How to Engage

Start where
you actually
need to.

Some teams start with a free sample brief. Some start with a discovery call. Some start with a Suite deployment because they already know what they need. There's no required door — only the one that fits the work in front of you.

Talk to Us → Find Your Channel
By Situation

If this is true,
start here.

Seven patterns that show up in almost every first conversation. Find the one closest to your situation today. If two apply, start with the first — the second often resolves itself once the first lands.

Customers are asking 'where do we stand?' more than I can answer in real time.
Start with
Beacon · Client Transparency Portal

A white-labeled portal where customers see their data, savings, and contracts. The "where do we stand" question gets answered before you have to.

See the Suite ↗
My RFP process is eating my week — every supplier in a different inbox, every deal in a different state.
Start with
Switchboard + Linework

Procurement workspace plus RFP-to-contract workflow. Supplier responses, evaluation, redlines, signatures — one thread instead of seven inboxes.

See the Suite ↗
Renewals are slipping through the cracks or surfacing two weeks before the contract expires.
Start with
Switchboard · Renewals Pipeline

Renewals tracked by date, by customer, by status — surfaced months out, not weeks. Acting on 60% of your renewals becomes acting on 95%.

See the Suite ↗
I walk into client calls without anything new to say about the market — just the same talking points as last quarter.
Start with
Intelligence Briefings

Monthly client-ready briefs — forward curves, regulatory, demand outlook, state-specific notes. A point of view in your inbox every month.

See Intelligence →
Reconciling supplier commissions and statements takes three days every month and the numbers still don't tie out.
Start with
Ledger · Reconciliation

Supplier statements matched against your book automatically. Discrepancies surfaced as they happen, not buried until quarter-close.

See the Suite ↗
We're launching a new service line — efficiency, DR, sustainability, supply — and the launch keeps stalling.
Start with
Advisory · ADV-01 New Offer Launch

Scoped 6-10 week engagement. Go-to-market plan, target customer profile, vendor short list, first 90-day execution plan. Senior operator on the engagement.

See Advisory →
Our workflow doesn't fit any off-the-shelf software — we keep duct-taping spreadsheets and tools together.
Start with
Custom Builds

Suite extensions, data integrations, custom dashboards, or white-label apps. Built around your workflow — usually faster because the Suite foundation is already there.

See Custom →
By Commitment Level

Three depths.
Start at any of them.

You don't have to commit to the platform on day one. Most engagements start light, settle at a level that fits the work, and grow from there. Some skip straight to platform because the situation calls for it.

01 · LIGHT Free → Low

Sample
& Talk

No commitment · Days, not weeks
  • Request a sample brief. The Illinois NG spring brief, or whichever fits your book.
  • 30-minute discovery call. What's hurting, what you've tried, who else is involved.
  • Read the offering pages. Intelligence, Advisory, Custom — each goes deeper than the home page.
What You Get A clear read on fit before any commitment. Most engagements start here. Some end here because we tell you you don't need us yet.
02 · MEDIUM Scoped · Weeks

Scoped
Work

One channel · One deliverable
  • Monthly briefing subscription. Plus the option to commission custom briefs as the year unfolds.
  • Single advisory engagement. One of ADV-01 through ADV-04, 6-14 weeks, fixed fee.
  • Targeted custom build. A dashboard, an integration, a specific Suite extension. Typically 3-8 weeks.
What You Get Real work, shipped on a date, billed at a number agreed up front. No long-term commitment. No surprise scope.
03 · HEAVY Platform · Quarters

Platform
Engagement

Multi-channel · Ongoing
  • Full Suite deployment. White-label or co-branded. Deployed into your tenant on a 6-12 week onboarding.
  • Combined advisory + build. Strategic engagement that ships software at the end, not just a memo.
  • Multi-channel engagement. Suite + Intelligence + Advisory running in parallel on a defined cadence.
What You Get The full platform running inside your operation. Usually preceded by Light or Medium engagements that established the fit.
The First 30 Minutes

What happens
on the discovery call.

No deck. No discovery questionnaire to fill out beforehand. Thirty minutes, two people, a real conversation. Here's what we'll cover and what comes out the other side.

01

We ask first.

Tell us what's hurting today and what success would look like ninety days from now. Five to ten minutes. We're listening for the shape of the problem, not pitching a solution to it.

5–10 MIN Your turn
02

We listen.

Real questions, not pitch questions. Sometimes the answer is "you don't need us yet" or "you should talk to a different kind of firm first." We say it when it's true. Both of us save time.

10 MIN Real questions
03

We frame the fit.

Which channel matches the work in front of you. Why we think so. Where we'd start if you were our partner. If the answer is multi-channel, we say what to do first and what to defer until later.

10 MIN Our turn
04

You decide what's next.

Sample brief, written scope memo, second call, or "let me think about it." No pressure, no follow-up automation, no cadence of nurture emails after. If you want to move, we move. If not, we leave you alone.

5 MIN Decide
Common Paths

How engagements
tend to grow.

Three patterns we see when a partnership extends past a first engagement. Not prescriptive — just common enough to be useful when you're thinking about where this could go.

Path A · The Intelligence-First Path

Brief → Co-brand → Portal

You start with a sample brief because the cadence sounds useful and the commitment is zero. The format fits, so you subscribe. Six months later, you want your own customers to see the same quality of intelligence as part of your service — so we extend the cadence into a co-branded portal on the Suite. By month twelve, your book reads your firm's research as theirs.

START
Sample Brief
→
MONTH 1
Subscribe
→
MONTH 6
Co-Brand
→
MONTH 12
Suite Portal
Path B · The Advisory-First Path

Engagement → Build → Platform

You come in with a scoped strategic question — a brokerage restructure, a new offer launch, a channel question. The advisory diagnostic surfaces what's blocking you, and often part of that answer is software. If a build is the right next step, the engagement extends into a custom build that operationalizes the recommendation. The Suite deployment that follows runs on the foundation we built together.

START
Advisory
→
WEEK 8
Diagnostic
→
QUARTER 2
Custom Build
→
QUARTER 3+
Suite
Path C · The Build-First Path

Custom → Suite → Add Channels

You already know what's broken: the off-the-shelf software doesn't fit your workflow, and you need software, not advice. We start with a custom build — either a Suite extension or standalone. Once it's running and your team is fluent, the underlying Intelligence and Advisory channels become natural add-ons because the foundation is already wired in and the relationship is established.

START
Custom Build
→
DEPLOY
Live
→
QUARTER 2
+ Briefings
→
QUARTER 3+
+ Advisory
Open The Door

Pick a starting
point. Or ask us.

If one of the seven diagnostics rings true, email us and name it — we'll send the most relevant entry-point response. If you're not sure where to start, that's the discovery call. Thirty minutes, no slides, and you walk away with a clear next step.

Book a Discovery Call → Request a Sample Brief