NovusMarc
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Engagements

How I work, and what it actually takes.

Start with the decision the business needs to make. I tell you whether the U.S. is worth it, fix the model, help build the commercial operation around your product, and put the right people in the seats. Nothing here is bought as a box.

Talk to AJScope and fee are agreed in writing before anything starts.

Not sure we are the right firm for what you need? Take the three-minute Fit Check →

What you are engaging

Both sides of the same house.

Most outside leaders have carried a number or owned the org chart, rarely both. Our Managing Director has done both in this industry: led the commercial side with direct P&L responsibility, and led HR for a regional business. For your U.S. move, that means we read the plan and the people together at every checkpoint.

The commercial side

AJ Marcoz has owned the number, the coverage and the operation behind it, across U.S. retail, commercial and distribution businesses.

The people side

AJ Marcoz has led HR for a U.S. regional business: org design, the leadership bench, workforce decisions.

In practice that means the whole commercial operation, across every function:

Field and inside sales organizationsSales operations, forecasting and expeditingMarketing and merchandisingIT and commercial systemsSupplier agreements and vendor termsLogistics, distribution and deliveryPricing and program economicsOrganization design and leadership hiring
How I work

What winning the U.S. actually takes.

None of this is bought as a box. We start with a 30-minute call with AJ, and scope from there. What follows is the range of the work in six groups, in plain terms: what it is, what I deliver, and what changes for you. Most brands need some of it, not all of it, and the order matters more than the list.

Advise

One to one with AJ, for brands, retailers and U.S. distributors.

Decide if the U.S. is worth it

Go, wait or no, in dollars

I read your product, your price and your category against what a U.S. buyer actually pays, and give you a straight go, wait or no. You stop guessing and you know the number before you commit capital.

Buyability

Spec files, price files, lead times, order path

We put in place what a U.S. buyer needs before saying yes: the spec file an architect can pull, a price a dealer can see, a lead time you can hold and an order path that works. Nobody has to call you to find out how to buy.

Product, pricing and margin by channel

What holds after freight and terms

I build the price and margin by channel, after freight, duty, terms and dealer economics. The number still works at the bottom, not just at the top.

Full cost delivered in the U.S.

Tariff, freight and where to sit

I work the full cost delivered in the U.S., the tariff exposure and whether you need stock on the ground and where. You price from the real number and you know what a warehouse would buy you.

Build

The commercial operation around your product, with our bench of specialists.

Target accounts, and how they really buy

Who buys, and through what door

I name the accounts worth your time and the route into each one, retail, commercial, distribution or the design trade. You stop selling to whoever answers and start selling to whoever decides.

Channel strategy without cannibalizing

Dealers, marketplaces, direct, by brand

I set which channel carries which brand and which product, and where the lines sit. Your dealers stop competing with your own website, and you stop paying twice for the same sale.

The design trade and the shows

A&D, High Point, AmericasMart, HD Expo, BDNY

We build the A&D program and the show plan that puts you in front of the people who write the spec. You arrive with a reason to be there instead of a stand and a hope.

Showroom and stand

How the product is shown

We plan how the product is presented where buyers see it. The product stops being one of forty and starts being the one they remember.

Digital demand

A site that sells, photography, search, email by channel

We put in place the website, photography, search and content, and the email that runs by channel. A buyer at nine at night finds you, and finds enough to act.

Repeat business and partner programs

The second order, not the first

We design the programs that make a first order a standing one. The business stops restarting every quarter.

The systems that run it

Website, configurator, ERP, CRM, dashboards

We bring in the partners who build the systems the operation runs on, under your own agreement with them, and I stay in the room while it is put in place. The operation runs on something other than a spreadsheet and one person.

Board and executive advisory

An operator's view at your leadership table, for brands, manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

  • Standing sessions with your board or executive team on U.S. commercial decisions, DIY and Pro
  • A second opinion on the commercial plan, the channel and the people before you commit

People

Through Loom Haven Advisors, a NovusMarc company, under a separate agreement.

The right people in the seats

The hire, and the seat before it

I define the seat before anyone fills it: what it owns, what headquarters supplies, what decisions belong in the United States.

Loom Havenruns the search itself, under its own agreement.

Host and introduce

On the ground in the U.S., and the people worth knowing.

  • In-market visits: store walks, trade shows and the meetings worth the trip, across U.S. retail and distribution, with AJ as your host
  • Benchmarking trips for leadership teams coming to the U.S.
  • Introductions to people we trust: marketing and social media, HR services, sales agents, IT and systems, trade show hosts, warehousing and logistics

Speak, train and associations

For your team, your association or your event, in person or online.

  • Keynotes and panels at trade shows, associations and leadership meetings
  • In-person workshops and webinars on how U.S. DIY and Pro buyers weigh a new product, from general market practice
  • Association programs: member education, U.S. market briefings and events

Bespoke, not a package.

Combine any of these. On the call we agree the mix, the order and one fixed fee, quoted before you commit.

Not done and not introduced: legal, tax, company setup and financing.

I do not run your U.S. business. I make sure the plan and the people that do are the ones that win.

The client buys the outcome and senior operating capability.

Under which conditions

The question is not the title. It is whether it has been done when it was hard.

