How we work

From business problem to operational solution.

Ledbetter runs a defined, repeatable methodology. Every engagement moves through the same six stages, each with its own activities and its own deliverables — so a client knows what is being produced, and when, before the work begins.

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The Ledbetter Method

Six stages. Defined activities. Defined deliverables.

Hover or tap a stage for what it examines, what happens in it, and what comes out of it. Every stage is also written out in full below.

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01
Discover
Understand how the business and its customers actually work.
What we examine
- Business model and revenue model
- Customer lifecycle as it runs today
- Existing technology environment
- Operational processes, including the workarounds
- Current data environment and where it lives
- Baseline KPIs and who owns them
- Stakeholders across operations, sales, service and finance
Deliverables may include
- Discovery findings
- Current-state process map
- Technology inventory
- Customer lifecycle assessment
- Baseline KPI framework
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02
Identify
Name the gaps, the leakage and the opportunities — in priority order.
What we examine
- Customer retention gaps
- Revenue leakage
- Customer disengagement points
- Disconnected customer data
- Unnecessary manual processes
- Technology gaps
- Automation and revenue opportunities
Deliverables may include
- Retention opportunity map
- Technology gap assessment
- Revenue opportunity analysis
- Automation opportunity assessment
- Prioritized initiatives and business requirements
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03
Design
Translate the opportunity into a technology and operating architecture.
What we examine
- What the solution must do, in business terms
- How the customer experiences it
- Which systems hold which data
- What has to integrate with what
- How success will be measured
Deliverables may include
- Solution blueprint and architecture
- Functional and technical requirements
- Customer journey architecture
- Workflow designs
- Integration and data-flow architecture
- KPI framework
- Implementation roadmap
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04
Build
Develop and configure the technology.
What we examine
- What is built, what is configured and what is integrated
- How the work is tested before anyone depends on it
- How it will be supported once it is live
Deliverables may include
- Working platform
- Configured systems
- Connected integrations and APIs
- Automated workflows
- Operational dashboards
- Test environment
- Technical documentation
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05
Implement
Put the technology into the actual operating environment.
What we examine
- How the work transfers into live operations
- Who uses it, and what they need to know
- What happens on the day of cutover
Deliverables may include
- Production deployment
- Testing documentation
- User training
- Operating procedures
- Implementation documentation
- Go-live plan and launch support
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06
Optimize
Measure what it did, then improve it.
What we examine
- Whether the metrics established in Design actually moved
- Where the workflow meets friction in real use
- What the next increment of value is
Deliverables may include
- Performance dashboard
- Retention and revenue analysis
- Optimization recommendations
- Enhancement roadmap
- Operational reporting
- Continuous-improvement backlog

Stage by stage

What happens inside each stage.

Stage 01

Discover

Understand how the business and its customers actually work.

What we examine

Business model and revenue model
Customer lifecycle as it runs today
Existing technology environment
Operational processes, including the workarounds
Current data environment and where it lives
Baseline KPIs and who owns them
Stakeholders across operations, sales, service and finance

Activities

Customer lifecycle discovery
Stakeholder interviews
Technology inventory
Data-flow review
Process mapping
Existing-system review
Baseline KPI identification

Deliverables may include

Discovery findings
Current-state process map
Technology inventory
Customer lifecycle assessment
Baseline KPI framework

Stage 02

Identify

Name the gaps, the leakage and the opportunities — in priority order.

What we examine

Customer retention gaps
Revenue leakage
Customer disengagement points
Disconnected customer data
Unnecessary manual processes
Technology gaps
Automation and revenue opportunities

Activities

Retention gap analysis
Customer journey analysis
Revenue opportunity mapping
Technology gap analysis
Workflow assessment
Automation opportunity identification

Deliverables may include

Retention opportunity map
Technology gap assessment
Revenue opportunity analysis
Automation opportunity assessment
Prioritized initiatives and business requirements

Stage 03

Design

Translate the opportunity into a technology and operating architecture.

What we examine

What the solution must do, in business terms
How the customer experiences it
Which systems hold which data
What has to integrate with what
How success will be measured

Activities

Solution architecture
Customer journey design
Workflow design
Platform requirements
Integration architecture
Data architecture
KPI framework
Implementation planning

Deliverables may include

Solution blueprint and architecture
Functional and technical requirements
Customer journey architecture
Workflow designs
Integration and data-flow architecture
KPI framework
Implementation roadmap

Stage 04

Build

Develop and configure the technology.

