Anemone Consulting

"Sales-first, not PowerPoint-first." This highlights your core philosophy of focusing on actual leads, conversations, and relationships rather than leaving the client with just theoretical PDF reports.
"Real export growth. Not just strategy—delivering results." This is the English equivalent of your main brand positioning statement, emphasizing operational execution and tangible outcomes.
"We don’t just talk, we do sales." A strong, action-oriented motto that reflects your Level 3 service (Outsourced Sales), showing that you act as a local sales team helping to close deals and generate pipeline.
"Outsourced export & partner development for CEE." A clear, professional, and direct description of your specific niche and operational model.
"Translating export potential into concrete partnerships and sales." This focuses on the ultimate value you provide to your ideal clients, such as medium-sized producers and B2B/FMCG companies.

The idea for Anemone Consulting was born from a unique blend of personal background and professional observation. As a Polish-Hungarian couple, the founders used to work directly for Polish companies that wanted to expand into the Hungarian and Balkan markets.

During this time, they collected years of practical experience, deep cultural knowledge, and an extensive network of local contacts. They recognized a recurring problem: Polish companies often struggle in the CEE and Balkan regions because they do not understand the highly relational local business culture, lack reliable local contacts, and do not have the time for active outbound sales. In these markets, trust and face-to-face relationships mean much more than traditional data and spreadsheets.

To solve this problem, they decided to establish a company that completely changes the traditional consulting model. Instead of just delivering theoretical strategies and PowerPoint presentations, they created an "outsourced export and partner development" service. The core of this idea was to provide a service that powerfully combines modern Artificial Intelligence with vital human connections.

In this model, AI is leveraged to handle the heavy lifting: summarizing market data, scoring leads, and generating hundreds of personalized outreach messages. However, the founders knew that AI cannot replace the human element required for building trust and conducting strategic negotiations on the Balkans. Therefore, the human connections - built on their years of collected experience and local presence - remain the driving force behind closing real B2B deals.

By combining AI-driven efficiency with human-led relationship building, they created a company rooted in a true "sales-first" philosophy, delivering concrete partnerships and actual revenue rather than just advisory reports.

The core problem we are solving is that while the Hungarian and Balkan markets are strategically close to Poland, they remain exceptionally difficult to penetrate due to language barriers and highly distinct business cultures. The Hungarian market is relatively small on its own, and the Balkan market is vastly fragmented - for instance, the business environment in Serbia is completely different from that in Croatia or Romania. Furthermore, these are deeply relational markets where local presence and personal trust are far more important to business partners than traditional data or spreadsheets (trust > Excel).

Because of this fragmentation and cultural complexity, it is economically unviable for medium-sized companies to build a complex, dedicated export structure or open a local office right at the beginning of their expansion. Companies want to scale, but they often lack the time for active outbound sales, do not have local contacts, and fear the risks associated with finding reliable partners in an unfamiliar region.

Our service specifically targets this gap by focusing on the hardest, most labor-intensive parts of the expansion process: identifying the right partners, conducting personalized outreach, and taking the critical first steps to negotiate and close B2B deals. Rather than leaving clients with theoretical strategies, we act directly as an outsourced export and partner development team. By combining AI-driven research efficiency with vital human relationships and cultural competencies, we handle the entire pipeline building process, effectively serving as your dedicated local sales representative without the massive overhead costs of building a local branch.

Our solution is an "Outsourced export and partner development" model tailored specifically for the CEE region, focusing on Hungary and the Balkans. Instead of operating as a traditional consulting agency that leaves you with theoretical, 40-page PDF reports, we act as a direct extension of your own sales department. Our core philosophy is "Sales-first, not PowerPoint-first", which means we prioritize generating concrete leads, building relationships, and driving real revenue over creating presentations.

The process works through a highly operational, four-stage framework designed to protect your budget and deliver tangible results:

1. Market Validation (2-3 weeks): Before making heavy investments, we rapidly assess the market and competition, identify viable sales channels, and create a shortlist of 10-30 potential partners. This phase ends with a clear "GO / NO GO" decision to ensure the market actually wants your product without any guesswork.
2. Partner Search & Matchmaking (4-8 weeks): This is where we build a tangible sales pipeline. We actively identify the right distributors, conduct personalized outreach, manage consistent follow-ups, and organize actual B2B meetings with verified, interested partners.
3. Deal Support (3-6 weeks): We help you transition from initial conversations to formal cooperation. We actively support the negotiation process, prepare tailored commercial offers, and help close the first signed contracts to generate initial revenue.
4. Outsourced Sales (Ongoing): For long-term growth, we can continuously act as your local sales team on a retainer basis. We manage local relationships, generate new pipeline, and scale your sales without the overhead of opening your own branch in the region.

The mechanism that powers this solution is the*strategic integration of Artificial Intelligence combined with local human expertise. Because the Balkan markets are heavily relationship-driven and trust is more important than spreadsheets, human experts handle all strategic negotiations and cultural nuances. However, we leverage AI to handle the heavy lifting: rapid market research, lead scoring, tracking follow-ups, and generating hundreds of highly personalized outreach messages. This hybrid approach lowers the overall project cost by 30-60%, speeds up the process, and allows us to scale your market entry efficiently.

