Your Clients are Confused. And It's Your Fault.

A professional services firm I worked with had a clear, but common, problem: they had deep expertise, strong client results, and a seasoned leadership team. Yet their messaging was vague. Their website described their work as helping mid-market companies with strategy, execution, change, growth, and alignment. It was all technically true, but it didn't set them apart. Like many firms, they were casting a wide net, hoping to catch some big fish.

It wasn't working.

After a series of strategy sessions, an insight stood out, nearly all of their most successful client engagements began during moments of significant business disruption. Leadership transitions, M&A integrations, competitive market threats, revenue declines, or major strategic pivots. These were the pressure points where their team consistently stepped in to steady the ship and drive alignment.

This wasn't a coincidence. It was a pattern hiding in plain sight.

By reframing their positioning around that pattern, the moment of significant business disruption, they clarified who they helped, when, and why they were the right choice. Their new narrative sounded more like this:

"We help mid-market companies maintain momentum and alignment during high-stakes business disruptions and beyond."

This shift didn't change their actual service offering. It clarified it. It gave prospective clients a hook to understand when and why to reach out. It helped internal teams speak with confidence and consistency. And it made their website, pitch materials, and content far more compelling.

The results followed:

• A better-fit client portfolio

• Larger average deal sizes

• Shorter sales cycles

  
  

In other words, positioning around these critical moments didn't limit their business. It unlocked it.

Why "Rare but Valuable" Positioning Works

At first glance, anchoring a firm around business disruptions might seem too narrow. After all, how often does a client face these kinds of challenges?

More often than you'd think.

Leadership transitions are accelerating with CEO tenures shrinking. M&A and private equity activity continues to rise. Market disruptions from new competitors or technologies are constant. Revenue pressures intensify during economic shifts. Strategic pivots become necessary as industries evolve. These are not fringe events. They are recurring, high-stakes moments when companies are most open to change and most in need of outside support.

Firms that can step in at those moments and deliver value aren't seen as narrow. They're seen as indispensable.

And when you earn trust during these disruptions, you're not done. You're invited to stay, to support the ongoing strategy, operations, and execution work that follows.

Lessons for Professional Services Firms

This story holds valuable lessons for any firm navigating a sea of sameness:

1. Patterns reveal positioning.

   If you're unsure how to narrow your focus, start by looking at your most successful engagements. When did clients call you? What were they dealing with? What did you consistently deliver? Look for the trigger moments. The context, not just the content, of your work.

   
   

2. Positioning around moments creates urgency.

   Clients don't always think in terms of services. They think in terms of what they're going through. If your firm shows up with language that matches their moment, "We help companies navigate business disruptions," or "We stabilize organizations during high-stakes transitions", you become relevant.

   
   

3. Strong positioning improves marketing efficiency.

   You don't need to spend more. You need to stand for something. When your positioning is clear, everything from your sales deck to your LinkedIn ads to your proposals gets sharper and works harder.

   
   

4. Good positioning leads to more work.

   And that's a good thing. When a client hires you for one high-stakes moment and you deliver, they'll trust you with the next. Great firms earn permission to expand.

   
   

Wrapping Up: Own the Moment, Expand from There

Many professional services firms try to position themselves for everyone, everywhere, all the time. But firms that grow sustainably often do the opposite. They plant a flag in the critical business moments that matter and use these as platforms to demonstrate value, earn trust, and grow from there.

So if you're seeing a pattern in your best work, don't ignore it. Double down on it. Own the moments that matter most. That's not just smart positioning. It's a growth strategy.