What we examine

What is built, what is configured and what is integrated
How the work is tested before anyone depends on it
How it will be supported once it is live

Activities

Platform and application development
CRM configuration
Customer portal development
Systems integration and API implementation
Workflow automation
Dashboard development
AI-enabled functionality
Data integration

Deliverables may include

Working platform
Configured systems
Connected integrations and APIs
Automated workflows
Operational dashboards
Test environment
Technical documentation

Stage 05

Implement

Put the technology into the actual operating environment.

What we examine

How the work transfers into live operations
Who uses it, and what they need to know
What happens on the day of cutover

Activities

System deployment
Data migration
Integration testing
User acceptance testing
Workflow validation
User training
Cutover planning and launch support

Deliverables may include

Production deployment
Testing documentation
User training
Operating procedures
Implementation documentation
Go-live plan and launch support

Stage 06

Optimize

Measure what it did, then improve it.

What we examine

Whether the metrics established in Design actually moved
Where the workflow meets friction in real use
What the next increment of value is

Activities

Retention monitoring
Engagement analysis
Revenue-performance analysis
Workflow optimization
Automation refinement
Platform enhancement
Technology utilization review

Deliverables may include

Performance dashboard
Retention and revenue analysis
Optimization recommendations
Enhancement roadmap
Operational reporting
Continuous-improvement backlog

Engagement structure

How an engagement is structured commercially.

Work can begin at any phase and stop at any phase. Most clients begin with an assessment, because the symptom and the cause are rarely in the same place. Each phase has its own scope, deliverables and fee, agreed in writing before it starts.

Assessment

A defined-scope engagement to understand the customer lifecycle, the technology environment and the opportunity. Produces findings, a gap analysis and a prioritized roadmap.

Strategy

Business requirements, solution architecture, customer journey design, integration design and the implementation plan the build will follow.

Development

Platform and application development, CRM configuration, integrations, automations, dashboards and AI-enabled functionality — built and tested.

Implementation

Deployment into live operations: data migration, testing, workflow validation, user acceptance, training, documentation and launch support.

Optimization

Ongoing measurement and improvement against the KPI framework established in Design — reporting, refinement and an enhancement roadmap.

A client may engage Ledbetter for a single phase — an assessment or a defined build — or for the full sequence through implementation and ongoing optimization.

Measurement

Metrics an engagement can be designed around.

Baselines are established during Discover, targets are agreed during Design, instrumentation is built during Build, and reporting continues through Optimize. These are metrics to be established and monitored with each client — not claims about results Ledbetter has produced elsewhere.

Customer Retention Rate

What share of customers remain across a defined period, measured consistently rather than estimated.

Customer Churn

Where, when and at which lifecycle stage customers leave — and which of those departures were preventable.

Repeat Purchase Rate

How often an existing customer transacts again, by segment and by cohort.

Customer Lifetime Value

A working definition the business can actually calculate, maintain and act on.

Revenue Per Customer

What each relationship produces, and how that changes as engagement changes.

Customer Engagement

Whether the relationship is active between transactions, expressed in measurable interactions.

Customer Reactivation

How many lapsed customers return, and which triggers brought them back.

Conversion

Movement through the stages that matter, from opportunity to close to renewal.

Employee Productivity

Output relative to the time the work consumes, before and after automation.

Process Completion Time

How long a defined process takes end to end once the manual steps are removed.

Manual Work Reduction

Hours of repetitive work removed from the operation and where they were reallocated.

Technology Adoption

Whether the delivered system is genuinely used — the precondition for every other metric.

What a client should expect.

Written scope

Scope, deliverables, timeline and fees are defined in a written agreement before work begins.

Named deliverables

Each stage produces specific, reviewable work product — not a status update.

Your systems, your data

The technology is built into the client's operating environment and owned by the client.

Documentation

Technical documentation, operating procedures and training accompany every implementation.

Every engagement begins with understanding the business.

An assessment establishes the customer lifecycle, the technology environment and the opportunity — before anyone proposes building anything.

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