What Johnson Consulting Group does

Johnson Consulting Group (JCG), founded in 1997 by Tom Johnson in Naples, Florida and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona since 2004, is a vertically specialized professional services firm serving owners of funeral homes and cemeteries across the United States and Canada. The company has been led by Jake Johnson as President and CEO since the founder's death in 2023 and remains family-controlled with no disclosed external institutional investment. JCG's revenue is generated across six interlocking service lines: M&A brokerage connecting funeral/cemetery sellers with pre-qualified buyers, business consulting (strategic planning, succession, incentive compensation, workflow analysis), outsourced accounting and financial management, formal business valuations, loan facilitation through funeral-experienced national banks, and the JCG Academy training program. Reported scale signals include more than $3 billion in closed M&A transactions, 1,000+ negotiated contracts, and a 98% M&A closing rate since inception, plus $600M+ of client revenue and 145,000+ cases under accounting management.

JCG's proprietary technology asset is Performance Tracker X, a web-based customer experience management and sales analysis platform used to survey at-need and pre-need families, benchmark performance, and drive accountability inside client firms. The firm complements this with JCG Academy courses in Leadership & Management and Customer Experience, Jake Johnson's published book Staying Alive in the Funeral & Cemetery Profession, and an Annual Summit that anchors its content-led go-to-market motion. In 2013, JCG acquired Thomas-Pierce & Company, once the largest broker in the profession, consolidating the niche's M&A intermediary market.

The business model is professional services with hybrid monetization: success-based transaction fees on closed M&A deals, project-based fees for consulting and valuation engagements, recurring monthly fees for outsourced accounting and Performance Tracker X subscriptions, and tuition-style fees for JCG Academy. Customer acquisition runs through direct sales, industry referrals, and bank/legal partner channels, with quotes set per engagement rather than published pricing. The customer base is a long tail of independent and family-owned funeral home and cemetery operators across the U.S. and Canada, anchored by JCG's claimed ownership of the industry's largest buyer-seller database.

Name

Johnson Consulting Group

Legal name

Johnson Consulting Group

Website

https://johnsonconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Johnson Consulting Group is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based professional services firm that provides M&A brokerage, consulting, accounting, valuation, loan facilitation, and technology (Performance Tracker X) to independent funeral home and cemetery owners across the United States and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral and Cemetery Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

Keywords

• Funeral home consulting
• Cemetery consulting
• Death care M&A brokerage
• Business valuation services
• Funeral industry accounting

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Mergers and Acquisitions Consulting: Brokerage services connecting funeral home and cemetery sellers with buyers. Earns commissions on successful transactions. Company has negotiated over $3 billion in closed transactions since 1997 with consistent 98% closing rates.
2. Business Consulting Services: Strategic consulting engagements including performance analysis, strategic planning, pricing initiatives, incentive compensation plans, business succession planning, performance management, and workflow analysis.
3. Accounting and Financial Management: Monthly financial reporting, industry benchmarking, payroll analysis, budgeting services with over $600 million in revenue and 145,000+ cases under management.
4. Loan Facilitation Services: Assistance securing business loans for acquisitions, expansion, partner buy-outs, and refinancing. Works with network of banks familiar with funeral profession.
5. Business Valuation Services: Detailed analysis of business value based on assets, market environment, and industry trends. Includes analysis of past/projected sales, market assessment, historical death trends, and financial statement review.
6. JCG Academy Training: On-site and in-Scottsdale training programs including leadership and management, customer experience, and individual coaching.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Johnson Consulting Group provides consulting, mergers and acquisitions brokerage, valuation, accounting and financial management, lending, and training services tailored to funeral homes and cemeteries. The firm also offers Performance Tracker X, a customer experience management tool for death care operators, and JCG Academy, an industry-specific training program. Services are aimed at owners and operators of funeral service and cemetery businesses.

