Case Study
Brown+Partners
Founded in 1999, Brown+Partners was a well-established print procurement services company with an excellent reputation and strong sales presence in the greater Philadelphia area. They offered a broad array of services including direct mail, commercial printing, promotional products and e-commerce solutions.
Case Study
PinnacleNet Managed Solutions
PinnacleNet was a managed services provider that had been operating successfully for over 20 years. They had a great reputation in their geographic market and had built a solid seven-figure business through referrals and by attending local events.
Case Study
PinnacleNet Managed Solutions
PinnacleNet was a managed services provider that had been operating successfully for over 20 years. They had a great reputation in their geographic market and had built a solid seven-figure business through referrals and by attending local events.
Brett and Kevin had successfully been running PinnacleNet for over 20 years. They generated a nice income and employed a team of 10. They were starting to think about exiting the business and suspected the company’s current value would not meet their retirement needs after receiving an unsolicited and disappointing offer.
Working with Limitless, they discovered the biggest obstacle to an improved valuation was their own limiting beliefs based on industry norms.
By productizing their consulting work, streamlining their current service offerings, increasing prices (which hadn’t moved in 5 years) and automating delivery, they were able to dramatically improve their gross margins.
By implementing best practices in lead generation, revenue growth quickly sparked and put them on a steady and positive trajectory. They went on to a successful exit and are now happily enjoying their retirements.
Results
Grew Top Line Revenue from $4.4M to $5.2M in 10 months
Improved gross profit margins from 50% to 62%
Under $1.5M starting valuation to a $6M exit
How we got there...
Profit Margins
Challenge
Gross Profit margins never broke the 50% threshold
Solution
Working hand-in-hand with their Limitless Advisor, the owners productized the consulting work into an attractive intro offer; streamlined and repriced the current service offerings; and further automated the delivery process.
Results
Gross profit margins for the service business improved to 62% - a 24% improvement!
Revenue Growth
Challenge
The CEO was the sole person responsible for generating leads and closing sales and it was all being done through referrals
Solution
We helped implement a multi-pronged lead generation strategy that included niching the target market, email marketing campaigns, and targeting “dream list” clients with a high touch marketing strategy
Results
New client signings became less sporadic and the trajectory of revenue growth improved dramatically
Operations
Challenge
Poor performers limited the company’s ability to scale and was impacting net margins
Solution
Together, we identified alternative, cost effective staffing solutions
Results
The company hired top quality talent, without overpaying, improving operational efficiency and overall morale
“We owe a debt of gratitude to Limitless for their pivotal role in transforming our business. For over two decades, we'd navigated the IT services landscape, enjoying success but eventually hitting a plateau. We were running out of time to our exit, and our valuation fell short of what we needed to successfully exit. The results were remarkable. We were initially valued under $1.5M and exited at $6M in a relatively short time period. The advising team was amazing at holding us accountable for doing what we needed to do, and keeping our eyes on the prize."
- Brett Downey & Kevin Marco, Former Owners of PinnacleNet
Main Takeaways
It takes both mindset and strategy to significantly drive growth and increase company value.
But when you focus on the right things in the right order, change can happen quickly and dramatically.
In a study of 23,158 companies, we found 40% of business owners have one thing in common: They are Rainmakers – the primary revenue driver for their company.
Rainmakers are exceptional at rapidly accelerating business growth, but they eventually hit a ceiling.
Revenue stagnates and business value plateaus, forcing owners to confront the Rainmaker’s Dilemma.
The solution? Become an Architect.
In this eBook you will learn:
- The defining characteristics of a Rainmaker
- The one problem Rainmakers will encounter
- Quantitative evidence on how Rainmakers affect company value
- The negative impact Rainmakers have on receiving an acquisition offer
- 9 strategies to transition from a Rainmaker to an Architect