Lawrence Lerner referral tip sheet

How to say what I do

When a revenue initiative has stalled, and the team can't agree on why, owners call me. I find the real issue and get everyone pulling in the same direction, and they don't have to hire a full-time executive to do it. I work with owners of mid-market services and technology companies.

Every company has a bookkeeper function, no matter the industry. I fix the revenue function when it stalls.

If someone asks what industries: healthcare, food service, retail, software, professional services, and credit unions. The industry changes. The stuck initiative looks the same.

Who I'd like to meet

The person. An owner, CEO, or president of a company with $10M to $200M in revenue. They answer to the board, the lender, the PE sponsor, or their own family for the number.

The situation. A revenue initiative has paused or fallen short. It might be a new product line, a system rollout, a subscription offer or a channel that never took off. The team is tired, and the owner has run out of options: they can't justify a full-time executive and don't want to pay a big firm to produce a slide deck.

What they want. A stalled revenue project that can move again and start bringing in money as soon as possible. Think a new product, a subscription offer, a sales channel, better team dynamics, a safe space for the chief executive, a partnership, or a system rollout that never got past the pilot.

Who is not a fit. A company with no budget, or someone who can't hire me or approve the spend. I'd rather you save your introduction for someone who can act on it.

What to listen for

When someone says:

• "We launched it eighteen months ago, and the numbers still haven't moved."
• "We went live, and nobody is using it the way we planned."
• "I've got good people. I don't know why it's not working."
• "Everyone on my team has a different theory about why it stalled."
• "I can't talk to my team or the board about the issues I am facing."
• "We hired a big firm and got a deck."
• "The board expects a result by next quarter."
• "Everything depends on me, and I can't be everywhere."

Or you hear it underneath: an owner who has explained the same problem to three consultants and gotten nothing back. A founder who built something real but can't get the organization to deliver. A CEO who has told the board "we're on track" for two quarters in a row.

That's the moment to say: I know a guy.

Why people call me

I tell the truth when everyone else is giving the comfortable answer. When I bid the Dunn & Bradstreet rewrite, other firms promised six months. I showed the client an eighteen-month plan, and they hired me because I was the only one who did. I have been in the chair for thirty years, with operating experience at Safeway, D&B and Cognizant, and consulting projects for The New York Times. I've served on three corporate boards.

I'm the adult in the room, and I stay until it works. I'm not a big firm, so the person who pitches does the work.

"Lawrence is my go-to for complex situations that require someone who can quickly go deep. He broadens your perspective while getting to the heart of a problem and uncovering the real issues."
Craig Kinzer, Vice Chairman, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE

A recent example

A mid-market unattended retail company had data it wasn't using and a network of 12,000 kiosks. I helped build a new subscription revenue system from that data and its existing distribution. It added over $1M in subscription revenue in the first year, without building any new distribution.

Making the introduction

Quick openers

• "That sounds like exactly what Lawrence does. I'd be happy to make an intro."
• "I know someone who gets called when a revenue launch stalls. He isn't a consultant in the usual sense."
• "You need to meet Lawrence. When a growth initiative stalls and nobody agrees on why, he goes deep, finds the real issue, and gets the company moving in the same direction."
• "Lawrence Lerner. He tells the truth, he's been in that seat, and he moves fast."

The fuller version

I'd like to introduce you to Lawrence Lerner. You know how a revenue initiative can sit half-finished for a year, with a tired team and a board asking questions? Lawrence gets those moving again. He works at the owner level, finds the real issue, gets the team moving in the same direction, and puts a plan in place without hiring full-time staff.

For a mid-market unattended retailer, he built a new subscription revenue system from existing data and a 12,000-kiosk network, and it added over $1M in the first year. With 30 years of operating experience, he tells you the honest answer when everyone else gives you the comfortable one.

Feel free to make it your own. Your introduction means more than any pitch I could write.

Contact

Contact page: lawrenceilerner.com/contact
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lawrencelerner
Website: lawrenceilerner.com

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