Our business model is positioned as an "Outsourced Export & Partner Development" service, operating as a hybrid between traditional consulting and an outsourced sales agency.

Instead of relying solely on billable hours or purely commission-based sales, we make money through a structured, highly scalable mix of fixed project fees, monthly retainers, and success fees.

Here is exactly how our revenue model works:

1. The 4-Stage Pricing Structure
We package our services into four clear, sequential stages. Clients pay for the delivery of specific outcomes, not just "our time":
*Stage 1: Market Validation (The "Lead Magnet"): This serves as a low-risk entry point for clients to test the market. We charge a fixed fee of typically €6,000 – €12,000 (or €5,000 - €15,000) for a 2-3 week sprint. Payment is usually collected 100% upfront.
Stage 2: Partner Search & Matchmaking (The Core Product): This is where the heaviest pipeline building happens. The fixed fee for this stage ranges from €12,000 – €25,000 (or up to €40,000 depending on the scope). Payment is usually structured as 50% upfront and 50% upon completion.
Stage 3: Deal Support: Assisting with negotiations and closing contracts brings in another fixed fee of €8,000 – €20,000.
Stage 4: Ongoing Sales (Premium / Recurring): For long-term growth, we transition to acting as the client's continuous local sales team for a monthly retainer of €2,000 – €8,000 per month, plus a success fee.

2. The Underlying "Hourly Cap" Control
While the client sees a fixed price for "completing a stage," our internal margins are strictly protected by an hourly budget.
Each stage has a maximum hour limit (e.g., Stage 2 includes up to 60-80 hours of our team's work) calculated at a base internal rate of €80–€150/h.
If a client causes scope creep (requesting extra revisions or excessive meetings), we charge an overtime rate of €120–€180/h. This ensures our profitability never drops below a safe threshold.

3. The Success Fee (Performance Upside)
To align our incentives with the client and boost our overall revenue, we always attach a success fee to our work. This can take the form of:
A percentage of the first signed contract (usually 5–10%).
A flat bonus fee for signing a new partner (e.g., €3,000 – €10,000).
* A smaller percentage of the ongoing sales generated over the first 6–12 months (2–5%).

4. Profitability Multiplier: Artificial Intelligence
A massive part of why this business model is highly profitable is our use of AI. By automating the most time-consuming parts of the process (market research, lead enrichment, generating hundreds of personalized outreach emails, and drafting meeting summaries), AI reduces our project delivery costs by 30–60%.

Traditionally, one sales delivery person can handle 2 to 3 projects at a time. With our AI-driven workflow, that same person can comfortably handle 4 to 6 parallel projects without a drop in quality, effectively doubling our capacity and revenue potential without doubling our headcount.

To acquire customers and bring Anemone Consulting to market, the company designed a proactive Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy that leverages active outbound methods, strategic networking, and an established digital presence.

Based on the provided materials, here is how the customer acquisition strategy was structured around your points:

1. Strong Social Network Presence: The strategy defines*LinkedIn outbound as a "must-have" channel for acquiring new clients. The focus is on directly engaging decision-makers, specifically CEOs and Export Managers, and building industry authority by sharing relevant case studies. To further establish expertise and attract leads, the GTM plan also includes hosting targeted educational webinars, such as "How to enter the Hungarian market without burning your budget".
2. Cold Calls and Active Outreach: Active prospecting is the core engine of the company's growth. Anemone operates an "AI-driven export agency" model, utilizing a highly structured daily workflow for outbound sales. The team uses AI to research target companies, score leads, and draft highly personalized messages, while the team executes initial cold calls, targeted email campaigns, and rigorous follow-ups. To kickstart this process, the company built a curated "lead list" of 75 priority Polish companies (primarily in the FMCG, cosmetics, and furniture sectors) along with a ready-to-use cold outreach template offering a quick 20-minute exploratory call about the potential of the Hungarian market.
3. Recommendations & Partnerships: While the provided documents do not explicitly mention leveraging the founders' direct "personal recommendations", the strategy heavily relies on acquiring customers through institutional referrals. A key pillar of the GTM plan is to build partnerships with **PAIH (the Polish Investment and Trade Agency), chambers of commerce, and business clusters.

By combining these three pillars - LinkedIn authority, high-volume AI-supported cold outreach, and institutional networking - the company created a scalable and predictable system to build its own B2B sales pipeline.

4 past customers that you have previously worked with.
3 active customers in the early stages of cooperation (piloting activities).
2 open opportunities with prospects currently in your sales pipeline.

