Desk Strategy
The per-desk playbook above the deal: who each desk is for, where it wins, and how it concentrates its BD. The firm-level version of the ICP work in L2, made concrete for each desk.
A desk strategy is the deliberate choice of where a desk points its effort — the industries, roles, geographies and accounts it pursues, and the ones it doesn't. APB is a specialist firm: desks win by going deep in a defined market, not by chasing everything. A written desk strategy turns that principle into a concrete plan a consultant can act on every day.
This page is the firm's record of each desk's strategy. The how of running a desk to it lives in L2 Desk Leadership; working individual accounts lives in L3 Account Leadership; the BD craft lives in M1. Desk Strategy is the what and where.
The industries, sub-sectors and company types the desk targets — where APB has genuine specialist credibility and a winnable right to play.
The role types the desk recruits within those clients — APB's commercial/leadership sweet spot, not everything a client hires.
Where the desk operates — national, state or region.
The strategic accounts the desk leads (L3) and priority new-logo targets — held in the CRM.
Where this desk's talent is found and what makes its candidate pool distinctive.
What the desk deliberately doesn't do, so effort stays concentrated.
Targets ($ per quarter) are deliberately not duplicated here — they live in People & Structure and APB HQ as the single source of truth. Desk Strategy is about direction, not the number.
We take: full-time permanent roles, at a fee of roughly $15K+ (ex GST), at management level or above. A management-level role qualifies even at ~$80K + super.
We don't take: part-time, casual or contract roles; and pure operational / workforce roles — e.g. cleaners, security guards, drivers, warehouse staff. If it's a frontline workforce position rather than management/commercial, it's out of scope.
This keeps both desks concentrated on APB's specialism — BD, sales, commercial, operations leadership and executive hires — and away from low-yield, high-volume workforce recruitment.
Revisit each desk's strategy at the quarterly business review (L2) and the firm's quarterly off-site (P2). Refine the ICP from real data — which clients converted, paid well and came back. The firm-level positioning review (P2) sets the frame each desk strategy operates within.
Facilities Services
Desk lead: Walter (Principal Consultant) · Geography: Australia-wide
International Freight & Logistics
Desk lead: Adam (Director) — with Callum developing toward desk lead · Geography: Australia-wide
Both desks run the same craft (M1–M4), are led the same way (L1/L2), and lead key accounts the same way (L3). Desk Strategy just points each one at its market.