Guide · 8 min read

Choosing a partner for positioning or commercial strategy: how to compare the options.

By Nona Stabel and Carlijn Hofland · 29 October 2026

In short: Choose a partner based on your question, not on the type of firm. If a choice has to be made (for whom, how you win), advice fits. If a choice that's been made has to become visible in campaigns or a website, a marketing agency fits. If what's mainly missing is someone to lead it, interim fits. Ask every party what will concretely be different afterwards, and who does the work.

A managing director who's stuck on positioning or commercial growth has more options than ever: doing it with the leadership team, a large consultancy, a marketing or advertising agency, an interim manager, a freelance specialist or a small commercial consultancy. They're all good for something. The risk lies in the wrong party for the wrong question.

This guide puts the options side by side honestly, ours included. For each option: when it fits and what to watch out for, plus ten questions to test a party before you sign.

First: what is your question, really?

Most wrong choices start with an unclear question. Roughly, there are three kinds:

A choice question: which customers are we for, how do we win, what do we leave aside? The answer doesn't exist yet. See Our story no longer fits and Setting commercial priorities.
An execution question: the choice has been made, but it has to become visible in the website, campaigns, content or sales materials.
A capacity question: the direction is clear, but there's (temporarily) nobody leading it commercially. See Interim commercial director.

Often two are at play at once. Then start with the choice question: without a choice, execution gets expensive and capacity aimless.

The options side by side

Option	Fits when	Strong at	Watch out for
Do it yourself (leadership team, away day)	The team has the time and the problem is mainly internal.	Commitment, speed, knowledge of the business.	The outside view and the customer's voice are often missing, and after the away day nobody picks it up.
Large consultancy	The question is big and complex, with many business units or international markets.	Thorough analysis, methods, capacity.	Often junior people doing the work, a hefty report, and less attention to execution in an organisation of 15 to 250 people.
Marketing or advertising agency	The choice is clear and has to become visible: campaigns, content, website.	Creative work, reach, production.	Without a sharp choice up front, the agency makes it for you, and the result is good-looking but interchangeable.
Interim manager or fractional CMO	Someone needs to lead temporarily, and the direction is more or less set.	Gets going fast, keeps things running.	Solves a capacity question, not always a choice question; watch the handover to a permanent successor.
Freelance specialist	There's one well-defined task: a brand book, a campaign, a CRM set-up.	Expertise, flexible, affordable.	Rarely oversees the whole of strategy, team and execution.
Small commercial consultancy (like STOF to Grow)	A choice has to be made and has to land in the organisation.	Senior people at the table, short lines, from choice to execution.	Limited capacity; no production house for large campaigns. Ask about experience with your type of organisation.

Combinations are normal. An adviser sharpens the choice, an agency executes it; or an interim manager leads temporarily while the direction is set. In that case, agree up front who's responsible for what.

Ten questions to test a partner

What will concretely be different in our organisation afterwards, and how do we measure that?
Who does the work, and is that person at the table themselves?
Who do you talk to before you give advice: customers, sales, the people on the floor?
What do you deliver, and how will our teams use it after the handover?
What do you not do, and who do you refer us to then?
Have you done this before for an organisation of our size? Can I speak to that customer?
Do you work with a fixed price and a defined outcome, or by the hour?
How long does it take, and what does it ask of our people?
When do you stop, and how do we make sure it keeps going afterwards?
What happens if, halfway through, the question turns out to be different?

Red flags

Having a solution ready before the problem has been looked into.
Only talking to leadership, not to customers or the people who have to execute.
A report as the end product, with no plan for execution.
Vague results (“more visibility”, “a stronger brand”) without agreeing how you'll notice them.
A team in the pitch that you never see again afterwards.

When STOF to Grow does and doesn't fit

STOF to Grow fits growing B2B companies of around 15 to 250 people that need to make a commercial choice and want that choice to land in the organisation: positioning and story, commercial strategy, and putting it into practice, including interim commercial leadership. We work with well-defined assignments and a fixed price.

We don't fit if you mainly need hands for campaigns or one-off production, or if the question calls for a large team for months. Then we'd rather point you to a better partner. Curious how that works in practice? Take a look at the cases.

Frequently asked questions about choosing a partner

What's the difference between a commercial consultancy and a marketing agency?

A commercial consultancy helps you choose: which customers, how you win, what you leave aside, and how the organisation executes that. A marketing agency makes that choice visible in campaigns, content or a website. Start with a marketing agency without a choice, and you let the agency make that choice.

Interim manager or adviser: which fits?

If what's mainly missing is someone to lead commercially, choose interim. If what's mainly missing is the choice itself, choose advice. If both apply, look for a party that leads temporarily and sets the direction, and agree a handover to a permanent successor.

What does a positioning or commercial strategy programme cost?

That depends on the size of the question and the organisation. In any case, ask for a fixed price, a defined outcome and what will be asked of your own people; that makes proposals comparable.

Can't we just do it ourselves?

Often you can, if leadership takes the time, gathers the customer's voice and someone keeps an eye on execution. Start with the guides Building a commercial strategy and B2B positioning. A partner helps when it gets stuck internally or when an outside view is needed.

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