Who I work with
Established, founder-led B2B service businesses: consultancies, agencies and advisory firms, usually two to ten people, usually above £250k a year, selling programmes above £10k, retainers above £5k a month or projects above £100k. Those are indicators. What the firms have in common is simpler: they are good at the work, they grew on referrals, and the clients they want are not arriving on purpose.
The project firm stuck with small clients
“We keep getting the small jobs.”
“It all comes through word of mouth.”
“Leads come in but they don’t convert.”
You win project work on referral. Now and then a large one lands, and you cannot say why, so you cannot repeat it. The team can deliver the big contracts. The diary is full of the small ones.
What the fix looks like: a decision about which large buyer you are for and the reason they should choose you, written into a website that currently lists services. The CRM consultancy that read as a commodity became the firm for one specific outcome. The fit-out firm stopped selling attractive offices and started selling the reason a growing company relocates.
The packaged expert who blends in
“I’m too spread out.”
“People don’t see why I’m different.”
“I’m attracting the wrong buyer.”
You sell a defined programme, a productised service or a masterclass. The substance is real. On the page it looks like three cheaper alternatives, so it sells in bursts, stays under-priced, and attracts the buyer you least want.
What the fix looks like: a structural difference the cheaper version cannot copy, and a buyer chosen for means and urgency rather than enthusiasm. The former creative director stopped selling a presentation session and started selling the pitch his clients win. The property adviser whose every asset spoke to beginners now speaks to seasoned landlords at the moment they are ready to buy.
The premium adviser constrained by their own range
“I’m the bottleneck.”
“I earn nothing when I’m not working.”
“I’m doing well, but I’m maxed out.”
You are already successful. Fees are high, the diary is full, and every engagement runs through you explaining the whole of what you can do. Growth now means more of your hours. The income stops when you stop.
What the fix looks like: one narrow, named offer that can be sold without you in the room, and a channel that does not depend on your personal network. The sports and events adviser on £40k-a-month retainers now has two productised offers with their own names. The consultant running a network of a hundred experts needed a recurring arm his own time could never produce.
Who it is not for
Businesses selling low-ticket to consumers. Firms that have not yet sold successfully, or are below roughly £10k a month. Anyone who wants lead generation without fixing the positioning first. Founders who want the decisions made for them and then left in a drawer.
If you recognised your firm in one of the three above, the first call establishes whether positioning is the problem and which fix applies.