More Than Doubled Exit Valuation Under Pressure

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a perfect storm: a competitor's new methodology was capturing market mindshare, positioning consultative selling as "outdated."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 innovator worth premium valuation.

Then he was diagnosed with cancer. The timeline compressed from "next few years" to "as soon as possible."

He asked me to join as CMO to drive the exit.

The Approach

Voice of customer research revealed the real opportunity: enterprise sales leaders didn't care about methodology theology. They wanted technology-enabled sales performance—methodology embedded in their CRM, coaching tools, and content platforms.

The firm had actually built these capabilities. Nobody knew.

We repositioned completely—from "methodology company" to "sales enablement innovator." Technology story first, methodology as proof of expertise. We established aggressive thought leadership positioning the firm as thinking about where sales was going, not defending where it had been.

We didn't fight the competitor's narrative. We transcended it.

Built digital demand generation, created enterprise pipeline with major engagements, and demonstrated the growth trajectory acquirers pay premium multiples for.

The Impact

Exit valuation more than doubled despite compressed timeline and health crisis pressure.

The company's fundamental business hadn't changed dramatically. But the story we told about where it was going—supported by real evidence—completely transformed how acquirers valued it.

Client Perspective

"We grew the business substantially, but what it also did is allowed us to boost the valuation of the business and show measurable progress towards the subscription recurring revenue model, which had a tremendous positive impact on the valuation of the business so that we could exit at a much higher valuation than we would have otherwise."

— SVP Sales

The Lesson

Professional services firms are valued on future potential, not just current revenue. Strategic positioning creates or destroys enterprise value. The same company with the same capabilities can be valued 2x differently based entirely on how you position where it's going.