When costs rise and competition intensifies, the instinct is often to work harder: pursue more enquiries, increase marketing activity and try to win more business. Those actions may help. But they can also leave the underlying weaknesses untouched. A business can be busy, well regarded and generating healthy turnover, yet still be vulnerable. Too much income [...]
One of the recurring themes emerging from recent business coaching and consultancy projects has been the growing importance of strategic insight. Not simply generating new ideas. Not increasing activity levels. And not reacting to every short-term challenge or market pressure. Rather, it is the ability to interpret what is happening commercially, identify implications early, and make [...]
One pattern I’m seeing more with business owners in a variety of industries is that: They care deeply about their business… So they give it everything. Time. Energy. Attention. And slowly, without realising, the business starts taking more than it gives back. They work longer hours. They have a constant mental load. And there is a [...]
I’ve been having a number of conversations recently with business owners who want to grow but are stuck somewhere between: • “We should be doing better than this” • “We’re busy, but it’s not translating into real growth” • “We’ve tried different things, but nothing quite sticks” And when we look a little deeper, the issue [...]
Over recent weeks, I’ve been speaking with business owners across professional services, health and wellbeing, and technology. Despite very different sectors, a consistent theme is emerging: Business feels harder than it used to. This isn’t perception. It reflects a real shift in the competitive business environment. Why Business Growth Feels More Difficult Today Several structural changes [...]
Professional service firms operate in a different environment from product-based businesses. You are selling expertise, judgement, and trust. Yet many professional service businesses unintentionally market themselves as if they were commodities. Accountants, HR consultants, lawyers, financial advisers, coaches, consultants and specialists often describe their businesses using very similar language: Experienced Professional Friendly Bespoke service Tailored advice [...]
Greggs recent H1 results once again beat expectations for both revenue and profit. The group is growing strongly and sustainably within a highly competitive industry. Recent growth drivers have been an increase in the number of shops, higher sales in the evening and continuing menu development. I have followed Greggs for over 12 years both as [...]
I belong to several networking groups and recently ran an exercise with members of two different groups on the benefits of business coaching. We discussed problems that business owners commonly face, looked at which ones caused those members the toughest problems and then discussed ways of improving their situations. The 3 main areas of concern for [...]
84% of people say they trust recommendations from someone they know (source: Nielsen – Under the Influence: consumer trust in advertising). This makes referral marketing one of the best ways to generate more leads and get more business. What is referral marketing? Referral marketing is a type of marketing activity which promotes your products or services [...]
A common belief amongst financial and other professional services, is that the only way to generate leads is through networking and referral marketing – both of these rely on building relationships, credibility, and trust. They are low-cost marketing methods which develop business opportunities and build a strong network of like-minded people, in the hope that these [...]
