Business consulting
Grow with AI, better systems and a team that pulls together
We work with owners and leadership teams to line up people, processes and systems, put AI to work where it pays, and build a roadmap you can act on one Level at a time.
Why consulting first
Software alone never fixed a business
The businesses we work with rarely lack tools. They lack alignment: a sales process nobody follows, an ERP the CRM cannot see, an AI pilot that never left the demo.
We came to this from the other side of the desk. Before Cogent we ran a distribution business on OrderWise, Sage and HubSpot, and we saw growth stall in the gaps between people, processes and systems. The APPS Principle™ is how we close those gaps, in your business, in the order that makes the biggest difference.
Consulting is where that starts. Sometimes it leads to a HubSpot project, an integration or an AI build with us. Sometimes it leads to fewer tools and a clearer process. Either way, you leave with a plan you own.
People, processes and systems
Growth that holds together
Most growth problems are alignment problems. A new sales hire, a new product line or a new site exposes the gaps between how people work, the process they are meant to follow and the systems that are meant to support them.
- An APPS score for your business, pillar by pillar, so you know which one is holding the others back
- A clear operating model: who owns what, how work moves between teams, and what “good” looks like
- A roadmap in Levels, so each step is sized, priced and achievable
- Board-ready measures that show whether the change is working
AI in the business
AI that earns its place
AI is only as useful as the data and context it works from. We help you find where it genuinely saves time or wins revenue, get the foundations ready, and prove it on one real use case before you scale it.
- An honest view of where AI pays off in your business, and where it does not yet
- Data and AI readiness: clean records, connected systems and the business context AI needs
- One use case landed as a proof of concept in your own HubSpot, with clear measures
- Guardrails your team and your customers can trust, and training so people use it well
Systems and total cost
The right tools, joined up
Growing businesses collect software. We look at every tool you pay for, from CRM and ERP to finance, quoting, data and AI, and tell you plainly what to keep, replace, connect, retire or add.
- A full systems and total cost review, today versus proposed
- Integration design between front office and back office
- Vendor-neutral advice: HubSpot is one tool in the toolbox, and we never resell other vendors
- A plan your finance director can sign off
Two tracks
Where AI fits depends on where you are
We do not push AI onto foundations that cannot carry it, and we do not make early adopters wait for everything to be perfect.
For most businesses
Fix the foundations
Get people working one way, in one system, on data they trust. AI comes next, and works better for the wait.
For early adopters
AI now
Land one AI use case as a proof of concept while we build the foundations alongside it, so the win lasts.
Ways to work with us
Start small, keep going if it works
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Start here
Strategy Diagnose
A paid, structured look at your people, processes and systems. You get your APPS score, your Level, a systems and total cost review and a written roadmap you own.
About the Diagnose → -
For early adopters
AI proof of concept
One agreed AI use case, built on your data in your HubSpot, with measures agreed up front. Foundations are built alongside so it does not stay a demo.
Talk about AI → -
Ongoing
Level Up advisory
A regular review with your leadership team: re-grade the Level, agree the next priority and keep people, processes and systems moving together.
How Levels work →
The APPS Principle™
Score your business
Thirty seconds, three pillars. Your weakest one is where we would start.
- Unstructured Spreadsheets, inboxes and memory.
- Foundations One CRM, set up properly.
- Process adopted The team works the same way, in the system.
- Connected CRM, ERP and finance share the same data.
- AI-led AI working on clean, connected data.
Your starting Level
1Foundations
Your weakest pillar sets your Level.
Next step up
A quick self-check, not a diagnosis. A Diagnose call scores each pillar properly.
Questions
Fair questions
Do we need to use HubSpot to work with you?
No. Consulting looks at your whole business and every system you run. HubSpot is often part of the answer, but it is one tool in the toolbox.
We are not ready for AI. Is this still for us?
Yes. Most businesses we work with start by fixing the foundations. That work is what makes AI useful later.
How is consulting priced?
In fixed blocks, agreed before work starts, never by the hour. The Diagnose is the usual starting point. See the pricing page for typical ranges.
Who will we work with?
Daryl, our founder, leads strategy work, with the delivery team brought in as the plan turns into projects.
Let’s look at the whole business
A strategy call is a straight conversation about where growth is getting stuck and what would move it. You leave with a clearer picture either way.