The Project and Advisory Lane is a four-product strategic consulting service from Stan Consulting LLC. It is a single-engagement lane, not a retainer. Engagements range from a $1,250 Strategic Advisory Call through Decision Architecture at $2,500, Project Consulting at $5,000 to $25,000, and Crisis Consulting at $10,000 and up. Each engagement has a defined scope and a defined end.
QA
Quick answer
The Project and Advisory Lane is a four-product strategic consulting service for operators who need one specific engagement, not a retainer. The Strategic Advisory Call is $1,250 for a 90-minute working session. Decision Architecture is $2,500 for one major decision worked over 7 to 14 days. Project Consulting is $5,000 to $25,000 for a defined strategic project across 4 to 12 weeks. Crisis Consulting is $10,000 and up for 2 to 4 weeks of intensive work on a marketing crisis. Each engagement has a written deliverable, a defined end, and no implicit follow-on.
Some questions need a single answer. Not a retainer.
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The Project and Advisory Lane is Funnel F7. It is the answer for operators who do not want a retainer and do not have a paid-account problem to audit. The lane covers one call, one decision, one project, or one crisis. Nothing recurs.
Most strategic marketing consulting is sold as a retainer because retainers are predictable revenue. That structure does not match every commercial reality. A founder facing one decision in the next two weeks does not need a six-month engagement. A CMO running a launch that just broke in public does not need a monthly review cadence. A category leader weighing a positioning change wants the answer in writing, not on a recurring invoice.
This lane sells the answer. Four products, four scopes, four prices. The $1,250 Strategic Advisory Call is the smallest unit: a 90-minute session on one question. The $2,500 Decision Architecture covers a 7-to-14-day structured study of one decision. Project Consulting at $5,000 to $25,000 is the right product when the work has multiple workstreams and a written deliverable larger than a single recommendation. Crisis Consulting at $10,000 and up is reserved for active marketing crises that need turnaround within weeks.
The boundary against the retainer (F3) is hard. If the operator wants ongoing strategic depth across many decisions over many months, the consulting retainer at $1,500, $3,000, $6,000, or $12,000 monthly is the correct product. The Project and Advisory Lane is built to end. If the engagement should not end, the operator is in the wrong funnel.
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Each card below is a sentence the operator might say out loud. The product on the right is the right answer. The fifth card routes outside this lane on purpose; it is the F3 retainer boundary made visible.
F7.1 · Single question
I have one specific marketing question and I need a senior answer this week.
A pricing decision, a channel choice, an organisation question, a positioning call. One question. 90 minutes is enough to work it end-to-end with a written summary that follows.
Strategic Advisory Call $1,250
F7.2 · One major decision
I have one decision in the next two weeks. The answer needs structure, not a 90-minute call.
An agency decision, a major channel shift, a launch sequence, a category move. Two working sessions plus a written recommendation, scoped to land inside the decision window.
Decision Architecture $2,500
F7.3 · One scoped project
I have one strategic project. Four to twelve weeks. I need a written deliverable, not a retainer.
A positioning rebuild, a channel mix overhaul, a segmentation study, a brand architecture review, a launch plan. Defined scope. Written deliverable. The engagement ends on delivery.
Project Consulting $5K–$25K
F7.4 · Active crisis
Something just broke. We need containment in a week and a recovery plan inside a month.
A launch failed in public. A channel collapsed. An agency relationship broke mid-campaign. A category event has destabilised the plan. Two to four weeks intensive, with a containment plan in 7 days.
Crisis Consulting $10K+
Boundary · Routes to F3
I want monthly strategic help. Many decisions. Many months. An ongoing thinking partner.
That is the consulting retainer. Four monthly tiers at $1,500, $3,000, $6,000, and $12,000. Three-month minimum, then month-to-month. The Project and Advisory Lane will not match the situation; the F3 retainer will.
Funnel F3 · Consulting retainer See F3 retainer →
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Each product has its own page with the full scope, the intake protocol, and the engagement letter language. The summaries below are enough to know which one applies.
F7.1
Single question · 90 minutes
One 90-minute working session on one question the operator brings. The pre-call brief is reviewed in advance so the session opens with answers, not framing. The session is recorded with consent. A written summary of the recommendation, the reasoning, and the next-step actions is delivered within 48 hours.
What comes out: a written recommendation on one specific question and a clear next step. Not a strategy doc. Not a retainer.
