Valuing Ourselves and Asking for Help

When you spend your working life supporting others, asking for help yourself can feel surprisingly difficult.

In this episode of Leap into HR Consulting®, Sarah Hamilton-Gill FCIPD shares reflections from the recent Corfu retreat on self-belief, boundaries and making space for your own needs.

Drawing on her experience of building a business while bringing up two boys as a single parent, Sarah explores the habit of taking responsibility for everything and the challenge of allowing others to support you.

In this episode:

• Why valuing yourself goes beyond the fees you charge.

• Giving commitments to yourself the same respect as client commitments.

• Trusting your HR experience while learning to run a consultancy.

• Recognising when doing everything yourself has become a habit.

• Making clear, specific requests for help.

Your reflection for this week: What is one thing you’ve been carrying alone, and who could you ask for support?

Join us in Corfu in 2027

Our retreat returns in 2027, offering space to focus on yourself and your business alongside people who understand independent consulting.

To download the 2027 Corfu Retreat brochure click here

Five Buying Signals HR Consultants Miss and What to Say Next

Are promising sales conversations quietly stalling because you are missing the moment when a prospect begins to consider buying?

Buying signals rarely sound like, “Where do I sign?” More often, they appear as practical questions about your availability, pricing, experience or what happens next.

In this episode, Sarah Hamilton-Gill explains five common buying signals HR consultants frequently overlook and how to respond without becoming pushy or resorting to hard-selling techniques.

You’ll discover:

• Why questions about timing may reveal an urgent commercial need
• How to respond confidently when a prospect asks about price or scope
• What it means when a prospect begins talking as though you are already involved
• Why credibility questions and concerns can indicate genuine interest
• How to handle requests for proposals and introductions to other decision-makers

A simple four-part formula for closing a conversation clearly and naturally Sarah also shares practical questions you can use to explore each signal, including:

1. “It sounds as though the timing matters. What is driving that deadline?”
2. “What would you need to feel confident about before moving ahead?”
3. “Who will be involved in the decision, and what will they need to see to approve it?”
4. “How does that sit against what you expected to invest?”

The episode concludes with three actions you can take immediately:

1. Review your last five prospect conversations and identify any buying signals you may have missed.

2. Prepare and practice one natural follow-up question.

3. Secure one clear, dated next step for a live opportunity.

Good consultative selling is not about applying pressure. It is about noticing what has changed, remaining curious and helping the prospective client make a clear decision.

If this episode helps you, follow or subscribe to the Leap into HR Consulting podcast and share it with another HR or People consultant who may be having good conversations but missing the moment to move them forward.

For more practical support with sales conversations, proposals and creating a consistent pipeline, explore the resources and ways to work with Sarah and the Leap into HR Consulting team.

About Sarah Hamilton-Gill FCIPD Sarah Hamilton-Gill is an award-winning HR consultant, business mentor, author and founder of Leap into HR Consulting® and The HR Consultancy Academy®. With more than 30 years’ experience in HR consulting, she has helped over 300 HR and People professionals launch their own consultancy businesses.

Useful links

Leap into HR Consulting: www.leapintoconsulting.com

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahhg/

Explore Sarah’s book, programmes and mentoring opportunities through the Leap into HR Consulting website.

Will AI Replace HR Consultants?

Why the human in the loop matters more than ever If AI can draft policies, analyse data and give a manager a convincing answer to an HR problem in seconds, what exactly is a client paying an HR consultant for?

AI is already changing the work HR consultants do.

In this episode, Sarah Hamilton-Gill moves beyond the comfortable reassurance that HR is about people, so everything will be fine, and looks honestly at where the profession is heading. Drawing on current research and more than 30 years in HR consulting, Sarah explores which parts of consulting are becoming faster and cheaper, where human judgement remains essential, and how consultants can use AI without handing over responsibility for the outcome.

In this episode

• What current research suggests about AI, trust and workplace decisions

• Which repeatable and information-heavy consulting tasks are most exposed

• Five reasons the human in the loop still matters

• Why judgement, trust, context, sensemaking and influence are becoming more valuable

• How Sarah uses AI to analyse trends, measure KPIs and prioritise lead follow-up

• How AI supports Sarah's executive functioning as an ADHD and dyslexic entrepreneur

The question to take away AI may not replace HR consultants, but consultants who know how to use AI well may replace some who do not.

AI workshop for HR professionals Hayley Bird, one of our HR Consultancy Academy Partners, is running a AI workshop for HR professionals. It will help you build confidence, use AI practically and responsibly, and keep human judgement firmly in the loop. September 22nd 9.30 - 2.30pm.

Workshop details: email kimh@leapintoconsulting.com to get the brochure.

If this episode makes you think, please follow the podcast, share it with another HR professional or consultant, and leave a review.

It really does help more people find us.

Research mentioned

• UK Government, AI Adoption Research, February 2026

• CIPD, Trust in AI-informed workplace decisions, January 2025

• World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025

• Deloitte, 2026 Global Human Capital Trends

About the host - Sarah Hamilton-Gill FCIPD is the author of Leap into HR Consulting, founder of The HR Consultancy Academy and an award-winning HR consultant with more than 30 years of experience. She helps HR and People professionals build successful, sustainable independent consulting businesses.

Connect with her via LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahhg/