Strategic Business Advisor
Good businesses should be easier to understand, trust, and choose
A strong business can be considerably better than it appears to a prospective customer researching it from the outside.
I help owners of established service businesses see what prospective customers can actually find, understand, and verify before making contact. Then I help determine what is shaping those judgments and what deserves attention before the business invests in another tactic, platform, or vendor.
My perspective draws on more than 35 years across marketing, advertising, management, and business strategy. The work is designed to produce clearer thinking, stronger decisions, and a practical path forward.
35+ years across marketing, strategy, management, and growth.
The business you know may not be the business buyers see
Owners know the history, people, capabilities, and reasons customers stay. A prospective customer sees a website, search results, reviews, business profiles, competitors, and perhaps an AI-generated answer.
Those sources may tell a weaker, less complete, or less differentiated story than the business deserves.
That gap matters because prospective customers are forming judgments before they call, email, request a quote, or agree to a meeting. If they cannot quickly determine what you do, whether you are relevant, why you are credible, and why they should consider you over the alternatives, you may never get the opportunity to explain it.
Common warning signs include:
Your website no longer reflects the quality or capabilities of the business.
Your services or value are harder to understand than they should be.
Search engines and AI tools represent the business incompletely or inaccurately.
Important proof is scattered or difficult to find quickly.
Competitors appear easier to evaluate or choose.
Marketing priorities continue multiplying without a shared diagnosis of the problem.
The first task is to understand what prospective customers are seeing and what those impressions may be costing you.
Who I work with
I work with established owner-led service businesses that have built real expertise, a strong track record, and a reputation worth protecting.
These are often commercial, industrial, technical, or specialized service businesses whose value depends on experience, trust, and proof. As the business grows, its capabilities may become more difficult to explain and its market presence may fall behind the company it has become.
They are often:
Relying heavily on referrals, reputation, or the owner’s involvement.
Finding it harder to explain growing capabilities clearly.
Becoming more difficult to differentiate as competitors make similar claims.
Carrying too many marketing priorities without enough focus.
Sitting on valuable proof that prospective customers cannot easily find or use.
Looking for experienced outside judgment before committing more time or money.
These businesses have built something worth choosing. My role is to help make enough of that value visible before the owner or sales team is there to explain it.
Selected results
Across leadership roles and client work, I have helped businesses make stronger decisions around strategy, positioning, marketing, and growth.
22% Q1-to-Q3 growth for HoMedics, alongside 18% shelf expansion.
11% market share for Whirlpool’s jetted bath line within 18 months.
18% annual asset growth at Consumers Credit Union.
28% increase in cars sold, 22% increase in total leads, and 18% increase in qualified appointments within one month for a Digital Downforce dealership client.
$6.5 million in new billings and share gains at Osborn & Barr.
Where should you start
The right starting point depends on the question you need answered.
Buyer Decision Diagnostic
Strategic Action Plan
Owner Advisory
Prefer to start on your own?
The Before They Call guide series gives service business owners practical tools for examining what prospective customers, search engines, and AI tools can see before anyone reaches out.
The three guides help you assess:
Whether your website may be costing you work.
Whether search engines and AI can understand your business.
Whether your proof is strong enough to help win the work.
Each guide includes practical assessments, worksheets, explanations, and actions you can take yourself.
$29 each | $69 for all three
Before They Call Review
What should we change, what should we leave alone, and what should happen first?
How do we continue making sound decisions as we act and conditions change?
What is a prospective customer seeing before contacting us?
What is shaping the buyer’s decision, and why?
Start with a clearer understanding of the problem
Your business may need a quick outside perspective, a deeper diagnosis, a strategic plan, or ongoing counsel. The right choice depends on what you already know and which question still needs to be answered.
If you are unsure where to begin, a short conversation can help determine the right starting point.
Steve Kunkel
Strategic Business Advisor
kunkel.sk@gmail.com
512-663-1121