Group Dramatically Grows Membership, Expands Program Offerings 

NEW YORK, NY—The Society for the Advancement of Consulting® (SAC), a leading global association of independent consulting professionals, today announced the creation of an annual award for the independent consultant who has done the most to advance the profession in the previous year. 

The award is part of a series of new programs announced by the organization's executive directors, Lisa Anderson and Linda Popky, at this year's 15th annual meeting in New York City this week. Anderson and Popky took over the reins of the organization in April 2018 from Million Dollar Consulting guru Alan Weiss, who founded the organization in 2003. 

The first Advancing Consulting award will be awarded at the group's annual meeting in New York in October 2019.  A committee of SAC members will review submissions and choose the winner based on a set of pre-defined criteria.  

"We are excited to be able to offer this award," said Lisa Anderson. "Too often independent consultants feel they are lone wolves—without a community to support them or a way to be rewarded for their contributions. This award will focus the spotlight on a well deserving individual each year."  

Range of Programs Expanded

In the last 6 months, SAC relaunched its website to be much easier to use and to offer streamlined application and renewal capabilities. The organization also introduced a new blog featuring member contributions, began running regional events in key cities in the US, Europe and Australia, and launched the Best Practices webinar series. 

"The feedback on our efforts so far has been quite positive," said Linda Popky. "Our membership has more than tripled in less than six months, and we now have ambassadors throughout the United States, in Western Europe, and in Australia to help support consultants in those local areas."

Today, SAC announced it will be adding quarterly PRACTICUM webinars, to help consultants work ON their business, featuring such topics as business development using LinkedIn, improving writing capabilities, navigating the insurance maze, understanding legal issues, and financial literacy for consultants.

The organization will also be launching a SAC Press eBook series, featuring a compilation of articles by SAC members on topics of interest to consultants and clients.

Partner and Benefit Programs Grow

Since April, SAC has announced partnerships with complementary groups including, C-Suite Network Advisors, the Society for Professional Consultants, Watermark, and Women in Consulting, and continues to explore partnership opportunities with similar organizations around the world.

The SAC Member Discounts program has grown to include discounts on such services as accounting software from FreshBooks, disability insurance through Coronado Financial Group, errors and omissions (E&O) and general liability insurance from Katzman Insurance Services, PR support programs through PR Leads, press release sender and news release wire through Expert Click, as well as significant savings on hotel bookings and entertainment tickets.

About SAC

The Society for the Advancement of Consulting (SAC) is the premier association for independent consulting professionals who subscribe to an industry code of ethics and provide significant consulting results among their clients. Founded by Million Dollar Consulting guru Alan Weiss in 2003, SAC offers a series of in-person and online programs to help consultants share best practices and learn from industry experts and thought leaders in the business world. SAC today has members in 10 countries around the world. For more information, go to http://www.consultingsociety.com, email info@consultingsociety.com, or call (909) 563-1803.