Client pathway

Tell us enough to make the call worth having

Eight fields now. The twelve questions come later, and only if we both want them to.

The full questionnaire is published below so you can see what the process actually asks. The first step is the short form, and it takes a couple of minutes.

Eight fields, two minutes, and it goes straight to Roland.

The full questionnaire comes after, and only if there looks to be something here worth both of our time. We’d rather read a couple of sentences today and ask the long questions once we know we’re the right people, than send you away with an evening of homework before anyone has spoken.

We review every inquiry to understand what we’re dealing with and whether RCAG is the right fit. If we believe we can help, we’ll contact you about the next step. If the problem belongs with another professional, we’ll tell you that too.

Start here

Tell us who you are and what’s happening

About two minutes
Client inquiry

A few sentences. You’re not expected to diagnose your own business, and the longer questions come later.

See the six services

We use what you send to respond to you and nothing else. We don’t sell it, we don’t add you to a mailing list, and these forms don’t ask for financial, banking, tax, employee or legal records. What we hold and for how long.

What comes next

The twelve questions, so nothing is a surprise

Not required today

If we get past the first conversation, you’ll get a private link to a questionnaire that asks these twelve. It saves as you go, so you can answer three of them tonight and the rest on Sunday, and it opens on whatever device you happen to have.

What is the business, and what does it actually do day to day?
Plain description rather than the pitch. What you sell, who buys it, and what a normal week looks like.
How long has it been running, and what has changed recently?
Anything that shifted in the last year counts: a location, a partner, a lender, a rule, a product line.
What made you reach out now rather than six months ago?
The trigger usually matters more than the symptom, so be specific about what happened.
What do you think the problem is?
We’ll test it rather than take it as given, but we want your read first, in your words.
What have you already tried?
Including the things that didn’t work, which are often the most useful part of the answer.
Who else is advising you at the moment?
Attorney, accountant, bookkeeper, lender, consultant, anyone else. If the answer is nobody, say nobody.
What does the money look like right now?
Revenue, what you owe, and whether the two are comfortable together. Rough numbers are fine. Don’t put statements, account numbers or login details in here.
What are you contractually committed to?
Leases, financing, vendor agreements, anything with a term you can’t simply walk away from.
Who works in the business, and who decides things?
Headcount, roles, and where the real decision actually gets made when something has to be decided fast.
What does a good outcome look like twelve months from now?
Describe the situation you want to be in, not the task you want done.
What is the thing you’re most worried about?
Usually the most useful answer on this list, and usually the one people leave until last.
What haven’t we asked that we should have?
If nothing comes to mind, write “nothing” and move on. It’s a real answer.

If you don’t know an answer, saying so is a useful answer. A confident wrong answer costs more than an honest blank.

Honest limits

When we’re not the right people

RCAG may not be the right fit when the requested work falls outside our experience or authority, requires a licensed professional rather than RCAG, presents a conflict, or when we don’t believe we can responsibly help solve the problem.

We would rather say that in the first week than in the third month. It costs us work and it saves you money, which is roughly the trade this firm is built on.

No. The form goes to an inbox, Roland reads it, and you hear back from him. If there is a call it happens after we both know roughly what we are talking about, and the point of it is to work out what is causing the problem rather than to sell you a package.
Because an owner with a real problem does not have an evening spare to fill in a form for a firm that has not replied yet. Short now, long once we have both decided it is worth it.
Scope, deliverables and timing are determined by the problem RCAG is being asked to solve, so there is no price list. Every engagement is defined in writing before work begins, and that document sets out what we are doing, what we are not doing, what it costs and how it ends.
We treat it as confidential business information and we don’t share it. That is not the same as legal privilege, which only exists with an attorney, so don’t put anything in a web form that needs privilege. Don’t send account numbers or statements either.
Sometimes, and we’ll say so. But the thing an owner is experiencing and the thing causing it are often two different problems, which is why the diagnostic exists.

Still working out whether this is for you?

Read the six services, or read Roland’s account of why the firm exists. Both will tell you more than a sales call would.

The six services About Roland
Roland Conner Advisory Group LLC provides business advisory and consulting services. RCAG does not provide legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Submitting information through this website does not create a consulting or advisory relationship.