Protocol: Growth Diagnostic & Advisory 3 Weeks + Ongoing · From $9,000

You don't need more tactics.
You need to know what's broken.

A 3-week diagnostic that maps your entire growth engine — from first impression to closed revenue — and identifies the single highest-leverage fix. Plus ongoing advisory to keep it running. Built for B2B SaaS teams at Series A/B who are drowning in dashboards but starving for clarity.

The evidence

95% of B2B buyers aren't in-market at any given time. If your growth engine isn't tuned for the long game, you're paying full price for a fraction of the result.”

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute / LinkedIn B2B Institute
vs
How this differs from the Competitive Proof Sprint

The Proof Sprint ($4,500, 10 days) maps competitor claims vs. reality. This Growth Diagnostic maps your entire growth engine — funnel, brand-demand balance, and constraints — to find where improvement compounds most.

Built for VC-backed B2B SaaS teams at Series A & B · 5 active advisory clients max · 100% confidential
No. 01 / The problem B2B SaaS growth diagnostic: full-funnel audit and revenue advisory.

When everyone's optimizing tactics, the real problem is the system.

72%

of marketing budgets now go to lead generation — up from 47% in 2007. Brand investment is collapsing, and with it, long-term pipeline efficiency.

LinkedIn / IPA, 2021
6x

Brand and acquisition campaigns running together are 6x more effective than acquisition campaigns running alone. Most Series A/B companies run acquisition only.

LinkedIn B2B Institute
86%

of B2B purchases stall during the buying process. The bottleneck is rarely the product — it's internal alignment, unclear positioning, or a leaking funnel nobody diagnosed.

Forrester, 2024

The average Series A/B SaaS company spends $15K–$30K/month on marketing. If even 20% is directed at the wrong lever, that's $3K–$6K/month in wasted spend — compounding every quarter you don't correct it.

SaaS Capital, 2025
Optimizing the wrong lever

Spend is increasing but efficiency is declining. You're testing new tactics every quarter without diagnosing whether the problem is the tactic or the system it lives inside.

Drowning in dashboards

You have metrics for everything and clarity about nothing. Every team member thinks something different is broken. No single source of truth.

Brand-demand imbalance

72% of budget goes to lead gen. CAC is rising. Organic pipeline is shrinking. The compounding cost of under-investing in brand is invisible until it isn't.

Rubikn Analysis · LinkedIn / IPA / Ehrenberg-Bass

The brand-demand imbalance test.

We analyzed spend allocation across Series A/B SaaS companies.

72%
lead gen

of marketing budget now goes to lead generation. Up from 47% in 2007. Brand investment is collapsing.

IPA research shows the optimal B2B brand-to-demand split is 60/40. Most companies are running 28/72. That imbalance compounds — rising CAC, shrinking organic pipeline, declining win rates — every quarter you don't correct it.

LinkedIn / IPA / Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Is your brand-demand ratio costing you pipeline? →
No. 02 / Why most audits fail

Three reasons most growth work doesn't stick.

Failure 01

They check metrics, not mechanisms.

Most audits compare your CTR against benchmarks. That's like checking tire pressure when the engine is misfiring. The Growth Diagnostic models the entire system — velocity, conversion, and cost at every stage — to find where improvement compounds most.

Failure 02

They misidentify the constraint.

Every business is limited by either a supply constraint or a demand constraint. The strategic response to each is completely different. If you're over-investing in demand gen when the bottleneck is delivery quality, more marketing only makes things worse.

Failure 03

They're a snapshot with no continuity.

A diagnostic is a moment in time. Markets move. Competitors shift. What was the #1 bottleneck in Q1 may not be the bottleneck in Q3. Without a strategic thread across quarters, every new priority feels like starting over.

No. 03 / The methodology

The Full-Funnel Diagnostic Framework.

Most companies have dashboards for everything and clarity about nothing. The Diagnostic connects the dots across the entire growth system — from first brand impression to closed revenue — and identifies the single highest-leverage point for improvement.

Rubikn Proprietary Framework
[01] First Lens

Full-Funnel Growth Audit.

Stage-by-stage analysis of your entire growth engine. At every stage, we measure velocity (how fast), conversion (what percentage advance), and cost (what it takes to move one prospect forward).

