What We Learned by Studying Ten Top Consultancies

There’s a certain image people have when they hear the word “consultant.”

Maybe it’s someone who parachutes in, offers vague strategy recommendations, drops an outdated template, and poof - they're on to their next client.. Or someone who bills by the hour to tell your team what they already know. Perhaps it’s someone who significantly increases the number of meetings, but the actual output is… unclear.

That’s not us.

Shape & Scale was built on a value system: the best results occur when strategic and experienced people stay close to the work. When we first started the business, we took a hard look at a handful of successful consultancies. We examined how they were marketing themselves and what made them unique. From there, it was crystal clear what made us different from both agencies and consultancies out there.

Strategy and Execution

Whether it’s a consultant or an agency, it’s rare for both strategy and execution to be done by the same person. Too often, 'strategy' is code for PowerPoints with little to no follow-through or accountability for the output. Execution is usually handed to more junior people without the necessary experience or context to put macro puzzle pieces together.

We firmly believe that the person creating the strategy should also be executing it. That means we craft media strategies and then pitch them directly to reporters. We build your customer mapping, and then integrate it into your HubSpot instance. The thinking and doing are connected, and that’s what keeps the work sharp.

Consider a strategy laid, but based on external factors during the execution process, it needs to be changed slightly. In a traditional agency or larger team, this requires countless meetings, reviews, recommendations, approvals - just to pivot. With a consultant that handles all facets, it’s a momentary email or call to our client to make the recommendation, a discussion and decision, and then we’re off and running.

You Get Us. Not a Revolving Door.

One of the most common complaints about traditional agencies is that clients pay senior-level prices for junior-level support. That just doesn’t cut it, especially in this economic and current technological landscape.

We’re two people, both senior, both hands-on. We’ve worked with early-stage startups, advised executives at Fortune 500 companies, and built programs from scratch. We don’t delegate our brains. When you hire Shape & Scale, you get us, and you don’t have to worry about us leaving to join another company.

We also don’t plan to scale. Not because we think small, but because we like doing the work. We don’t want to spend our days managing people development or planning corporate outings. We want to partner with clients who value our experience and get to benefit from it.

Experienced and Experimental

There’s a misconception that experienced people will use the same playbook over and over again.

“We did this at XX company, so it will work perfectly here too.”

If you see that happening, regardless of who you hired, run.

Having experience doesn’t mean being rigid. It provides a solid foundation for making informed decisions about where to focus and where to try something new — whether it's with tools, tactics, or strategies. We know what works, but we’re not afraid to throw it out and try something new.

The World is Changing

Markets are shifting, budgets are tighter, and audiences are more discerning than ever. And most importantly, companies can’t afford to choose the wrong partner. The pace is fast, and there’s no time for costly missteps.

That’s where we come in.

We’re senior, hands-on, and curious as hell.

We’re not your mother’s consultancy — and we think that’s a good thing.