Integrations and acquisitions

Acquired teams brought onto one commercial model, with customers kept close.

Rollouts and build-outs

New programs, branches and coverage, with the hiring order each one needs.

Budget pressure and downturns

Revenue and customers protected while cost comes out.

Business continuity through disruption

A full sales and corporate team moved remote, without stopping the selling day.

Competitive share battles

Share held and won where the customer had a real choice.

Supplier programs at scale

Supplier onboarding, national conventions and VIP hospitality programs.

Where the work applies

Sectors and subject matter.

Building materials, home products, kitchen and bath, furniture, lighting, tile and stone, décor and textiles. Sold through retail, contractors and builders, distributors and dealers, the design trade, hospitality and online.

A small share of the U.S. market is still real money. We recommend a move only when the numbers work.

You are engaging a firm

The plan, the people to run it, and the systems to support it.

An advisory engagement that ends in a slide deck is a cost. When the plan identifies a leadership or sales hire, Loom Haven Advisors can run that search under a separate agreement. When specialist implementation is required, we introduce partners who contract directly with you.

The operator and the bench

AJ Marcoz, Managing Director, advises on every engagement personally. When the work calls for something we do not do, we introduce you directly to partner firms we trust.

The people to run it

When the plan identifies a leadership or sales hire, Loom Haven Advisors, a NovusMarc company, can run that search under a separate agreement.

Partners

For work we do not do ourselves, like social media and marketing, HR services, sales agents, IT and systems, trade show hosts or warehouse leases, we introduce people we trust, and you work with them directly. Legal, tax and company setup are outside our scope.

How it works

Clear scope. Known economics. Senior attention.

Qualification is based on the significance of the problem, not an arbitrary revenue threshold.

Discuss the commercial challenge

A free 30-minute call about the business, what is happening and whether NovusMarc is the right firm to help. No free consulting deliverable is promised.

Agree the engagement

A one-page scope: what gets done, over what period, what it costs, and what you have at the end. The fee is agreed in writing before any work begins, and it does not move unless you change the scope.

Know the economics in advance

Every engagement has a fixed fee, agreed before we begin, so you know the cost from day one.

Contracting stays simple

Engagements run on a straightforward services agreement. Your paper or ours, direct with the firm. Certificates of insurance and standard vendor onboarding are handled as part of setup, without a marketplace in the middle.

Start small if you prefer

A 30-minute call with me is the usual place to start. Then you start small: one region, one channel and a named list of target customers, with me alongside your team. When first orders and reorders come in and the margin holds, we add a channel, a market or a hire. You decide at each checkpoint.

Common questions

What buyers ask first.

Can I engage NovusMarc directly rather than through a consulting marketplace or staffing firm?

Yes. Engagements are contracted directly with the firm on a standard services agreement. Working direct means the person you evaluated is the person doing the work, and there is no intermediary margin between the scope you agreed and the work you receive.

Do you take short-term or single-question assignments?

Yes. One question, scoped to the time it needs, from a short session to a full day, agreed before we start.

Which industries do you work in?

European brands of building materials, home products, kitchen and bath, furniture, lighting, tile and stone, décor and textiles.

How quickly can an engagement start?

Work can usually start within a week of our first call. On that call, I give you a clear answer on timing.

How are fees structured, and what will this cost?

Every engagement is scoped and priced in writing before it starts. Ongoing work is a monthly fee. We do not bill by the hour.

Do you bill hourly?

No. Fixed fees only, so you always know the number in advance.

What size of engagement is this built for?

Organizations ready to commit to a defined scope or an ongoing monthly relationship, where the decision in question is worth senior operator attention: a channel strategy, a commercial reorganization, a market entry, a diligence decision, or a leadership gap in a revenue-critical seat. For a single tactical question, a short consultation is the right entry point and is usually the better use of the first conversation.

We are an international brand entering the U.S. market. Is that a fit?

Yes, and it is a recurring engagement type. The work covers route to market, channel selection between retail, commercial and distribution, the commercial hiring sequence, pricing and program economics, and the operational readiness large U.S. customers expect before they will list a new vendor. It is usually a defined project first, moving to an ongoing monthly relationship through launch.

Is this one person, or a firm?

Both. AJ Marcoz advises on every engagement personally. Loom Haven Advisors, a NovusMarc company, handles the hiring, and partner firms we trust handle the work we do not do.

Can you also hire permanent people for us?

Yes, through Loom Haven Advisors, a NovusMarc company. Advisory work frequently surfaces a permanent seat that needs filling, and that search is run under a separate agreement.

For partners and associations

The few where your members and our work genuinely overlap.

Some of our best conversations are with trade bodies and buying groups whose members already ask the questions we answer. For European brands, we give your members a clear, honest view of how the U.S. buys and sells products like theirs. For U.S. dealers, we help protect what consolidators cannot copy: your people and your relationships. We can also speak at member events on how U.S. buyers choose suppliers.

We never ask for your membership list, and we work for one side of any deal, never both. We choose our partnerships with care. If that fits your association, let us talk.

Bring your U.S. numbers to the first call.

A free 30-minute call about the business and whether NovusMarc is the right firm to help. If there is a fit, we will determine the appropriate engagement.