We look at your whole business, find what is actually holding growth back, and build a plan you can run yourself or hand to our team. Book a single project or keep us on retainer. Either way, the plan is judged by what it adds to revenue.
- 9+ years in business
- 100+ businesses served
- 250+ campaigns run
Spending on marketing without a clear return
Money goes out to ads, an agency or a few tools every month, and nobody can say what a customer costs or which channel paid for itself.
Growth has stalled
The referrals and repeat customers that built the business have plateaued, and the next stage needs a system, not more hustle.
A big move coming up
A new service line, a second location, a price change or a new market. You want a plan and a second set of eyes before the money goes in.
Doubts about your current agency
You want an independent read on what you are paying for, what's working, and what you'd change, from someone with nothing to sell you on that channel.
Most marketing consultants stop at marketing. In our experience the first fix is often somewhere else: the call that goes unanswered after 4 pm, the quote that takes three days, the follow-up that never gets sent. So every engagement looks at the whole path, from the first search to the paid invoice.
Demand and competition
How many people search for what you sell in every city you serve, what clicks cost, and who is winning those customers today.
Where the money goes
Every channel you pay for, what it really produces, and the cost of a booked job or a new customer, worked out from your own numbers.
Offer and pricing
What you sell, how it is packaged and priced, and whether the margin can fund the growth you want.
Sales and follow-up
How fast leads are answered, how quotes go out, and how many good leads quietly go cold.
Operations and capacity
Whether the phones, scheduling, crew and systems can take more work, and what to build or fix before you push harder.
The growth plan
One document with priorities, budget, owners and dates, plus the number each piece has to hit. Yours to keep.
Every engagement is quoted at a flat price before work starts, so there are no surprise invoices. Ad budgets are paid by you, straight to Google or Meta, and never marked up.
Project consulting
A single, defined piece of work for one fee, quoted on the strategy call and sized to the scope. A marketing audit, a growth plan, a launch plan for a new service or location, or a second opinion on your agency. You keep every finding.
Advisory retainer
Ongoing access to a growth partner. A monthly review of the numbers, a plan that changes when the numbers say to, and someone to call on pricing, hiring and the next big move. Add hands-on execution from our team where you want it.
Retainer + shared upside
For a few established businesses, part of our fee comes from the growth itself: a share of the new profit above a baseline we set together from your books. What you earn today stays yours. We only win when you grow, and every term is in writing first. This is how Growth-as-a-Service™ clients often work with us.
The first call is free and the quote is fixed. If we aren't the right fit, we'll tell you who is.
1. Strategy call
Thirty minutes on your goals, your numbers and what you have tried. We pull up your market live.
2. Scope and quote
A written scope with a flat price: a single project, a monthly retainer, or a partnership.
3. Inside the business
We go through your numbers, accounts, website, profile, sales process and operations, and talk to the people who answer the phone.
4. The plan, delivered live
Walked through on a call, recorded and written down: what to do, in what order, what it costs, and what it should return.
5. Run it your way
Your team runs it with us advising, or our team builds and runs the parts you hand over.
I'm Seth Gillen, founder of Sierra Exclusive. Besides the agency, I run a delivery company and a manufacturing and distribution company, both built from the ground up. The advice you get is what I use in those businesses every week, not a framework from a slide deck.
It works for clients too. One Sacramento service business we work with doubled its online orders while cutting ad spend from $50k to $20k a month, because the plan moved the money from paid ads into channels that compound.
Marketing strategy
Channels, message, budget and measurement, built from your numbers.
Business growth
Pricing, capacity, new locations and service lines, decided with data.
Sales process
Speed to lead, quoting and follow-up, the leaks that cost the most.
Systems and AI
CRM, automation and an AI receptionist, where they pay for themselves.
Marketing consulting: common questions
What does a marketing consultant do?
A marketing consultant looks at how a business wins customers today, finds where money and effort are being wasted, and builds a plan to grow from there: which channels to use, what to say, what to spend, and how to measure it. A good one also looks past marketing. If leads are coming in but the phone goes unanswered or quotes take three days, more marketing will not fix it, and the consultant should say so.
How much does marketing consulting cost?
It depends on the scope, and we quote a flat price before any work starts. A single project, such as a marketing audit, a growth plan or a launch plan, is a one-time fee. Ongoing advice is a monthly retainer. For some established businesses, part of the fee can be a share of new profit above an agreed baseline. Ad budgets are always paid by you, straight to Google or Meta, and never marked up.
What is the difference between a marketing consultant and an agency?
An agency usually sells the channel it runs, so the answer tends to be more of that channel. A consultant starts with the business: your numbers, your capacity, your sales process. Then they decide which channels earn a place. We do both. You can take the plan and run it in-house, or have our team run all or part of it.
Will you do the work, or only advise?
Either. Some owners want the plan and a sounding board while their own team executes. Others want us to build and run the pieces: ads, search, the website, follow-up systems. Most engagements start with advice and move into execution where it makes sense. That's your call, not a requirement.
How does the profit share work?
It is optional and only offered where growth can be measured cleanly. Before we start, we set a baseline from your own books, usually the last 12 months. Everything up to that baseline stays 100% yours. We earn a share only of the new profit above it, on terms written down before any work begins. If the growth doesn't happen, you don't pay the share. It keeps us focused on the number that matters to you.
Do you work with businesses outside Sacramento?
Yes. Sierra Exclusive is based in Sacramento, California and consults for businesses across the United States. The work happens on video and inside your systems, and we meet Sacramento-area clients in person.
Marketing and business consulting in Sacramento. Sierra Exclusive is a Sacramento marketing agency and consultancy working with owner-operated businesses in Roseville, Folsom, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, the rest of Northern California and nationwide. If you have been looking for a marketing consultant or a business growth consultant in Sacramento who will look at the whole business, start with a strategy call.
Get a second set of eyes on your growth.
A free 30-minute strategy call. We'll look at your numbers and your market and tell you honestly where the growth is, and whether we're the right people to help.