For this CMap Consulting Insights session, our VP of Consulting, Ben Edwards, had a fascinating chat with Greg Alexander, founder of Collective 54 and former CEO of SBI.
Greg built a 30-person consulting firm and sold it for a staggering $162 million. The webinar unpacked exactly how that happened and what other boutique consulting leaders can learn from his journey.
· Watch the webinar
· Listen to the podcast
· Keep on reading for the highlights
The blueprint behind a $162M exit
Greg started by setting the stage: SBI (Sales Benchmark Index) wasn’t a massive firm. It had only 30 employees when it was acquired, but what it lacked in headcount, it made up for in performance.
So what made SBI so valuable?
According to Greg, the key lies in scalability and strategic positioning. The firm wasn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It was laser-focused on solving high-stakes sales and marketing problems forB2B businesses with a repeatable, data-backed approach. That specificity helped the firm stand out in a crowded market.
Lesson 1: build a productized service
Greg emphasized a critical concept for boutique consulting firms: productized services.
Rather than just selling “consulting hours”, SBI built structured, replicable solutions that could be consistently delivered across clients. This blueprint made it easier to:
- Train new consultants
- Predict delivery timelines
- Scale the business without over-reliance on individuals
The takeaway? If you want to grow (and eventually exit), you need to move away from selling time and toward delivering a tangible, repeatable outcome.
Lesson 2: prioritize margin over revenue
Another surprise from the session: size isn’t everything. SBI didn’t have hundreds of consultants. What it had was profitability. Greg shared that buyers care far more about EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) than top line revenue.
“If you’re running a $10M firm with 40% EBITDA, you’re far more attractive than a $30M firm scraping by with 5%,” he explained. Watch the video below to learn more about how EBITDA affects the buying space:
High margins demonstrate operational discipline, pricing power, and efficient service delivery: all traits that are gold to potential buyers.
Lesson 3: get clear on exit timing and type
Greg’s exit wasn’t accidental. He knew exactly what kind of buyer he wanted and the valuation he aimed to achieve. That meant preparing the business years in advance to meet those criteria.
He encouraged founders to start thinking about their exit early.
“Who might buy you? A private equity firm? A strategic buyer? A competitor? Start with the end in mind, because how you structure your team, your revenue model, and even your marketing will depend on who you want to appeal to.”
Lesson 4: build a self-managing team
A consulting firm that can’t run without its founder isn’t sellable. That’s why Greg’s fourth major point was all about leadership structure. He spent years creating a self-managing team that didn’t rely on him for day-to-day delivery.
His advice?
- Invest in developing leaders early
- Empower them to own client relationships
- Remove yourself from direct delivery
Buyers want a business, not a job. The more your firm can run without you, the more it’s worth.
Lesson 5: focus relentlessly on ideal clients
SBI’s growth wasn’t driven by chasing every opportunity. It came from saying no (a lot).
“We got crystal clear about who our ideal client was, and then we doubled down on serving them better than anyone else.”
This tight client focus allowed SBI to become the go-to firm for a specific problem in a specific industry, which boosted reputation, referrals, and pricing power.
Greg challenged boutique firms to get brutally honest about where they create the most value and to be courageous enough to niche down, even if it means walking away from tempting revenue.
What made the sale happen
So how did a 30-person firm command such a high valuation?
Greg believes it came down to three things:
- Predictable revenue: Recurring and retainer-based revenue streams that created financial consistency.
- Process-driven delivery: A structured, scalable way of delivering services that didn’t depend on star performers.
- Strong culture: A team that was aligned, committed, and capable of sustaining the firm’s success post-acquisition.
“Buyers could see that this wasn’t just a consultancy, it was a machine, that's what they were really buying.”
Advice for boutique firm founders
The session wrapped up with some powerful takeaways for consulting firm founders:
- Be intentional: Random growth won’t get you to a life-changing exit. Design your firm for the outcome you want.
- Invest in systems: From PSA tools to project delivery templates, scalable infrastructure is essential.
- Don’t chase scale for its own sake: Bigger isn’t always better. Focus on quality, margin, and specialization.
And perhaps most importantly: build a firm that can thrive without you. That’s not just key for a sale, it’s key for creating a business that gives you freedom, too.
Final thoughts
Greg’s experience proves that you don’t need to build a500-person firm to achieve a significant exit. With the right discipline and intention, even a boutique consulting firm can generate life-changing value.
For firm leaders hoping to follow in those footsteps, the message is clear: start building with the end in mind, focus on what makes your firm uniquely valuable, and never underestimate the power of process and profitability.
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