Q&A -Growth, Coaching and Mentoring
What is business growth
The first thing to realise, is that growth is a form of change. We have all heard the “definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”, so growth is about doing somethings different. The good news is that you and your business are perfectly capable of achieving your current level of performance, if you are OK with that you may be better served by leaving this site and finding yourself an “Apathetic Cheerleader”.
If you feel you have left money on the table or there is more to come from both you and your business – Keep reading. To grow your business, you are going to have to grow your revenue, capacity, systems, processes and capabilities (team) and to cap it all off, you are going to have to grow yourself.
Goals - The first stage of growth is to identify the level of performance we are looking to achieve – or in more familiar terms, get clarity on our goals, outcomes or dreams. Then you need to add the details – exactly what does this look like, how much, by when and even what that will feel like when you have achieved it/them and finally what is enough? In our experience, many people in business believe that they are great at setting goals, the reality this may be your truth but not necessarily the truth. Equally, many struggle with creating a vision, that is based on their own aspirations, rather than one influenced by what others want. That is where exploring the feelings around achievement may work better, before creating a vision.
Reality - Once we know where we are heading, we now need to consider our starting point. Accepting your current reality is an essential part of change. You need to consider what you are good at, what you are not so good at and prioritise the skill or improvement to ensure your get the largest impact or effect. There are tools such as competency wheels, where you rate your skills/ability in all areas and either address your weaknesses or strengthen your strengths (If you upskill your weakness at the cost of continuously developing your strengths, your performance may go down!).
Options - You now know where you are heading and where you are starting from – the next part of your growth journey is to consider your options, or to put it differently, what can you do about this, who else is better at certain things, is it easier to learn, delegate, outsource or even stop doing and which area are your going to grow. The “5-Bucket” model for self-success is a great example of this, especially relevant to business. Far too often we start our journey to growth by expanding our “network bucket” or our customer base, strategic partners or prospects list. Unfortunately, this is bucket #3 and we should have started with our “knowledge bucket”, followed by our “skills bucket” before moving on to bucket 3.
Willingness - Finally you have our goals, reality and options, the last piece of the growth puzzle is to ask yourself “What are you willing to do?”. There are no short cuts, or easy fixes - THE PRICE OF SUCCESS IS TO BE PAID IN ADVANCE AND IN FULL!!!!! Now for the good news, What you conceive and truly believe, you will achieve and I WILL always beats IQ. Your willingness to do something gets stronger the more you are connected personally with the end goal and the closer you get to achieving it, the faster your will go. So sweating the small stuff or taking the first step, although hardest, is the most important step on your growth journey.
So if this all sounds like too much work, you may not be the right client for us (and we certainly won’t be right for you), get in touch and we can steer you in the right direction. If you are open to change, excited by growth and want to perform at a higher level, you might be right for us and we might be right for you, let’s have a chat Click HERE
If you want to learn more about other products/services to help you decide - click here
If you want to learn about other who have gone before - click here
How do our services work?
Everything starts with a Discovery Call where we will ask you a lot of questions about you, your challenges and what you would like to have as your future outcome. If we both see value in moving to the next stage, we will arrange a 90 minutes implementation session to show you how you and your business can achieve the goals and outcomes you seek. At the end of this meeting we will both make a choice as to whether we are "right" for each other, and assuming we are we will agree the best programme with you, what the investment is and when we are starting.
Once we are working together this could be as little as a single strategy day or meeting for an hour every week to deliver rapid results. We still like to meet face to face although for group programmes and if it suits you better we can also utilise video technology. Our 12-Weeks programmes are a combination of face2face, remote or a mix - Ultimately it is what works for you.
How much does it cost?
How much does it cost?
OK so this is actually the most common question, so I will answer as much as I can and give you some food for thought as well. What I am not going to do is evade the question with answers like “it’s not a cost, it is an investment”, I am however going to say it does depend on how far and how quickly you want to grow.
Let’s start with the easiest – i.e. the less bespoke offerings, or things that are tangible and easy to give you a price banding.
12-Weeks Sales Training, 12-Weeks business Masterclass; 12-Weeks Management Training & 12-Weeks Leadership Training. All are £1200 per business (Business Masterclass & in some instances Sales) or £1200 per person (1 company multiple attendees).