[02] Second Lens

Constraint-Based Diagnosis.

Are you supply-constrained or demand-constrained? The answer determines whether you need more marketing or better operations. Most companies misidentify this because they look at symptoms instead of structure.

[03] Third Lens

Brand-Demand Balance.

IPA research shows optimal B2B growth requires a 60/40 brand-to-demand split. Most Series A/B companies are radically over-indexed on demand gen — rising CAC, shrinking organic pipeline, declining win rates.

Full-funnel audit Constraint diagnosis Brand-demand assessment Competitive context snapshot Growth scorecard 90-day prioritized roadmap Evidence-based prioritization workshop
No. 04 / The diagnostic stack

The diagnostic stack.

7 deliverables in 3 weeks. Each one answers a specific question your team is stuck on. You get all of them — no add-ons, no phases.

01
Full-Funnel Growth Audit
so you see every stage from impression to revenue
$3,000
02
Constraint-Based Diagnosis
so you know if it's a supply or demand problem
$2,000
03
Brand-Demand Balance Assessment
so you stop over-investing in the wrong side
$1,500
04
Competitive Context Snapshot
so recommendations account for what competitors are doing
$1,500
05
Growth Scorecard
so you have one page that tells the whole story
$1,500
06
90-Day Prioritized Roadmap
so you know what to fix first, second, and third
$2,000
07
Evidence-Based Prioritization Workshop (60-min)
so your team agrees on the plan, not opinions
$1,500
Total deliverable value $13,000+
Your investment
$9,000
100% at kickoff · 3-week sprint
No. 05 / The advisory stack

The advisory retainer.

A diagnostic is a snapshot. The Advisory Retainer is the strategic thread that connects competitive intelligence, positioning, ICP, and growth performance into a coherent system — one advisor who holds the full context across quarters.

01
Monthly Strategy Session (90-min)
not a status meeting — a structured deep-dive into the most important strategic question that month
$3,000
02
Monthly Growth Scorecard Update
so you're always tracking the metrics that actually matter
$1,000
03
Quarterly Competitive Refresh
so you never fall behind the market
$3,000/qtr
04
Async Strategic Access (Slack/email, 24hr response)
so decisions don't wait for the next meeting
$1,500
05
Quarterly Board Brief
so your investors see a clear growth narrative, not marketing jargon
$2,000/qtr
Advisory Retainer
$6,000/mo

3-month minimum, then month-to-month. No long-term lock-in.

This is not a fractional CMO

A fractional CMO manages your team and runs campaigns ($10K–$15K/month). This is the strategic thinking layer — the part where we figure out what to focus on, not how to execute it. $6K/month. Month-to-month after 3 months.

A fractional CMO rows your boat. Rubikn tells you which direction to point it.

Fractional CMO median cost: $5,000–$15,000/month — Go Fractional / O-CMO, 2025
No. 06 / See inside

What the deliverables look like.

Not a 50-slide deck. These are the actual documents your leadership team reviews on Monday morning.

Request a full sample
01

Growth Scorecard

Single-page health check across 8 growth dimensions. One page that tells the whole story to your team and your board.

8-Dimension Scorecard
02

Constraint Diagnosis

Supply vs. demand bottleneck identification with evidence. Tells you whether to invest in marketing or operations.

Constraint Analysis
03

90-Day Prioritized Roadmap

Ranked actions by expected impact and implementation effort. Not what's “worst” — what moves the needle most.

Prioritized Actions
04

CEO Growth Brief

1-page translation of the Scorecard into business language. What's working, what's not, what to do next.

Executive Summary
No. 07 / Timeline

The 3-week diagnostic.

W1

Kickoff + Constraint Diagnosis

60-min kickoff call. Analytics and CRM access granted. Constraint-Based Diagnosis (supply vs. demand). Brand-Demand Balance Assessment begins. Competitive Context scan.

W2

Full-Funnel Audit

Stage-by-stage analysis: velocity, conversion, and cost at every funnel stage. Growth Scorecard draft. Competitive benchmarking. Impact vs. effort scoring for all identified bottlenecks.

W3

Scorecard + Roadmap Delivery

Growth Scorecard finalized (single-page, 8 dimensions). 90-Day Prioritized Roadmap delivered. Evidence-Based Prioritization Workshop (60-min). CEO Growth Brief.