Product overview

Johnson Consulting Group offers a comprehensive suite of consulting and management services for funeral homes and cemeteries. The core offering includes Mergers and Acquisitions Consulting (connecting sellers with buyers with a 98% closing rate), Business Consulting (strategic planning, performance analysis, pricing, succession planning), Accounting & Financial Management, and Performance Tracker X (customer experience management and sales analysis tool). The company also provides JCG Academy (professional training programs), Valuation Services, and Loans. Performance Tracker X serves as the primary technology platform for survey-based customer feedback and benchmarking, while JCG Academy offers courses in Leadership & Management and Customer Experience. Additional services include Customer Service Training, Coaching, Strategic Planning, and Incentive Compensation Plans. The company was founded in 1997 and has facilitated over $3 billion in closed transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Performance Tracker X: Complete customer experience management tool that evaluates staff and financial performance, streamlines success plans, and improves bottom line. Includes survey options for funeral homes and cemeteries (at-need, pre-need, low cost cremation, cemetery).
• JCG Academy

Products and services

• M&A Brokerage Services Brokerage services for mergers, acquisitions, and sales transactions involving funeral homes and cemeteries. Aimed at owners and operators seeking to buy, sell, or transfer death care businesses.
• Business Consulting Operational and strategic consulting engagements for funeral home and cemetery operators, covering business improvement initiatives.
• Accounting and Financial Management Accounting and financial management services tailored to funeral home and cemetery businesses, supporting bookkeeping, reporting, and financial oversight.
• Valuation Services Business valuation services for funeral homes and cemeteries, used to support transactions, ownership transitions, and financing decisions.
• Loans Lending services arranged for funeral home and cemetery operators to support acquisitions, expansions, and working capital needs.
• Performance Tracker X Proprietary customer experience management tool used by funeral homes and cemeteries to track and measure service quality and client satisfaction.
• JCG Academy Industry-specific training program for death care business owners and staff, supporting professional development and operational best practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sellers experience 7-10% more value when selling with JCG compared to direct sales
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and minor.

• Legal ProfessionalssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJCG partners and consults with legal professionals throughout the due diligence process for acquisitions to ensure smooth transactions.
• Selected Independent Funeral HomesminorOthersIndustry association providing referral relationships and industry credibility through member testimonials.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Wilbert Funeral Services: Long-standing supplier of burial vaults and funeral products serving the same funeral home customer base. Comparable as an ecosystem participant whose products and services intersect with JCG's consulting, valuation, and acquisition work.
• Live Oak Bank: Specialty lender focused on loans to funeral home and cemetery operators for acquisitions and expansion. Comparable as a parallel partner in JCG's loan facilitation flow and a competitor for the same financing relationships.
• National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA): Primary trade association for funeral professionals in the US. Comparable as an industry-body counterpart influencing the same buyers/sellers, and a channel partner through which JCG's Summit and educational content reach the market.
• Homesteaders Life Company: Leading preneed funeral funding company serving independent funeral directors. Comparable as a financial services partner adjacent to JCG's accounting, lending, and succession work with the same customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Service Corporation International (SCI): Largest publicly traded funeral, cemetery, and cremation operator in North America. Comparable as the dominant scaled buyer/seller in the same industry JCG serves, and a frequent counterparty in JCG's M&A transactions.
• Foundation Partners Group: PE-backed death care consolidator actively acquiring independent funeral homes and cemeteries. Directly comparable as both a recurring JCG M&A buyer and a competitor for advisory relationships with sellers in the same vertical.
• StoneMor Partners: Large operator of cemeteries and funeral homes in the US. Relevant as a strategic consolidator participating in the same M&A market that drives JCG's brokerage pipeline.
• Carriage Services: Public death care operator (funeral homes and cemeteries) pursuing a consolidation strategy. Comparable as a strategic acquirer within JCG's core M&A universe and an indirect competitor for advisory mindshare.

Emerging players

• Legacy.com: Online obituary and funeral planning platform with broad consumer reach in the death care space. Comparable as a technology-enabled participant serving overlapping funeral industry customers and increasingly providing data/benchmarking adjacent to Performance Tracker X.

Direct peers

• International Funeral Associates (IFA): Funeral industry M&A advisory firm providing brokerage, valuations, and consulting to funeral home and cemetery owners. Directly comparable to JCG's core M&A brokerage and valuation services within the same niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/johnsonfuneral

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Johnson Consulting Group