Sales & Marketing Group Coaching – Firstly consider what format the sales training will take and who is it for? Will it be done on a 121 basis or as a group, on-line or in person, does it have a follow up/accountability, is it sales process, EQ & active listening orientated or a train the trainer model? Once this is clear you are going to find that top global sales trainers can charge £10,000 upwards for a few sessions down to people providing remote sales courses for £100 with nothing else. Personally I would recommend investing your £100 in a select few books which are “game changers” as opposed to literary “get rich quick” books.
I can not comment on others pricing models only our own. Sales training is not a “one hit wonder”, it is an ongoing process of learn, implement, practice, perfect, feedback loop and then learn something new. If you just want knowledge, there are possibly better providers than us, If you want knowledge, application, feedback and the confidence to ask the right questions of a 3rd party, should you decide to outsource your sales and marketing, then we might be the right option for you. See our products page on ProfitCLUB priced at £150 pcm/person
If you want a team solution you will be looking at prices starting at £650 pcm for around 3 months for a group session and a small amount of accountability.
If planning is your thing, 90 day planning sessions are 1 x per quarter for ½ a day and cost £200 (Online in group) per session, Annual planning in a group (full day offsite is £500 per person) or £100 pcm on a payment plan for both. Financial and Investment plans typically will be costed between £5000 and £25000 (I know this final figure sounds high, but was the price when we complied an investment memorandum for a £1BN fund raising plan).
Mentoring starts at £500 pcm for 1 Director or £650 pcm for 2 Directors
Strategy days run between £1500 and £2500, depending on whether a Director or a team, NED is in the range of £1K to £2K per month and NE Chair starts at £2500 pcm.
121 Business coaching starts at £1250 pcm for bi-weekly or £2000 pcm weekly and goes up to £5000 pcm.
Beyond this the solution crosses into Executive Coaching which typically will involve a retainer of £10000-£25000 and then have a monthly fee between £1000 and £10000 per month.
As I said when I started to answer this question, it depends on how far and by when. As food for thought if you were on a £2000 per calendar month programme, this would be £24000 per annum, which in real terms is equivalent to around a £18000 salaried person. If what you get in personal and business support from high level inputs and dynamic results outweighs what you would get from a £18000 per year employee, you will assign your own value to our solutions, if not you will employ a junior team member.
Do you offer Non Executive or Board Advisory Services?
Absolutely - This ranges from Non-Executive Chair and/or NED positions to running Running Board Meetings either individually or as part of a Board Club with your Peers from other Businesses. Typically Non-Exec inputs will be charged on a day rate of £1250, however this could vary dependent on duration and level of input required. We also pride ourselves on being connected to some amazing Advisors/Consultants and Interim/Fractional Directors who may suit your needs better.
Do I need external support?
Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest sources - for instance the quote below is from a children's book:
"What is the bravest thing you've ever said? asked the boy. 'Help,' said the horse. 'Asking for help isn't giving up,' said the horse. 'It's refusing to give up.” ― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse!
If you feel "Brave enough" then the answer to the question is YES
Q & A - All about exiting your business
What is an Exit?
You work hard to deliver your goals and dreams or you can be employed by someone else to deliver theirs. If you chose the former, then congratulations - now let's start thinking about the end game. Exiting your business can take various forms, it can be complete or partial; trade sale; asset sale; equity sale; progressive; buy-out; but-in or combination and can even be an exit from the current investors. The most important thing is that it works for you and you maximise your realisation following all that you have invested in growing your business.
What is the cost?
Let's break this down into 2 parts: Building to an exit and the actual transaction of exiting.
Building Value - At Business Performance UK we are Certified Value Builders. The Value Builder system is a world class valuation tool that generates an operational valuation of your business. It DOES NOT give a value for the physical assets or plant and machinery - for that you will need to pay a valuer anywhere from a few hundred pounds to several thousands.
We do not charge for a Value-Builder report - you simply complete the questionnaire and generate a score which relates to a value. The report will also tell you that if your score was a factor higher, your business would likely be worth more! This is what is referred to in the industry as "bragging rights down the pub".
The real value of the Value-Builder system is what happens next. We have a team of experts who will help you interpret the report, identify the 8 pillars that contributed to your score, agree a future value that you want and then deliver a bespoke programme to proactively achieve the higher score and ergo higher value, within agreed timelines and delivered via a monthly implementation programme. This programme starts at £1000 pcm and can go up to £2500 pcm depending on the size of the increase in value, and can also be structured with a lower monthly fee coupled with a percentage uplift success fee.
Included in the above is a PRE-SCORE (Personal readiness for exit) report and a Freedom Point assessment (How much you need to realise from you business sale to fund your future life).