Strategic Advisory Call scope →F7.2
One decision · 7 to 14 days
One major decision worked over 7 to 14 days. A written intake captures the decision, the constraints, and the success criteria. Two 60-minute working sessions sit inside the window: one to frame, one to test the recommendation. Output is a written recommendation document with the reasoning, the alternatives considered, and the implementation order.
What comes out: a defended written recommendation on one decision, plus the implementation order. Engagement ends on delivery.
Decision Architecture scope →F7.3
Defined project · 4 to 12 weeks
A defined strategic project worked across 4 to 12 weeks. Scope is set on a fit call before booking. Common projects: a positioning rebuild, a channel mix overhaul, a segmentation rework, a category audit, a launch plan, a brand architecture review. The project produces a written deliverable scoped to the work and a single handoff session.
What comes out: a written strategic deliverable specific to the project. The operator owns the document. No retainer is created.
Project Consulting scope →F7.4
Active crisis · 2 to 4 weeks intensive
Two to four weeks of intensive work on an active marketing crisis. The first 7 days produce a written containment plan. The remaining window produces a written recovery plan. Working cadence is daily on the containment phase, then twice weekly on the recovery phase. The $10,000 floor reflects the turnaround speed and the displacement of other work; larger scopes are priced on the fit call.
What comes out: two written documents, a containment plan and a recovery plan. The engagement ends at week four. No retainer.
Crisis Consulting scope →04
The duration changes. The cadence changes. The deliverable changes. The shape does not. Every engagement starts with intake and ends with a written document the operator can act on.
The intake brief is the gating step. Until the brief is back, the working sessions are not productive. For the $1,250 Strategic Advisory Call, the brief is a one-page form. For the $2,500 Decision Architecture, it is a structured intake covering the decision, constraints, and success criteria. For Project Consulting at $5,000 to $25,000, it is a scoping document produced on the fit call. For Crisis Consulting at $10,000 and up, it is a same-day intake call.
Working sessions are live, recorded with consent, and run on a fixed cadence. Cadence escalates with the product: one session for the Advisory Call, two for Decision Architecture, weekly across Project Consulting, daily then twice-weekly for Crisis Consulting. Sessions are not status meetings. They are the place the work moves forward.
The written deliverable is non-negotiable. Every product produces something the operator can read after the engagement closes. The Advisory Call produces a 1-to-2-page summary. Decision Architecture produces a recommendation document. Project Consulting produces the scoped deliverable. Crisis Consulting produces the containment plan and the recovery plan.
The follow-up is bounded and optional. Advisory Calls include one email round inside 7 days. Decision Architecture includes a single clarifying call inside 14 days. Project Consulting includes a 30-minute handoff session at delivery. Crisis Consulting includes a 30-minute review 30 days post-delivery. Beyond those, the engagement is closed.
Step 1 · Always first
Operator returns a written intake. Without the intake, the working sessions open with framing instead of answers. Gating step on every product.
Step 2 · Live work
One session for the Advisory Call. Two for Decision Architecture. Weekly for Project Consulting. Daily then twice-weekly for Crisis Consulting. Recorded with consent.
Step 3 · The deliverable
Every engagement produces a written deliverable. The format scales with the product. The operator owns the document. The engagement ends on delivery.
Step 4 · Bounded follow-up
Each product has a defined post-delivery window for clarification: an email round, a clarifying call, a handoff session, a 30-day review. Beyond that window, the engagement is closed.
The operating principle
A good answer in writing is the deliverable. Not the relationship.
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Every engagement has a written scope and a written end-date. The lane is built so the operator can come back later for a different question, not so the answer turns into a retainer.
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A live conversation is a step. The deliverable is the document. Every product in this lane produces a written artefact the operator owns and can hand to the team.
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No upsell at delivery. No auto-enrolment into a retainer. If ongoing depth is the right answer, the F3 retainer is a separate, explicitly-scoped product. The two funnels do not mix mid-engagement.
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This lane is for
This lane is not for
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Strategic consulting prices are often opaque. The four prices in this lane are not. Each one is anchored to a specific commercial reality and held flat across operators.
$1,250
Lane floor
The $1,250 Strategic Advisory Call is priced above the $999 Conversion Second Opinion floor by design. The Second Opinion is a productized written audit on a defined scope. The Advisory Call is live senior practitioner time on any question the operator brings, plus a written summary. Different mechanics, different price.
