Strategy Consultant in Charlotte, NC
Grow on purpose. Where to grow, what to stop, and a one-page plan with owners and dates — built with your leadership team, not handed to them.
Big Decisions, No Strategy Team
Tollmere is a small, independent strategy practice in Charlotte's South End. Our consultants spent their careers running divisions, building companies and advising boards before they started advising owners.
We work with businesses big enough to have real choices and too lean to have someone whose whole job is thinking about them. Professional, straight with you, and in the room for every meeting.
- ✓Senior people at every meeting
- ✓Plans built with your team
- ✓Straight answers, even unwelcome ones
Fixed-Fee Strategy Engagements
Each engagement has a scope, a fee and a timeline agreed in writing before we start.
Every engagement starts with a free 45-minute conversation.
Owners Usually Call Us When…
Two or three of these at once is the usual sign that it's time for an outside view.
Growth has stalled at the same number
Revenue has sat in the same band for two or three years, and more effort isn't moving it.
Your leaders pull in different directions
Everyone is busy and capable, and each of them would give a different answer to "what matters most this year?"
A competitor is taking your best customers
A newer, cheaper or faster rival is winning work you used to win without trying.
A big decision is on the table
A second location, an acquisition, a new market or a new service line, and you want it tested before you commit.
Planning is a January ritual
There's an offsite and a document every year, and by March nobody looks at it again.
You're preparing for what's next
A sale, a partner buyout or handing the business to the next generation in five years.
How An Engagement Runs
Free Call
Forty-five minutes about your business, the decision in front of you and whether we're the right fit.
Listen First
Interviews with your leaders, a look at the numbers and calls with a handful of your customers.
Working Sessions
Two or three sessions with your leadership team to test options and agree on the choices.
One-Page Plan
Priorities, owners, dates and the measures you'll check each quarter, written in plain language.
What The First Year Looks Like
Month 1 — Three Clear Priorities
Your managers can name them without looking, and each one has an owner and a date.
Month 3 — First Quarterly Review
Half a day to check the measures, drop what isn't working and set the next quarter's focus.
Month 6 — Stop-Doing Pays Off
Time and money freed from the products, customers or projects you agreed to let go.
Month 12 — Next Year In A Day
Because the plan has been kept alive all year, refreshing it takes a day, not a month.
Not Sure Where To Start?
Tell us about the decision on your desk. You'll leave the call with our honest view of what to look at first, whether or not we work together.
Retreats That End With Decisions
Most planning days end with a wall of ideas and a vague promise to follow up. Ours end with three to five priorities, a named owner for each and a date for the first review.
We do the preparation beforehand — interviews, numbers, a short pre-read — so the day itself is spent deciding, not catching up.
- ✓Pre-read sent a week ahead
- ✓Neutral facilitation so the owner can take part
- ✓Written decisions within two business days
What Clients Say
We'd grown to forty people on instinct and it had stopped working. Tollmere got my partners and me to agree on three priorities in one afternoon, and we've run the business off that one page for two years now.
They told us to close our weakest location, which nobody inside the company wanted to say out loud. It was the right call, and the numbers backed it up within two quarters.
Our annual planning used to be a binder nobody opened. The retreat ended with decisions, owners and dates, and the quarterly check-ins keep us honest.
Industries We Know Well
Construction & Trades
Contractors and specialty trades deciding which work to chase and which to turn down.
Distribution & Wholesale
Family-owned distributors facing thinner margins and online competition.
Healthcare Practices
Multi-location clinics weighing new sites, services and partnerships.
Professional Services
Accounting, engineering and design firms planning growth or succession.
Manufacturing
Shops and plants choosing markets, products and where to invest next.
Multi-Location Services
Cleaning, landscaping and home-service companies adding territories.
Questions Owners Ask Us
How is this different from hiring a big consulting firm?
The people you meet on the first call are the people who do the work. Our fees are fixed and written down before we start, and our engagements are sized for owner-led companies, not billion-dollar ones.
How long does an engagement take?
A diagnostic takes about two weeks. A full growth strategy takes six to ten weeks, depending on how quickly we can get time with your leadership team.
Do you only work with Charlotte businesses?
Most of our clients are in Charlotte and across the Carolinas, and we like to be in the room for the important sessions. We also work remotely with companies elsewhere in the Southeast.
Will you help us carry out the plan?
Yes, if you want us to. Many clients keep us on as a quarterly strategy partner to run the reviews and keep the plan current. Others take it from there on their own.
Is what we share kept confidential?
Always. We sign a confidentiality agreement before any financial or customer information is shared, and we don't name clients without their permission.
What if we don't agree with your recommendations?
Then we talk it through. The plan is built with your team in working sessions, so there are no surprises at the end, and the final choices are always yours.
Talk Through Your Next Decision
A free 45-minute call with a senior consultant. Bring the question that's been sitting on your desk.
Book A Strategy Call
Tell us a little about your business and the decision in front of you. We reply within one business day with a few times to talk.
- Visit us1440 S Tryon Street, Suite 300, Charlotte, NC 28203
- Call us(704) 555-0142
- Email ushello@tollmerestrategy.com