ECG internal, do not forward
Ian Astley, ALMAC Consulting Ltd
Working session (Discovery Call 1 in substance), Tuesday 11 August 2026, 9:30 to 10:30 BST
Seller: Dan, covering for Jamie. Source: Jamie's LinkedIn outreach, EMG lane, connected 12 July.
Read this first, three things
- Ian probably does not know Jamie is out. Jamie's 08:54 email this morning carried no message text, only his signature. Open by covering it: "Jamie sends his apologies, he asked me to run this since I lead the build side."
- Second attempt. Jamie missed the 5 August call to a train delay and Ian rescheduled. He is a 33-year Army officer. Be on early, keep every commitment made on the call.
- Proof, verbally. $10M+ new business sold for clients, 3,500+ qualified conversations, 100,000+ decision makers reached. Cumulative, client-reported, from live campaigns. Never a promise of his result.
ICP fit
Opportunistic lanePersona A, Owner
Outside the core ICP: non-US, not medical, almost certainly a solo practice. Jamie-sourced and warm, so it gets the full conversation, fit is Dan's call. Run it as qualification. Realistic outcomes: a narrowed engine-led scope, a network referral, or a clean no. Establish his deal economics before shaping anything.
Company snapshot
- ALMAC Consulting Ltd (almacinspire.co.uk), Companies House 13331048, incorporated April 2021, Corby Glen, Grantham, Lincolnshire.
- Leadership development: one-to-one executive mentoring, workshops, leadership talks, in-house programmes, and "Business on the Battlefield" experiential days at historic battle sites.
- Built entirely on Ian. No other team member named anywhere.
- Client sectors: military, NHS (mentored NHS leaders during COVID), public utilities, housing and property management, charities.
- Growth today: reputation, referrals, his network. Our hypothesis, and he took the call on it. Test it, do not assert it.
About Ian
- 33 years an infantry officer at every rank. Commanded the MOD's largest residential training establishment. Four years chief coach and mentor to the Parachute Brigade and Royal Marine Commandos at highest readiness.
- ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching, APM project management, Advanced Command and Staff Course, a master's on senior operational leader attributes. 15+ years coaching, including the Defence Academy rugby squad.
- LinkedIn headline: "Better leadership for better business. Helping senior…". Has also shown as Associate Consultant at Mabway Limited (defence training services), so associate delivery work may run alongside ALMAC. Confirm gently.
- Expect precise, plain speech and low tolerance for salesmanship. Peer to peer, structured, punctual. Mirror it.
Scan, what is and is not there
- Not a brochure site. Modern, active blog, clear calls to action. Do not pitch a rebuild.
- PR: probably none. No earned coverage surfaced. Business Enquirer angle stays in the back pocket.
- Referral-led, founder-dependent growth: probable, unconfirmed.
- Outbound, automation, CRM: unknown. For a solo coach, likely inbox and memory. Probe.
- Timing trigger: unknown. Ask what makes him look at this now.
Weak points to pitch (not the menu)
- Outbound engine. Pipeline pauses whenever delivery is busy. Feast and famine, the solo-practice shape. Exactly what the deck promised to fix.
- Market and data system. No mapped universe of the employers and people-development buyers who fit him. Segments to test live: NHS and public sector, utilities, housing associations, employers of ex-military talent.
- Messaging. Situation-led outreach in his voice, opening on a leadership problem the buyer recognises.
Conversation starters
"Jamie sends his apologies, he asked me to lead this since I run the build side. He promised you a working session, so let's keep it that: before we test segments, walk me through where your last ten clients actually came from." (Q1, Q6)
"Your client base runs NHS, utilities, housing, charities. If we pointed a mapped outbound motion at one of those, which segment buys leadership development most readily, and who inside signs it off?" (the deck's promised segment test, Q2)
"What does a typical ALMAC engagement look like in value and length, and how many can you deliver in a year?" (Q3, the qualification question)
Landmines
- The namesake trap. Almac Group (NI pharma CDMO) and a London private-equity Ian Peter Astley are different entities. Cite nothing from either.
- No pricing on this call. If asked early: "It depends on what we'd actually build for you, so a number now would just be wrong. We run it as a fixed-fee build with an optional monthly retainer after, scoped to what you need."
- Affordability is unproven. Run STAR honestly, especially Resources, before promising a proposal step.
- Disciplines, never vendor names. No guaranteed numbers, deploy guardrail on any stat.
Close on
The deck's own next step: agree the first named-account segment and book the follow-up live before hanging up. "We take the segment we just picked, build the map, and walk you through it on the next call." Invite sent before goodbye.