The six stages of an engagement
Every project follows the same structure, though the duration and depth vary depending on the size of the business and the complexity of the challenge. Below is what a typical eight-to-twelve-week engagement looks like from start to finish.
Free diagnostic call
We spend 45 minutes on the phone or on a video call asking about your business. Revenue, margins, team size, competitive pressures, what has been tried before. The goal is to understand whether there is a clear opportunity for improvement and whether we are the right people to help with it. About one in three calls ends with us recommending a different type of adviser, and that is fine.
Scoping and proposal
If both sides want to proceed, we draft a one-page proposal that defines the problem, the measurable target, the timeline, the team members involved and the fixed fee. We do not write 40-page proposals. You know what you are buying and what it costs before any money changes hands. Most proposals are turned around within five working days of the diagnostic call.
Deep-dive diagnostic
Once the proposal is signed, we spend the first two weeks on-site (or a mix of on-site and remote for geographically distant clients). During this phase we review financial statements, interview key staff, observe operations and map processes. We collect the data that the rest of the engagement depends on. You will see us in your warehouse, your finance office and your sales meetings.
This phase typically produces a diagnostic report of 8–12 pages with specific findings, not general observations. Each finding includes the estimated financial impact and the effort required to fix it.
Action plan and prioritisation
We present the diagnostic findings to you and your management team, then work together to prioritise actions. Not everything can happen at once, and some changes depend on others being completed first. We build a sequenced 90-day action plan with weekly milestones, assign owners to each task and agree how progress will be tracked.
This is where many consultancies hand over a document and leave. We do not. The action plan is a working tool, not a farewell gift.
Implementation support
For the next four to eight weeks, depending on scope, we work alongside your team to execute the plan. That might mean sitting in on supplier negotiations, redesigning a shift rota, building a new pricing model in a spreadsheet, or coaching a newly promoted manager through their first quarterly review. We attend a weekly progress meeting where we review milestones, flag blockers and adjust the plan as reality intervenes.
We do not do the work for you. Your team needs to own the changes after we leave. Our role during implementation is to provide structure, accountability and specialist knowledge where your team lacks it.
Review and handover
At the end of the engagement, we produce a close-out report comparing actual results against the targets set in the proposal. We document what worked, what did not, and what the business should focus on over the following six months. Ninety days after the formal close, we schedule a follow-up call to check whether the changes have held and whether any course corrections are needed. That call is included in the original fee.
What you receive at each stage
Transparency matters. Here is a summary of the tangible outputs from a standard engagement, so you know exactly what lands on your desk and when.
| Stage | Deliverable | Format | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic call | Call summary with initial observations | Email (1 page) | Within 24 hours of call |
| Scoping | Fixed-fee proposal | PDF (1–2 pages) | 3–5 working days |
| Deep dive | Diagnostic report | PDF (8–12 pages) | End of week 2 |
| Action plan | Sequenced 90-day plan | Spreadsheet + PDF summary | End of week 3 |
| Implementation | Weekly progress reports | Email with dashboard | Every Friday |
| Handover | Close-out report | PDF (6–10 pages) | Final week |
| Follow-up | 90-day review call notes | Email (1 page) | 90 days post-close |
Why this structure gets results
Fixed fees remove the wrong incentives
Hourly billing rewards slow work. A consultant paid by the hour has no financial reason to finish early. Our fixed-fee model means we are motivated to solve the problem efficiently, and you never have to wonder whether a phone call is going to appear on an invoice.
We quote the fee before work starts. If the scope changes mid-project because we discover something unexpected, we discuss it openly and agree any adjustment in writing before incurring extra cost.
On-site time builds trust and accuracy
Spreadsheets tell part of the story. The rest lives in the conversations your warehouse manager has with drivers, the way your sales team quotes jobs, the unwritten rules that determine who gets overtime. You cannot see those things from a laptop in another city.
We spend the diagnostic phase physically present in your business. That investment of time at the start means the recommendations we make later are grounded in what actually happens, not what the org chart says should happen.
Weekly milestones prevent drift
A 90-day plan with no check-ins is a wish list. Our weekly progress meetings keep the work on track and surface problems early. If a task slips, we know about it within seven days, not seven weeks.
The 90-day follow-up closes the loop
Change is fragile. Old habits creep back, staff turnover disrupts new processes, market conditions shift. The follow-up call three months after we leave gives us a chance to catch regressions early and recommend adjustments before the gains erode.
Start with the diagnostic call
Forty-five minutes, no fee, no obligation. Tell us about your business and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Book your call