Fixing a broken revenue model in one quarter | Crescendo Partners
Crescendo Partners

Case Study · Verification Services

Fixing a broken revenue model in one quarter.

A repriced fee schedule rolled out across a nationwide network. 0/500 customers churned.

Published July 28, 2026

Problem

A verification services business with per-transaction pricing that hadn't moved in years. Volume caps shrank the unit price as usage grew. Legacy contracts required both sides to approve any price change at all.

Method

Workshop plus coaching. Segmented the base: a long tail of small accounts with no revenue concentration, a short list of enterprise contracts. Priced each segment on willingness to pay, not history.

Solution

More than tripled the core transaction fee, stepping the largest accounts up over 3 years. Removed the volume caps entirely. Wrote the legacy pricing clause out of all new contracts.

Impact

Segment revenue more than doubled on flat volume. $1.2M annualized, flowing almost 1:1 to EBITDA. 6 objections out of the first 500 customers contacted.

Outcome

+$1.2M

Added to the EBITDA run rate

2x

Segment revenue, zero volume growth

0/500

Customers churned

Capabilities used

  • Pricing workshop & coaching
  • Customer segmentation
  • Willingness-to-pay pricing
  • Fee schedule redesign
  • Contract restructuring