Messaging & Positioning

Consulting Firm Clarifies Message and Closes 6 New Clients in 90 Days

CLIENT: Management consulting firm (3 partners, serving mid-size manufacturing companies)

SERVICE: Messaging & Value Proposition Design

DURATION: 4 weeks

The Challenge

The firm had been in business for 8 years but struggled to articulate what made them different. Their website said ‘We help companies improve operations’ — which could mean anything. When prospects asked what they did, partners gave different answers. Sales calls felt like they were always starting from zero, explaining and re-explaining.

They’d tried hiring copywriters to ‘fix the website’ but the problem wasn’t the words — it was that they’d never defined their actual positioning. Who exactly were they for? What specific problem did they solve that no one else could?

The Approach

We ran the DEAL™ Messaging Workshop over 2 weeks:

DISCOVER — Interviewed all 3 partners plus their best clients to understand what actually made them valuable
ENGINEER — Built a clear positioning: ‘The only consultants who specialize in Lean operations for automotive supply chain manufacturers in Ontario’
Created a messaging framework: elevator pitch, website homepage copy, LinkedIn profiles, sales deck one-pager
Delivered a Messaging Playbook so the entire team could speak with one voice

The Results

Closed 6 new clients (vs. 2 in the prior 90 days)

Sales cycle shortened from 4 months to 6 weeks on average

Referrals improved — clients could now easily explain what the firm did

LinkedIn profile views increased 180% (clearer positioning attracted right prospects)

Stopped competing on price — positioned as specialists, not generalists

Partners finally aligned on the same message in every pitch

"We didn't realize how unclear we sounded until DEAL held up a mirror. Once we had a message that actually positioned us as specialists, everything changed. Prospects got it immediately. Sales conversations became so much easier."

David R.

Managing Partner