That’s a great question because we don’t really know what other consultants do or say they’ll do.  What we do know is what we do. After we get engaged:

• We ask in-depth questions and then shut up and listen.
• We carefully think about what you told us. We try to imagine ourselves walking in your shoes.
• We only propose customized solutions because no two situations are ever the same.
• We get down to business fast.   
• We use proven frameworks and processes we have developed over many years of trial and error.

You’ll probably hate this answer, but it all depends. It might only take a few hours or a few days. But many engagements require more heavy lifting. After we discuss your situation and think about what makes sense, we will be able to give you a realistic time frame to consider.

Over the years, we have worked for companies in their earliest stage (one person with a big idea) to companies on the Fortune 100.  Size shouldn’t be a barrier to working together. If you are a large enterprise, we can help.  If you are a small business or a start-up, please don’t assume we are “too big” for you.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of our best engagements have been with folks who were just getting started but built their companies into goliaths.

It starts with a simple phone call to check each other out. On our end there are four considerations.

• First, do we have the bandwidth to help you when you need the help?
• Second, do we think we can make a difference for you?
• Third, do we think the engagement is interesting?
• Fourth, do we think you will be fun to work with?

A few points about how we work.

• Luckily for us both there’s this thing called Zoom. Much of our work is done online. Saves time and money for everyone.
• Some people prefer to travel to see us in San Antonio, Texas.  We meet at a nice place near excellent hotels that makes the best use of your time.  Plus, San Antonio is one of the great cities of the world to visit.
• On the other hand, if it makes sense, we’ll come see you. If it’s a good fit, we’re more than happy to come to your place to meet and work.  It adds a layer of complexity (more time to get there) and cost, but we’re happy to do it.

The answer depends on the project.  One size never fits all.  But as an overview, here is what you can generally expect.

• Our greatest strength is in providing actionable insight, analysis, and advice that solves a problem.  In these cases, don’t expect thick reports designed to sit on your shelf gathering dust.  We’ll provide short reports, often in outline form.
• When we are engaged in a deeper project, such as a customer insight study, brand strategy, or market analysis, we will provide a detailed report for active use by you.
• In some more complex situation, we will conduct an in-person visual presentation to you and your team.

No.  It won’t be relevant to your situation.  There’s no context.  It violates the confidentiality of our clients who paid good money for the work.  And it’s giving our work away for free.

We have found that skeptical prospects usually turn into skeptical clients.  That’s not a good situation for anybody.  In the end, it comes down to establishing a high level of mutual trust. If we can’t achieve that based upon getting to know each other in advance, we probably won’t be a good fit.

For short projects (less than 30 days), we will send you a simple proposal and engagement letter for your review and approval. All agreed-to services are prepaid and non-refundable.  We do this because we want to remove any fear of non-payment. We need to be able to be free to fully to tell you the truth if our advice isn’t to your liking. 

For longer term projects (more than 30 days), we will work with you on a monthly retainer or payment plan.

We usually don’t.  Here’s why.

• After more than three decades, our body of work is deep. We proudly display the logos of brands that we have been honored to serve along the way. You can read a few brief case studies of some of that work on the Resources page.
• Please keep in mind that the consulting and project work we do for most clients is 100% confidential. We extend the same confidentiality to you if you engage us.
• Our existing clients’ time is very valuable, as is yours. We don’t feel it is fair to burden them with the responsibility to talk to someone they don’t know. We genuinely work hard to protect the relationships we have spent years building. Again, we will respect your time as well if we do business together.

Absolutely. We publish it weekly. You can sign up for it on the Newsletter page. 

We’ve also included quite a few thought provoking Articles  as resources or subscribe to our Newsletters or get our book, “You Know Too Damn Much“.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know us better.  We look forward to hearing from you if we can help.