1. AI as the Engine for Unprecedented Scalability
Our core strategic vision relies on the fact that AI transforms a traditional, unscalable consulting boutique into a highly scalable "AI-driven export agency".
The Scalability Metric: Traditionally, one consultant can handle a maximum of 2–3 projects at a time. By integrating AI to automate the heavy lifting - such as market research, lead scoring, and drafting hundreds of personalized outreach messages - we can comfortably manage 4–6 parallel projects per person.
Cost & Growth: This integration lowers your project delivery costs by 30–60%. As outlined in your scaling roadmap, this allows you to grow smoothly from a solo founder to a small team (managing 5–7 projects), and eventually to a full agency model managing 10–15 projects without your overhead costs exploding.
2. Building a Network of Active Local Partners
Our product's true value lies in the local relationships you build, as the Hungarian and Balkan markets operate on the principle that personal trust is more important than spreadsheets ("trust > Excel").
Strategic Expansion: Our geographic roadmap dictates that you will not target all the Balkans at once. You will start by building deep, active partnerships in Hungary (an easy start), Romania (a large market), and Serbia (the gateway to the Balkans). Once a strong network of distributors, importers, and B2B retail buyers is established there, you will expand to Croatia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia.
3. Strategic Co-operations & Referral Network (New Vision)
This point is a new addition to your strategy and is not in the source documents.
The Commission-Based Model: Implementing an "I bring you a client, you give me a commission" model with complementary B2B services (lawyers, headhunters, translators, and accountants) is a fantastic marketing and growth strategy.
Integration with Existing Marketing: Your current Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy already relies heavily on B2B networking, specifically cooperating with institutional partners like PAIH (the Polish Investment and Trade Agency), chambers of commerce, and business clusters. Adding private sector referral partners will supercharge your inbound lead generation. When your clients inevitably need to hire a local manager or register a local entity, you can refer them out for a commission, and vice versa.
4. New Services for Existing Clients
Retaining and growing the lifetime value of a client is central to our vision.
The Current Roadmap: Your existing model already accounts for retaining clients long-term through Stage 4: Outsourced / Ongoing Sales, where you transition to a monthly retainer (plus success fees) to continuously act as their local sales team. Our operational workflow explicitly includes cross-selling and up-selling during this ongoing stage.
Expanding the Product Line (New Vision): As an addition outside your source texts, combining your Stage 4 retainer with your new partner network allows you to offer entirely new products. For example, instead of just offering sales matchmaking, we could package "Full Market Localization" (which includes translation, legal setup, and local recruitment, delivered by your referral partners). This allows you to generate new revenue streams from existing clients without having to deliver those new services yourself.

Agnieszka Racz
Peter Racz

no.

When starting up an export consulting or outsourced sales agency, the core advice revolves around positioning for tangible results, protecting your margins, and scaling intelligently using AI.

1. Focus on Real Sales, Not Just Strategy
Position yourself as an "outsourced export & partner development" agency rather than a traditional consultancy. Your primary value is delivering real B2B deals, distributor meetings, and an active pipeline, rather than just delivering theoretical PDF reports. Your fundamental philosophy should be "Sales-first, not PowerPoint-first".

2. Narrow Your Initial Focus
Do not try to target the entire Balkan region at once. Start geographically small with 1-2 specific markets, such as Hungary (an easy start), Romania (a large market), or Serbia (the gateway to the Balkans). Furthermore, define a strict Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)—target medium-sized companies (10–100 million PLN revenue) in specific niches like FMCG, cosmetics, furniture, or construction, as they usually have the budget but lack local presence.

3. Implement a Hybrid Pricing Model to Protect Margins
Never sell straight "hourly rates," as clients often push back against them. Instead, implement a 4-stage hybrid model:
Sell clear project stages (like Market Validation or Partner Search) for a fixed fee, which makes it easy for the client to understand.
Enforce a hidden hourly cap (e.g., up to 40-60 hours for a specific stage) with defined overtime rates to prevent scope creep and protect your internal margins.
Always include a success fee (such as 5–10% of the first signed contract or a flat bonus of €3k-€10k) to align your incentives with the client's success and boost your revenue.

4. Leverage AI, but Guard the Human Element
Use Artificial Intelligence to do the heavy lifting: rapid market research, lead scoring, and drafting hundreds of highly personalized outreach emails. This can lower your project delivery costs by 30–60% and allow one person to handle 4 to 6 projects instead of just 2 to 3. However, never automate relationship building, final negotiations, or strategic decisions. In the CEE and Balkan markets, personal trust and cultural nuances are far more important than data (trust > Excel), making the human element irreplaceable.

5. Scale Smartly and Know Your Limits
Be realistic about your capacity. As a solo founder, you can only comfortably manage 2 to 3 projects simultaneously; taking on 4 or more will lead to chaos, burnout, and a drop in quality. Because you are the biggest bottleneck, your first step to scale should be hiring a back-office/outreach specialist. Delegating the time-consuming tasks (like CRM updates, data enrichment, and initial cold outreach) allows you to focus purely on high-level strategy, closing deals, and managing relationships.

6. Avoid Common Operational Pitfalls
To ensure daily operational success, avoid the most frequent mistakes made by new agencies:
Don't over-analyze: Keep market analysis to a maximum of 20% of your time; the rest should be dedicated to outreach, follow-ups, and building relations.
Master the follow-up: In the Balkan region, follow-up accounts for 50% of your success.
Enforce strict daily rules: Ensure every lead has a clear owner, every single call ends with a defined "next step," and all responses are logged into the CRM on the exact same day.