Dr. Richardson’s Services

Are you experiencing exponential growth and want it to continue?
Or do you want to get your brand on the Ramp?

 

If you answered “yes!” to either question, I offer the following four ways to apply my unique expertise to your business planning.

 

My Screening Criteria:

  • It would be best if you had read my book AND taken my Riding the Ramp webinar before working with me. These materials help ensure a mutual fit.
  • I generally work only with brands selling $5M or more in trailing annual sales. I do make occasional exceptions for founders from historically under-privileged social groups and who are new to the CPG industry.
  • You will need to have staff time available to do data crunching for these projects to work.
  • You should not expect immediate revenue returns from working with me.
  • You should be prepared to change almost anything about your current 4P playbook
  • You should read my Note on Working with Me as well and be comfortable working with non-neurotypical experts.

If you meet these criteria and are interested in applying my expertise, please book a time to ask any questions and confirm a mutual fit.

 

1. Basic Strategic Planning Engagements – $20-25K

Pre-Work

    • My clients gather key performance data on their company according to my specs (takes 2-4 days)
    • I review all materials sent by the company for topline and bottom-line trends
    • I conduct a half-day of online and in-store market research to prepare a high-level competitive POV on the client’s offering
    • We conduct fundamental survey research on your fans (clients must-have social media followings, customers lists large enough for this)

Pre-Session Dinner/Virtual Happy Hour

    • I always have dinner the night before our sessions, not only to establish rapport but to learn more about the personalities I’ll be communicating with the next day. I always tailor the pace and manner in which I consult to each team

1-2 Day Planning Sessions

    • PGS Overview of Topline and Bottomline Performance
    • PGS POV on Client’s Competitive Situation and Ideal Consumer Audiences
    • Relevant Best Practices Share-Out
    • Discussion/Agreement on Revenue Goals
    • 4P Planning using Proprietary PGS Process
    • Unresolved Questions
    • Next Steps to Activate

Session Write-Up by PGS same day

One month of quick e-mail follow-ups

TTL engagement length – 4-6 weeks

Additional perks for clients:

    • Free access to all online courses and webinars
    • Access to referrals within my professional CPG network of advisors, experts, agencies, and investors
    • Access to PGS tip sheets (released as we dialogue)

 

2. Advanced Strategic Planning Engagements – $30-45K 

    • Same as above, except for the incorporation of professional competitive analysis with POS data for added precision and strategic confidence
    • I insist on this approach for companies with >$5M in net sales, but you may pursue it as soon as $1M in net sales and will find it valuable
    • I require specialized scanner data sets most early-stage companies do not have access to; this fee starts at $8,000 and can go up to $15,000 depending on your situation, category context, category age, etc.
    • I also charge a 20% surcharge to compress my normal timeline.

TTL engagement length – 2 months

Session Write-Up by PGS same day

One month of free e-mail follow-ups

Additional perks for clients:

    • Free access to all online courses and webinars
    • Access to referrals within my professional CPG network of advisors, experts, agencies, and investors
    • Access to PGS tip sheets (released as we dialogue)

 

3. Advisory Retainers  – $15-20K for six-month stints

    • These 6-month retainers are designed as ongoing coaching/advisory relationships to keep the client organization disciplined and following the plan
    • Annual business reviews of topline performance are included, using all available data and PGS best practice benchmarks
    • The scope may be customized for each client

 

4. Bespoke Consulting Services  (minimum project = $30K)

    • If you are a serial entrepreneur in CPG or have classically trained CPG leaders on board and would like to address more specialized concerns related to Skate Ramp growth, I’m open to discussing bespoke work
    • NOTE: while most of my client work requires fresh consumer research to be conducted, I do not execute consumer research as a stand-alone service.

 

5. Organizational Design and Leadership Coaching Retainers  (for prior PGS clients only in Phase 4 or higher) – $30-40K

    • The transition from early-stage to the mid-market is the most organizationally challenging around. And a totally new leadership approach is needed.
    • I blend social science learning, Predictive Index behavioral profiling, and learnings from years of consulting for highly functional BigCo brand teams to help your ‘startup’ team professionally mature.

MARK AND JAMES ALEKS, Zaca recovery

``James gets you to think about the best discovery areas for your brand in retail...To this day, we're still implementing his advice, that's how much value we got from our session.``

SHELBY TAYLOR, Chickapea Pasta

``When we engaged James, what was holding us back was a lack of focus..and a desire to innovate too quickly. We've doubled sales each year since 2018.``

``James told me everything about the complexity of the American market.Together we have developed a growth strategy based on focus, focus, focus. And that within a period of only three days. That is what I mean by a good investment!``

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PABLO VISSER

CEO, Pablo’s Quinoa Revolucion

TONYA DONATI, Mother Kombucha

``We decided to bring James in for a two day session and it more than met our expectations. One notable difference at the end, was that all four partners were on the same page as far as where we were as a company and where we wanted to head. And we had a detailed strategic plan for the coming year.``

``James was great to work with. With the 4P framework in mind, he took a much deeper dive into the points discussed in his book and videos. And focused on what was most important for our brand and category... very insightful and valuable.``

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DANIEL CABALLERO

CEO, FILLO’s Americas Made