A recent independent study on the value and effectiveness of business coaching conducted by the UK-based Cogent Research has provided some interesting data about the overall impact of business coaching and its effect on business.
The UK research comes on the heels of a recent U.S. study of coached companies in South Florida that despite the recession, had grown revenues by more than $12 million. That study also showed coached businesses saw a return on investment (ROI) of 7.5-to-1, or $7.50 in return for every $1 invested in coaching.
In the UK, Cogent found the following statistics:
◦74% of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased sales last year compared to only 43% of non-coached businesses
◦30% average annual sales growth in ActionCOACH coached businesses compared to only 13% in non-coached businesses
◦53% of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased profits last year compared to only 35% of non-coached businesses
◦77% of ActionCOACH coached businesses forecast growth in profit in next 12 months
◦30% of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased their profits in the last 12 months by more than 50,000 pounds Sterling
◦56% of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased their workforce compared to only 14% of non-coached businesses
◦91% of ActionCOACH coached businesses have a plan for the next quarter compared to only 37% in non-coached businesses
◦97% of coached businesses would recommend coaching to other SME’s (small and medium enterprises)
Cogent also noted that:
“Businesses generally who had adopted formalised procedures such as those recommended by ActionCOACH (e.g. workflow procedures, twelve month budgets, written business plans, KPI’s) appeared to not only have weathered the adverse trading conditions of the previous twelve months but have actually increased sales, profits and workforce.”
ActionCOACH CEO Jodie Shaw saw the independent research as closely mirroring the same metrics the company has tracked for years.
“It’s one thing for us to say coaching works, but independent research just adds to the credibility of our claims, and really validates our system,” she said.
ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching and executive coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 39 countries. To learn more, go to actioncoach.com.
It can be difficult to grow profits in a competitive industry like the electronics retail business.
Heavy competition, price cutting, small margins … there’s just not room for error in order to truly succeed.
However, if you had “help” in the form of an ActionCOACH Business Coach, you could learn how to double your net, just like Purely Gadgets did, with guidance from ActionCOACH Business Coach Parag Prasad.
The company has worked with Prasad for more than a year, and over that time increased net profits by 109%, representing a total increase of more than £100K.
What could your company do with an extra £100K this year?
If you’re looking to turn around your company’s fortunes, or simply looking to get to the “next level” in terms of profitability or performance, contact an ActionCOACH in your area today.
The most common complaint we get today as business coaches to small to medium sized business owners is that, “we can’t compete with the big guys on price.”
A Good Business Mentor Wll Show Your How to Sell Value to Price Focused Shoppers
The perception in the market place is that people are shopping on price alone. The only reason your customer asks the price up front is because that is what we as business owners have trained them to do.
How many times have you rung or gone into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features you were looking for and purely asked for the price? At this point did the sales person come back with “that is £29.95” or did they ask you some questions about what you were looking to use the product/service for? In this instance let’s say it is a kettle.
Now in most people’s eyes a kettle is a kettle; but, they have many different features and offer many different benefits. So what if the sales person simply said to you when you inquired about price, “just so I can help you best is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the kettle you are looking for?”
Would you have answered yes?
The sales person could then ask questions like:
Are you looking to replace an existing kettle or is it a gift for someone?
Do you regularly use your kettle or is it rarely used?
Would you like a kettle with a quick boiling time?
Have you seen the cordless options that are available?
Are you looking for something to match your kitchen?
So what color are you looking for?
Is it important that it has an automatic cut off when the kettle is boiled?
Are you after a stove-top option, or an electric kettle?
Kettles come in different cup capacity; what cup capacity do you require?
From these questions, the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in their needs and the salesperson is able to offer options in the most suitable kettles for their needs. The price is therefore negated.
It’s just a matter of now asking the customer to buy.
A good salesperson would then ask, “well, based on what we have just spoken about there are two options to choose from, model x and model y, which one suits you best? Great, I can either put that away for now or I can process it on credit card for you and have it delivered to you tomorrow – which do you prefer?”
If the option is credit card, ask, “which credit card is it easiest to process that on?” and make sure the prospect is aware there will be a delivery charge of x amount.
If the option they choose is to have it put away, this gives the sales person the opportunity to get the customers’ name and contact details.
If the customer chooses this option make sure the sales person gets a time frame for them to pick the item up. Be definite with the infinite. If the customer is in your business the sales person then simply takes them to the point of sale terminal and transacts the sale.
This example was based on a kettle, a relatively small value item. How does this apply to your business? This process works equally well on cars, houses, furniture, service based businesses and any other product, including funeral homes.
