Most owner-managed businesses don't have a sales problem. They have a follow-up problem, a pricing problem or a time problem — and nobody senior enough to say which.
The symptoms
The owner does all the selling, between every other job. Quotes go out and are never chased. The pipeline is feast and famine — flat out for months, then a quiet spell that arrives without warning. Prices haven't been reviewed since costs went up. Two or three old customers carry the whole business, and nobody is looking for the next one.
None of this is unusual, and none of it needs a sales department to fix. It needs an experienced outside eye, a simple process and the discipline to keep it running.
What changes in the first 90 days
- Weeks 1–2: the review. How enquiries arrive, how quotes go out, what happens next, how prices are set and where the pipeline actually stands. Written findings, no jargon.
- Weeks 3–6: the fixes. The quote backlog chased. A follow-up schedule that runs without you. Qualification questions so you stop quoting for the wrong work. Pricing reviewed against real costs.
- Weeks 7–12: the habit. A monthly rhythm — pipeline reviewed, numbers on one page, priorities agreed. Kept running by your team, or by me on a small retainer.
The first win is usually sitting in the quote file already — work you priced, the customer wanted, and nobody chased.
What's included
Commercials
- Review — fixed fee, written findings and a prioritised plan.
- Retainer — a small number of days per month to keep the rhythm running.
- Day rate — booked days for specific pieces of work.
Next step
A short call about your business, how work currently arrives and where the hours go. If the honest answer is that you don't need a consultant, I'll say so.