How to Move a Boutique Executive Search Firm From Contingent to Retained.
A short briefing from Andy Whitehead. Watch it through. Then join the June waitlist below.
May's cohort is full. June is the next intake.
Get The Cohort Details.
You've seen what changes inside The Retained Architect™. The June cohort is filling. Waitlist members are reviewed first and contacted before seats are released publicly. Add your details below to lock in priority access.
The problem is not effort. It is structure.
What contingency costs you
No upfront fees. No client commitment. Competing on speed against three other firms running the same mandate.
A race to the bottom on fees. High effort. Low reward. Zero mandate control. The model rewards activity, not authority.
What The Retained Architect™ changes
Fee certainty before the work starts. Mandate control across the entire process. Authority positioning that filters who you talk to.
Fewer clients, done properly. Higher fees on smaller portfolios. A firm that runs on your terms.
Four phases. One outcome.
The end-to-end commercial infrastructure for moving from contingency to retained. Built specifically for recruitment firm owners pitching retained search to clients.
Money First
Cash in the bank before anything else. Pick the client. Run the call. Pitch the offer. Defuse every objection. Lock the deposit.
Control Second
Stop chasing. Build the systems that bring retained clients back. Strategic accounts. Engagement plans. Onboarding. Mandate reviews. Case studies.
Authority Third
Become the firm clients seek out. Position as the market voice. Specialist profile. Direct outreach. Boardroom access. Revenue forecasting.
Delivery
Execute retained search like the firms that win every time. Sourcing. Qualifying. Presenting. Driving the offer. Turning every placement into the next mandate.
One-to-one access with Andy throughout. Live deal review on your real mandates. Every phase ships with studio-quality video, workbooks, slide decks, scripts and debriefs. No theory.
Before you sign up.
What happens after I join the waitlist?
Andy reads every signup personally. When the June cohort opens, waitlist members are contacted first and invited to a direct conversation about fit. There is no funnel, no nurture sequence, no automated emails.
Who is this for?
Boutique executive search founders between 100k and 3m in revenue who want to move from contingency to retained. You make the decisions. You want fewer better mandates, not more volume.
Why a waitlist instead of just signing up?
Each cohort is intentionally limited to 8 founders. This is what makes direct access to Andy possible. The waitlist is how we maintain that discipline.
Is this another coaching programme?
No. There are no cold call scripts, CV tips, or generic playbooks. This is firm-level positioning and pricing work. The model gets fixed at the structural level.