$2,500
Mid-tier decision
The $2,500 Decision Architecture covers 7 to 14 days of structured work on one decision. Two working sessions, an intake, and a written recommendation. The price sits at the point where the work is too large for a single call and too narrow for a multi-week project.
$5K–$25K
Project range
Project Consulting at $5,000 to $25,000 ranges with scope. A 4-week segmentation rework lands near the $5,000 floor. A 12-week positioning and brand architecture project with two written deliverables lands closer to the $25,000 ceiling. Scope is set on a fit call before any commitment.
$10K+
Crisis floor
The $10,000 floor on Crisis Consulting reflects two things: turnaround speed (containment plan in 7 days) and displacement of other work to keep the engagement intensive. Larger crises are priced on the fit call. A crisis engagement is rarely the cheapest option in the lane and is not meant to be.
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These are the clarifications that come up in fit conversations. Read them before booking.
The retainer (Funnel F3) is a monthly engagement at $1,500, $3,000, $6,000, or $12,000 per month. It is for operators who want ongoing strategic depth across many decisions over many months. The Project and Advisory Lane (Funnel F7) is a single engagement with a defined scope and a defined end. The Strategic Advisory Call is $1,250 for one 90-minute session. Decision Architecture is $2,500 for one specific decision. Project Consulting is $5,000 to $25,000 for one project. Crisis Consulting is $10,000 and up for one crisis. No retainer is created on the way out.
One 90-minute live working session on one specific question. A pre-call brief is reviewed in advance so the session opens with answers, not framing. A written summary of the recommendation, the reasoning, and the next-step actions is delivered within 48 hours of the call. The fee is $1,250 paid in advance. The session does not include implementation work, a second call, or a follow-on retainer.
When one decision is large enough to need 7 to 14 days of structured work but does not require a full project. Common cases: choosing between two strategic directions, deciding whether to retain or replace an agency, evaluating a major channel shift, sequencing a launch. The engagement covers a written intake, two 60-minute working sessions, and a written recommendation document. The price is $2,500 fixed. Larger decisions move into Project Consulting at $5,000 to $25,000.
A defined strategic project with a written deliverable, scoped on a fit call before booking. Common projects: a positioning rebuild, a channel mix overhaul, a segmentation rework, a category audit, a launch plan, a brand architecture review. Duration is 4 to 12 weeks. Price is set after scoping. The engagement ends on delivery. Implementation labour and ongoing operations are not included; those route to the F4 implementation lane or to the F3 retainer.
When a marketing operation is in active crisis: a launch failed in public, a channel collapsed, an agency relationship broke mid-campaign, a category event has destabilised the plan. The engagement is 2 to 4 weeks of intensive work. Output is a written containment plan within 7 days and a written recovery plan within the engagement window. The $10,000 floor reflects the turnaround speed and the displacement of other work. Larger scopes are priced on the fit call.
The $999 Conversion Second Opinion is a written deliverable on a defined scope: a paid advertising account audit produced from data the operator provides. The $1,250 Strategic Advisory Call is a live working session on any one question the operator brings, with a written summary. The Advisory Call carries the senior practitioner time directly; the Second Opinion is a productized written report. Different products, different mechanics, different prices. The $1,250 floor is the lane floor.
Sometimes, but only when the operator asks. The lane is built to end on delivery. If after a Decision Architecture or a Project Consulting engagement the operator wants ongoing strategic depth, the F3 retainer is the correct product and is scoped separately, with its own engagement letter. There is no auto-enrolment, no follow-on push at delivery, and no implicit retainer offer inside the lane engagement. The two funnels do not mix mid-engagement.
Most calls are scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of payment. The pre-call brief is the gating step: until the operator returns the brief, the working session is not productive. The 90-minute window is fixed once scheduled. Reschedules with 48-hour notice are accommodated; no-shows forfeit the session and the fee.
Pick the engagement
One question, this week, $1,250. One major decision, this fortnight, $2,500. One scoped project, four to twelve weeks, $5,000 to $25,000. One marketing crisis, two to four weeks intensive, $10,000 and up. Each engagement has a defined scope, a written deliverable, and a defined end. Pick the one that matches the question. Book the intake.
Want monthly help instead? The F3 consulting retainer is the right product. Want a paid-account audit? The $999 Conversion Second Opinion is the right product. Both sit outside this lane on purpose.