You just need to work out what your customers are actually looking for when they ask for the price, and what’s most important to them in their buying decision!
And a good business mentor in the form of an ActionCOACH Business Coach can do just that.
Goal setting is as important in personal life as it is in business. The most common denominator in all the self-help literature and books is the importance of goal setting. We’re told to set long-term goals, short-term goals, lifetime goals and personal goals.
So, it follows that goal setting is obviously a powerful process.
It is about “eating the elephant, one bite at a time” and of turning vision into achievable, actionable things. It’s the common denominator of successful individuals and businesses.
Despite their obvious value, our experience with goals have shown that some are good at setting goals and sticking to them, achieving great results and others can’t keep a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking for two days in a row.
Failure to set goals can be seen as a fear of failure.
That is, it’s blow to our integrity when we don’t reach our goals. When we make and keep commitments, such as setting and achieving goals, it reflects the amount of trust we have in ourselves. We increase our confidence in ourselves to make and keep commitments to others and ourselves.
However, when we don’t achieve our goals we lose confidence in our ability to make and keep commitments and to trust ourselves.
There are many reasons why we don’t achieve our goals. Sometimes the goals we set are unrealistic. New Year’s resolutions are typical examples. Suddenly, we expect to change the way we eat, or the way we exercise just because the calendar changes. It’s like expecting a child that’s never ridden a bike to suddenly jump on and go, or to run a marathon without months of training. These goals are based on illusion with little regard to natural growth.
“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”
An example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal might look something like the following:
WHAT My goal is to maintain a healthy body.
WHY
So that:
I can be fit to do the things I enjoy.
I can be an example to my children in health management.
I can build my personal character strength.
HOW Good Nutrition. I will increase my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and decrease my intake of sugar, fats, salt and red meat.
Physical. I will exercise aerobically 3 times a week for 30-minute periods.
Focus. I will be aware of my body and look out for any health problems.
Focusing on the smaller, short-term goals and achieving success will give you the confidence to set other goals. So, remember, set your goals based on the S.M.A.R.T. principle to have the best chance of achieving your goals.
If you are interesting in learning more about goal setting and effective business advice for your company, contact and ActionCOACH near you.
If you’re looking for any sort of tips, strategies and tools that have to do with business coaching or business help, ActionCOACH is the place to look.
At ActionCOACH, we provide business coaching for companies dedicated to improving their culture, productivity and most important, profitability.
Business coaching can come in many forms, but only ActionCOACH uses hundreds of proven strategies while linking you with an experienced coach.
Your ActionCOACH understands what business advice you need, and part of the business help that your ActionCOACH will provide includes giving you the tools to find balance in all areas of your life.
But if you aren’t ready to make changes, then you aren’t really ready for business coaching, you just want a pat on the back.
Getting business coaching from ActionCOACH isn’t comfortable or easy, but it is rewarding, both personally and financially.
Business help from ActionCOACH will improve your bottom line and quality of life because ActionCOACH knows what business help matters most.
Is your company looking for business tip, strategies or business coaching? Don’t think you have the time to get really relevant business help?
Don’t waste anymore time, now is the time for ACTION!
ActionCOACH is the world-wide leader in providing business help for companies in every field throughout the world and can take you where you want your business to go.
Pssst….want to know a secret? Better yet, 7 secrets?
We’re about to let you in on 7 business tips that business coaches tell their clients when they ask questions about marketing. Marketing is something that’s vital to business, and most clients want to know how they can improve their marketing strategies.
These tips are exactly what a business coach would tell you in a business coaching session…so if you’re interested in learning more, perhaps you should consider contacting ActionCOACH.
Step #1. Marketing’s an Investment not an Expense …
Whenever you place an advertisement, send out a sales letter, or do any piece of marketing you have to make sure your investment pays off. From this day forth you’ll never sell to another new customer again. You’ll BUY new customers, and your marketing budget is how much you’re paying for them …
Before you run any marketing campaign, do a break even analysis and work out how many sales you need to make a profit …
Step #2. Test and Measure Everything …
Test which ads are working, test which headlines work better and you’ll quickly become a marketing genius. In fact, instead of writing just one ad, write 7 or 8 and place every one, find out which one works the best, and keep on running it.
Measuring your results is simple … Just ask each and every customer the question, “Can I just ask, how did you find out about us?” And, keep a tally. At the end of the day you’ll know exactly how many sales you got from each marketing approach.
