The Situation A pharmaceutical sales expert within a larger sales training company was tasked with building a dedicated life sciences vertical practice. The opportunity was clear: pharma is a large, distinct market with unique sales dynamics and substantial training budgets. But the practice was struggling—generating only a few hundred thousand dollars annually, far below its potential. The parent company's generic sales methodology didn't resonate with pharmaceutical buyers.

The Situation This specialized consulting firm had operated successfully for almost 20 years. The founder had built a credible business with deep expertise and a proven track record. But small businesses face a particular challenge: when you have only a couple of full-time people and everyone else is on contract, it's nearly impossible to step back and see your business differently. You're too close to it. You've been doing the same things for so long that you can't see what'

The Situation This HR consulting firm had solid expertise but limited market visibility. The brand wasn't well recognized. Search results weren't strong. There was no systematic content strategy driving awareness or demand. The firm needed a comprehensive growth plan—not just tactics, but a strategic roadmap they could execute over time. The Approach We created a 10-step growth plan covering the full spectrum of marketing strategy: Deep Industry Focus.  Identified the vertica

The Situation Two companies merged—a learning management system and a simulation training company—to create something new: an innovative predictive assessment platform. The vision was ambitious. The technology was disruptive. The market didn't know it existed. I came in as a consultant during the merger integration, then was hired as CMO because the need was so substantial. The challenge: take a brand-new product in an emerging category—one that required market education—and

The Situation This was one of the world's largest HR consulting firms—a pioneer founded decades earlier that had grown explosively through the 1970s. But by the time I arrived, growth had been flat for five consecutive years. The brand was universally recognized. The problem was perception. Buyers knew the name but associated it with methodologies from a previous era. Recognition without relevance is a dangerous position. The firm had brilliant consultants with deep expertise

The Situation This pioneer in online talent assessments had built a successful business through a network of 2,000 distributors. The product was solid. The channel was extensive. But the company had hit a plateau. Then the 2008 mortgage crisis hit. Organizations stopped hiring. Assessment companies dependent on hiring were getting hammered. The business started shrinking. I joined as their first CMO during one of the worst economic collapses in modern history. The owners—in t

The Situation This specialized sales coaching firm had approximately 20 years of expertise and a proven methodology. But the business faced an existential crisis. Everything came through word of mouth. No marketing, no thought leadership, no systematic demand generation. Worse, the founder's professional network—the source of all business—was retiring. As contacts left the industry, the pipeline evaporated. The founder knew many people but had no way to stay connected. His Li

The Situation This was the world's largest sales training company, built on a legendary methodology that had revolutionized complex B2B sales. But growth had stalled for three consecutive years. The brand was universally recognized—virtually every VP of Sales in America knew the name. But recognition wasn't translating to revenue. The brand felt dated, associated with selling approaches from a previous era rather than contemporary sales challenges. The PE owners needed to eit

The Situation This was the third-largest sales training company globally, built on a well-known consultative selling methodology. But the founder faced a perfect storm: a competitor's new methodology was capturing market mindshare, positioning consultative selling as "outdated." The firm was stuck defending legacy positioning instead of leading. The founder wanted to exit. The best offer on the table was underwhelming—acquirers saw a methodology company in decline, not an inn