What's between your product and revenue?
Usually it's a handful of decisions no one's been able to make: what to launch, when, for how much, and how you'll know it worked. Below is exactly how I go about answering those with a two-week deliverable and recommendations on what to do next if anything is warranted.
FRACTIONAL PRODUCT LEADERSHIP
WHAT DOES WORKING WITH ME LOOK LIKE?
It's simple, even if it looks a little different for each of my customers.
After the Discovery call, if we decide to work together further, each engagement takes the form of a two-week Diagnostic sprint.
Week One - Listening and Observing
You provide access to your product, roadmap, analytics, and whatever you are using to track progress. I talk with two or three of your customers or prospects for thirty to sixty minutes about how they work and where your product fits. I sit in on planning discussions to see how decisions are made.
Week Two - Diagnosis
I look at your product the way a user would experience it, along with your metrics, backlog, and team's rhythm. I may ask for clarifications in this stage, but in the end I'll provide you with a diagnosis.
The Diagnosis is an unbiased two-week analysis of where the product, people, and process are in the journey. The form depends on the desired outcome based upon the findings and what you're looking to get out of it.
Sometimes it will be a plan of attack; other times, it will be where we need to dive deeper to eliminate more uncertainty. Other times, it'll be identifying a role you need to add to the team to help you get where you are headed.
The cost of the Diagnostic Sprint is $7,500 for an honest picture of what is happening and what to do next.
The discovery call is the first step. For all of the variety of clients that I've worked with, there are two things that are consistent:
Everybody is looking for a different outcome - I've seen enough in my career to understand how to analyze the situation and work towards a favorable outcome.
No one likes unexpected surprises - This one resonates because I've hired consultants too. I've done my best to demystify the unknowns.
One challenge.
One plan of attack.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's look at what is covered in the diagnostic and what it costs.
I don't like surprises, and I'm sure you don't either, so I won't dance around the pricing or what you're getting for it.
WHAT DOES THE DIAGNOSTIC LOOK LIKE?
The Two Week Diagnostic Sprint / $7,500
A sprint is a unit of work within your business. It's not theory or based on a pre-existing template that I plug your answers into. I get in with you, your team, and your customers and identify what is going to move the needle for your product and business, namely:
What your customers actually need - in their words, based on what I heard, as well as the intent behind what they're looking for.
Where you're stuck and why - the specific decisions that aren't getting made and what's blocking each one.
What to work on first - a prioritized list on what to address and build, with reasoning attached.
How you'll know it's working - the two or three metrics that actually indicate progress or point to where to look next.
What has to change beyond the product - the process, ownership, or rhythm the plan depends on.
You keep this whether or not we decide to continue working together. Armed with it, we can decide what form an ongoing working relationship looks like, or you can take it and run with it yourself .
No commitment. A 30-minute conversation to see what next step makes sense.
Discovery Call
I'm learning about the challenge you want to address and you're learning about my process.
We figure out if it makes sense to work together and talk through the broad details.
Diagnostic Sprint
Two weeks of working inside your business. Details above.
At the end, you'll get a three- to five-page diagnostic that will help you decide where to focus to start affecting change.
An Ongoing Engagement
After the diagnostic, there's a plan, and we may agree to continue working together to address a larger challenge that requires more time or a gap that I can help fill.
The $7,500 from the Diagnostic Sprint is credited against the first month of ongoing work. A scope and price will be provided before any further work occurs.
ALL THE PRICING INFORMATION YOU'LL NEED
Being transparent and keeping it simple.
If you want to run with the diagnosis after the Diagnostic Sprint, you can do that. There's no lock in for the ongoing engagement.
Price: FREE
Description:
Price: $7,500
Two weeks resulting in a diagnosis
Price: TBD
Ongoing or project-based support
Pricing is often the first thing that people ask consultants about, and if they don't, it's in the back of their minds. I work in stages to keep pricing simple and predictable whenever I can.
My goal is to provide as much value as possible, while allowing you to manage your own budget. Here's what I charge at different stages:
A 30 minute introductory call
Description:
Description:
Vision-to-Roadmap Translation
Description: The mission and strategy aren't the problem, it's translating it into a plan the team can actually execute and measure.
Jumpstart a product
Product Organization Build
WHERE I COME IN
Three problems I'm brought in to solve.
Most engagements start in one of these three places. Each one ends with a product team that keeps running the system after I leave.
"Every time we plan, we end up with a list of 40 features and no order."
"Customers say they love it. They're just not paying us yet."
"We're stuck endlessly talking about product because everyone and no one owns it at the same time.
Where do we get started?
Every engagement starts the same way: a 30-minute discovery call, then, if you want to continue, a focused two-week diagnostic that ends in a written plan. You keep the plan, whether or not we keep working together.
This means adding value and better information at each step while managing risk until you decide what you need next.
The timing and scope of each of these will be based upon our discussions and the diagnostic results.
Goal: A roadmap your team can execute and guidelines for deciding on how it evolves. Gets the team moving and helps identify potential future sticking points.
Responsibilities: I run the sessions and write the roadmap logic based upon my findings; you bring the key resources and make the final call on trade-offs.
Description: Identify the measures that help you determine how to make your launched product profitable.
Description: You need a senior product voice in the room to make to the work and weigh in on the tough calls, but aren't sure where to start.
Responsibilities: I design the structure needed for product and fractional product leadership as needed; you provide direction on how to work with product and make final hiring decisions.
Responsibilities: I get in front of the customers and data; you provide access to both and make the decision based on the findings.
Goal: Senior product leadership without the $200K-$300K cost, plus support hiring and building a product team when it makes sense.
Goal: A clear evidenced answer about where you should spend your time next to close the product revenue gap.
FROM OTHER PEOPLE I'VE WORKED WITH
Senior leaders, in their words.
As a one-person product team, Jeff built and managed a pipeline that kept pace with our AI-enabled development team. He also created practical support and outreach systems centered on how customers actually worked. Jeff was dependable, steady under pressure, and consistently delivered on his commitments. I would work with him again without hesitation.
President, Cloudhands
Steve S
SVP, Axos Bank
CP
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Tom H
Jeff established and ran our Product Analyst program at Axos Bank, keeping a steady stream of early-career product talent flowing into the organization. He backed it with real training and mentorship, not just a hiring pipeline, enabling people who actually grew into their roles. Many of those analysts are still doing great work in product today. I'd recommend him to anyone serious about building talent, not just filling seats.
