one of your sectors. What it says about your firm, or does not say, is the point.
  4. Discussion 18 minThree questions, peer to peer: where your last three clients came from, which part of the map is weakest in your firm, and what you have tried with AI so far and what stopped you.
  5. Close 5 minEach firm can ask for a free map of its own market. No obligation.

Who it is for

  • Partners and founders of law, accounting, advisory, consulting, fund, fiduciary and corporate finance firms
  • Managing directors, C-suite leaders and heads of business development, marketing or growth
  • Firms in the UK, South Africa, the GCC and Mauritius
  • Not for vendors who sell to firms, or for people looking for a role. Managers and associates get the written summary instead, or a seat if they bring a partner.

Your host

Sean Winter is a CFA charterholder with more than 20 years in finance and professional services. His firm, AscendAI, runs LinkedIn content and outreach for professional and financial services firms, from the partners' own profiles. For one South African strategic advisory firm, that produced 10 C-suite meetings and a USD 650,000 deal within ten weeks.

The roundtable is not a sales pitch. It is a room of firm leaders comparing notes on the part of the business that referrals do not cover.

Questions

Is it recorded?

No. You can use what is said, but we never share who said it. Sean's opening is written up afterwards as a short note for everyone who registered.

Why do you check every place?

Partners and leaders speak more freely with their peers. We check each request against the firm and role, then send the Teams link within one working day.

I cannot make 19 November. Should I still register?

Yes. The roundtable runs every month with a different focus. Register and we will send you the summary and the next date.

What does it cost?

Nothing. If you want help after the session, that is a separate conversation, and only if you ask for it.