ADV

Advisory Retainer (ongoing)

Monthly 90-min strategy sessions. Growth Scorecard updates. Quarterly competitive refreshes. Async strategic access. Quarterly board briefs. Month-to-month after 3 months.

No. 08 / The guarantee
The Bottleneck Guarantee

3 quantified bottlenecks — or we expand the scope.

If the Growth Diagnostic does not identify at least 3 specific, quantified growth bottlenecks with clear recommended actions and expected impact ranges — Rubikn will expand the diagnostic scope at no additional cost until it does.

Condition: Provide access to analytics, CRM, and ad platform data within 5 business days of kickoff.

Advisory: The Quit-Anytime Clause

After the initial 3-month commitment, the retainer is month-to-month. No long-term lock-in. If the value isn't obvious, you should leave. We earn the renewal every month.

5 active advisory clients maximum — this requires deep context per client. When 5 slots are full, the waitlist opens.
No. 09 / Bonuses

Included with every engagement.

Value: $2,000

CEO Growth Brief

A 1-page document translating the Growth Scorecard into business language, not marketing jargon. What's working, what's not, what to do next. Designed for your CEO or founder.

Included for all Diagnostic clients
Value: $1,500

Diagnostic-to-Advisory Bridge Session

If you move from Diagnostic to Advisory within 30 days: a bonus 60-minute strategy session focused on building the execution plan for the Roadmap's top 3 priorities.

Convert within 30 days
Value: $3,000

Annual Strategy Off-site Prep Pack

At the 6-month mark: a comprehensive strategy document for your annual planning off-site — competitive landscape update, growth trajectory analysis, and recommended strategic bets for the next 12 months.

6-month+ advisory clients
No. 10 / Who it's for

Built for teams that need to know what's broken.

For companies drowning in data and starving for clarity — where the problem isn't effort, it's direction.

CROs & VPs of Marketing

Pipeline isn't converting despite active execution. Spend is increasing but efficiency is declining. The problem isn't capacity — it's strategy.

Founders & CEOs

The board wants a growth plan. Different team members think different things are broken. You need a single, evidence-based diagnosis.

Heads of Growth

Tactic cycling every quarter — new channel, new campaign, new angle — without ever diagnosing whether the problem is the tactic or the system the tactic lives inside.

Revenue Leaders

Marketing and sales pointing fingers. Need an objective, evidence-based view of where the funnel is actually breaking down and why.

This is not for you if…

×

You need hands, not direction. If the problem is execution capacity, hire an agency.

×

You want a dashboard review. This is a systems-level diagnosis, not a metrics check.

×

You can't grant analytics and CRM access within 5 days. The Diagnostic requires real data.

×

You're pre-revenue. The Diagnostic models an existing growth engine — there has to be one to diagnose.

No. 11 / Common objections

Before you ask.

“We already have dashboards and reports — we don't need another audit.”
Your dashboards show you what happened. The Diagnostic tells you why it happened and what to do about it. If your dashboards already told you where the bottleneck is, you'd have fixed it already.
“$9K for a diagnostic seems high when we already have the data.”
You're spending $15K–$30K/month on marketing. If even 20% is directed at the wrong lever, that's $3K–$6K/month wasted. The Diagnostic takes 3 weeks and costs $9K. If it redirects even one month of misallocated spend, it's paid for itself.
“We need execution help, not strategy.”
If execution is your bottleneck, hire an agency. If you're executing but pipeline isn't improving, that's a strategy problem, not a capacity problem. The Diagnostic tells you which one it is — in 3 weeks.
“$6K/month for advisory feels like a lot for monthly calls.”
A fractional CMO costs $10K–$15K/month and manages your team. This is $6K/month for the strategic thinking layer. And after 3 months, it's month-to-month. If the value isn't obvious, you should leave.
Next step

Find out if your growth engine is leaking pipeline.

You'll speak directly with the strategist who leads your Diagnostic. No sales team. 15 minutes to know whether the problem is strategy or execution — and whether this Diagnostic finds it.

3wk
Diagnostic Duration
2 calls
Total Client Lift
$9K
Diagnostic Investment
100%
Confidential