Transactional Fees - Typically when selling a business to any external party, you will pay a business broker to market and sell your business. These can range from no upfront fees and a higher percentage success fee or some upfront commitment and a lower success fee. Given that the success fee is normally a %, the broker can be incentivised to push the business valuation as high as possible, often creating a false reality of what is realistic - Remember you business is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it! We partner with some carefully selected brokers or you can use your own.
On top of brokerage, you will pay legal fees and also be subject to tax minus any "entrepreneurial relief" that may or may not be applicable at the time of sale. All in all you could spend 15 - 20% of the sale price on professional fees and a further 20% on tax. - "We're going to need a bigger pot" I hear you say. Hence why maximising your value multiple is key. We also partner with experts in EOTs (Employee ownership trusts) and Equity incentive schemes to help you sell your business in the most tax efficient way - so you retain more of the money from the sale.
What are the Pros and Cons of different exits?
Let's look at a few options starting with:
Sale of entire business to investor/investment fund: If you sell the whole of your business to an investor, you receive 100% of the money. This is great as long as you are genuinely ready to hang up your spurs, take up golf and cease working. Unfortunately more than 1/2 of all business sellers experience sellers remorse within 18 months of selling. (These people say things like " have you heard what they have done to our old customers?") Your business must still provide uplift to the buyer, often as low hanging fruit, and your business MUST generate operating capital, without this the pot off money you receive will be quickly diminished. Finally selling your business in one go, will attract a hefty tax burden - If enough is enough, this will not be a factor.
Progressive Company Sale: Controlling share of 51% or more goes to an external 3rd party. You agree an earn-out or accept a deferred consideration, however although you are now incentivised to get the business to perform even better, you are no longer the actual decision maker. This is sometimes more tax efficient and appeals to many, although the reality is rarely what you expected. The exception to this is selling 51% (minimum) via an EOT (See below).
Progressive Company Sale maintaining Controlling Share - you sell 49% or less and retain a minimum of 51%. This is often done when raising capital or to stay on as Chairman or an advisor or to form a JV (joint venture) where you retain some equity in a larger entity
What is the best way to grow the value of my business?
Firstly - the more aware you are of the factors affecting your company value, the more likely you can do something to affect it. Breaking it down, there are 2 key areas you must optimise to maximise the value: How much is in the pot i.e. Profit (normally net profit or EBITDA) and What Multiple you times it by. If you just put all of your efforts into growing the profit, without adding value, you may be able to build a business with a 4 - 6 X multiple. If you simply address the Value Multiple without adding to the pot of money, again you may achieve a 4 - 6 X multiple. However when we work on both the end result is greater than the parts - i.e 5 x more EBITDA and 5 x Multiple will often have a 12 - 15X increase in Value.
What results should I expect and how long does the process take?
Most businesses massively over-inflate the true value of their business. I have had many conversations where business owners have falsely been told that their business is worth 3.5 - 4 times multiples, as this is an industry standard. The reality most businesses have a multiple between 0 - 2. This is often due to the fact that they are closer to a "practice" than a business and the owner is too intrinsically involved with the day to day. Buyers do not want to buy your job and they certainly do not want to buy your stress!
In most businesses we will be able to add an additional multiple every year through coaching and add an additional multiple through addressing the 8 pillars every year We monitor this every quarter to ensure you are moving in the right direction.
On the whole we work with businesses for 2 - 5 years before exit as the changes take time to embed.
Q&A - Leadership, Teams & High Performance
What is [Your Brand Name]?
[Your Brand Name] is a [brief description of your business or service]. We are passionate about [your mission statement].
Why do I need to do the Management Training before I can do the Leadership Training?
This is more of a guideline than a red line. You inspire people and manage things. When running your business you need systems to run your business (things) and people to run the systems. Hence we need systems/process first i.e. management before we look to lead and inspire the people who will opoerate the system
How much does it cost?
all 12 week training programmes are £1200 per person. Team/Leadership Coaching starts at £750 pcm (team seminars) and 121 coaching starts at £1500 pcm
What do you class as High Performing Teams?
The are 7 key things that define a high performing team - Strong Leadership, Common Goal, Rules of the Game, Individual and team Action Plans, encouraging risk-taking, 100% inclusion and effective communication. Each one of these areas is a topic in its own right.
I am not sure what we need, but know we need something?
You can reach us by calling me directly on 07943 812516 or via the contact page access by clicking HERE