A strategy should help you decide where to focus and what to do. Before commissioning one, ask what decisions the work needs to support and what will happen after the document is delivered.
Start with the questions you need answered
You may need to choose a market, improve an offer, understand why enquiries are not becoming sales, or decide which marketing activity deserves investment. A useful brief names those questions rather than asking for a general growth plan.
Share what you already know: your customers, offers, sales process, available numbers, previous work and the constraints on your team. Gaps in the evidence are part of the work to identify.
Agree the outputs
Depending on the problem, the work might include findings, positioning, commercial priorities, channel choices, campaign briefs, an implementation plan and measures for reviewing progress. Ask how each output will help someone make a decision or carry out a task.
A long presentation is not evidence that the important questions have been answered. Equally, a short plan still needs enough supporting reasoning for you to understand its recommendations.
Decide who implements it
Agree which work the consultant will do, what your team will own and where other suppliers are needed. Include responsibilities, dependencies and review points in the scope.
Ask what documentation, training and access you will receive. The handover should reflect how your business will actually manage the work.
I help with business and marketing strategy, implementation and handover. Tell me what decisions you need to make and what has prompted the conversation.
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