The 80/20 Trap: Why Your Best Growth Strategy Is Doing Less

Most consulting and training firm CEOs I work with share the same instinct: growth requires expansion. More services. More industries. More client types. Cast a wide net and see what you catch.

It's intuitive. It feels like smart business development. And it's almost always wrong.

After 25 years as a CMO across firms like Hay Group, Miller Heiman, and Richardson—plus dozens of consulting engagements—I've seen the same pattern destroy growth potential over and over again. Firms that try to be everything to everyone end up competing on nothing.

The counterintuitive truth? Your best growth strategy is probably doing less.

The Generalist Trap

Here's what typically happens. A consulting firm starts with a core expertise—maybe leadership development, or sales training, or organizational design. They're good at it. They get clients.

Then opportunity knocks. A client asks if they can help with something adjacent. They say yes. Another client is in a different industry but has budget. They say yes again. A prospect needs something slightly outside their wheelhouse. They figure it out.

Before long, the firm serves multiple industries, offers a dozen service lines, and positions itself as a "full-service consulting partner." The website lists everything they can do rather than what they're best at.

This feels like growth. It's actually dilution.

What the Data Actually Shows

When I start working with a consulting firm, one of my first moves is analyzing their revenue by client segment, industry, and service line. The pattern is remarkably consistent.

Roughly 80% of profitable revenue comes from about 20% of their market focus.

There's usually one industry or client type where they have deep expertise, strong relationships, and proven results. These engagements close faster, command higher fees, deliver better outcomes, and generate more referrals.

The other 80% of their market activity? It's a distraction. Those engagements take longer to close, require more customization, generate thinner margins, and rarely lead to follow-on work.

The firm is working hard across a broad front while their real competitive advantage sits underutilized.

A Case in Point

I worked with a management consulting firm that exemplified this pattern. They'd been successful for years serving various industries with a range of strategy and change management services. No clear positioning. No obvious specialty.

When I analyzed their client base, the data told a different story than their positioning suggested. Approximately 80% of their revenue—and virtually all of their most profitable work—came from life sciences. Pharmaceutical companies. Biotech firms. They had deep expertise in this sector, strong relationships, and a track record of results.

But they weren't positioned that way. Their website, their messaging, their business development—all of it said "we serve everyone."

The strategic choice was obvious once you looked at the data: stop trying to be a generalist and position exclusively as a life sciences specialist.

This felt risky to them. "Won't we lose the other 20%?" they asked. "Aren't we limiting ourselves?"

Here's what actually happened when they made the shift:

• Positioning became credible. When you say you specialize in life sciences consulting, pharmaceutical executives believe you. When you say you serve "various industries including life sciences," you sound like everyone else.

• Sales cycles shortened. Life sciences buyers could immediately see the firm understood their world—regulatory complexity, clinical development timelines, commercial launch challenges. No need to convince them of industry knowledge.

• Fees increased. Specialists command premium pricing. Generalists compete on cost.

• Marketing became efficient. Instead of creating content for multiple industries, all thought leadership focused on life sciences challenges. Every networking effort targeted life sciences executives. Every conference was an industry event.

• Referrals multiplied. The life sciences community is interconnected. When you become known as the specialist, word spreads. Being known in one community beats being unknown in five.

The result? They doubled the business over four years. Exit valuation increased substantially. And they achieved this by doing less—serving fewer industries, offering more focused services, targeting a tighter market.

Why This Is So Hard

If focus is so powerful, why don't more firms do it?

Because it requires courage. Saying "we only serve life sciences companies" feels like turning away business. It triggers loss aversion. What if a great opportunity comes along in a different industry?

But here's what firm leaders miss: you're already turning away business. When you position as a generalist, you're invisible to buyers who want specialists. You're not even being considered for the opportunities where you'd have the strongest competitive advantage.

The choice isn't between "serve everyone" and "serve a subset." The choice is between "compete weakly across many segments" and "compete strongly in one segment."

How to Find Your 80%

If you suspect your firm is caught in the generalist trap, here's how to identify your real competitive advantage:

• Analyze revenue concentration. Where does profitable revenue actually come from? Not just revenue—profitable revenue. Look at margins, not just top-line. You'll likely find significant concentration in one or two segments.

• Examine deal velocity. Which types of engagements close fastest? Short sales cycles usually indicate strong product-market fit. That's where your expertise and reputation are already established.

• Track referral sources. Where do your best referrals come from? Referrals indicate reputation in a specific community. If most referrals come from one industry, that's where you're known.

• Assess follow-on rates. Which clients expand their relationships with you? High expansion rates signal strong delivery and deep value creation. That's your sweet spot.

• Listen to language. When clients describe why they hired you, what do they say? Not what you want them to say—what they actually say. Their words reveal your real differentiation.

Once you see the pattern, the strategic question becomes: do you have the courage to focus on it?

The Focus Dividend

When firms make this shift—when they stop trying to serve everyone and double down on their 80%—several things happen:

First, positioning becomes clear. Buyers immediately understand what you do and who you serve. There's no confusion, no "we do a lot of things" conversations.

Second, expertise compounds. When all your engagements are in one domain, every project makes you better. Your methodologies deepen. Your case studies stack. Your understanding of buyer challenges becomes unmatched.

Third, visibility becomes efficient. You can build reputation in one community rather than spreading efforts across many. You become known rather than remaining invisible.

Fourth, premium pricing becomes possible. Specialists command higher fees than generalists. Buyers expect to pay more for deep expertise.

Fifth, referrals accelerate. Tight communities share recommendations. When you're the known specialist, you're the default referral.

The math works in your favor when you focus. It works against you when you don't.

The Bottom Line

Most consulting and training firms limit their growth by trying to serve everyone. They mistake breadth for opportunity when it's actually dilution.

Your best growth strategy is probably buried in your existing client data. There's likely one segment—one industry, one client type, one service category—where you dramatically outperform. Where you have real expertise, strong relationships, and a track record that speaks for itself.

The strategic choice is whether you have the courage to focus on it.

Saying "we only serve X" feels limiting. In practice, it's liberating. It creates clarity for buyers, credibility in the market, and efficiency in your operations.

Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Find your 80% and double down.

That's how you grow.