Step #3. Target … Offer … Copy …
The 3 most important aspects of every marketing campaign … Scoring just 1/10 in an importance rating is the copy, or words you use. It’s still in the top 3 but what you write won’t have much effect unless you get your offer right. It scores 5/10. Simply put, you’ll find it hard selling people something they just don’t want.
Scoring a massive 10/10 is your target market … If your marketing isn’t working, the first thing you need to examine is who you’re trying to sell to. Where is your ad placed, who have you sent your direct mail to and so on …
Step #4. You’ve got to Increase Your Conversion Rate …
Most business people believe they’re selling to about 6 or 7 out of every 10 leads they get … The truth is that when most people test and measure we find it’s more like 2 or 3 out of 10. That’s only 20 or 30%. If you could just sell to another 1 in 10 you’ve added another 30 of 40% to your turnover …
Step #5. Guarantee your Sales and find your Uniqueness …
If you don’t promote a written guarantee your customers are at risk when they buy from you. Remove their risk, and increase your sales by promoting your guarantee.
Also be sure to position yourself uniquely in the market place. If you do everything the same way everybody else does, you’ll have to compete on price. And, that’s like being a wood duck in hunting season …
Step #6. You have to get your customer back …
The reason why most people’s marketing doesn’t make money is that they don’t ask their past customers back. You have to keep a database of past customers, and you have to communicate with them at least every 90 days … Ask them to buy another time and a percentage will. These people are your best target market …
Step #7. Write better headlines for your marketing pieces …
Your headline is 80% of the success of your ad. Put the word YOU in it, focus on your customers, and most importantly, use something other than your company name …
The rise of business coaches has led to numerous improvements in the business world. Among them is the idea that happy employees help create strong companies. A business coach enters any situation with a myriad of ideas to improve a company’s performance and culture. Among these are increased accountability and employee empowerment. At the same time, your business coach while improve your company’s culture. A business coach knows these changes will lead to greater productivity time and time again.
Every business coach knows working is necessary for people to feel useful in their lives. Unfortunately, too many of us have had jobs we didn’t particularly enjoy. In the real world, what you have to do often supersedes what you want to do. A business coach knows that feeling leads many employees to underperform at work. Finding reasons employees underperform is one of the most important things your business coach will do. After finding the issue, a business coach helps you come up with a plan to fix the problem
Greater accountability and employee empowerment seem to be two sides of the same coin. Your employees can’t be empowered unless they are responsible and accountable for their actions. One of the biggest problems in the workplace is employees not understanding the structure of their company. This leads to unhappy workers because there will be confusion. Employees won’t know how to turn to in times of trouble or even know who they are responsible too. As you can imagine, feeling empowered in this situation is virtually impossible. A business coach will show you how to avoid this problem.
Another important aspect of empowerment is incentivizing. With a few examples, we can see how this has taken a hold in business recently. Many companies have found unique ways to incentivize their employees, which, in turn, makes them happier and more productive. Some companies offer day care services, some offer lunch to their employees and some even drop off and pick up dry cleaning for their workers. These are just a few ideas that a business coach may have for your company.
A key idea that many successful companies have focused on is the effort they’ve made to keep their employees happy. A new, enlightened style of business has led to employees that feel empowered and prepared to contribute in ways seldom considered in the past. A business coach can help you exploit the ideas that are right for your company.
ActionCOACH’s goal is to advise business owners to achieve true business success through analysis and systems implementation; forms of business coaching. What that means is that we help the self-employed build a profitable commercial enterprise that works without them. After all, systems should run a business, not the owner.
The first thing business coaches do is to access the business by working with the business owners to determine where they are, where they would like to be, and then helping them implement systems and strategies based on what we, the business coach, find that would be the most appropriate for that particular business’ needs (increase profitability, systems, employee training, controls, etc.).
We will be assessing the business in the five key profit generating areas: Lead Generation, Conversion Rate, Average Value Sale, Average Number of Transactions, and Profit Margins. Those areas are highlighted in the following equation:
Lead Generation x Conversion Rate = # Customers
# Customers x Avg. Value Sale x Avg. # Transactions = Turnover/Revenues
Turnover/Revenues x Profit Margins = £ Profits
So basically, we are looking at the equation for profitability for any business, in any market, in any industry sector. Throughout all of these sectors of business, the equation for profitability stays the same.
We have developed 367 different systems and strategies under these five variables. For example, Lead Generation has 73 systems that can be implemented to help business owners increase their lead flow. In addition, we have 86 systems that may be used to increase your Conversion Rate, and so on down the line.
Once we have established where the business is, we are able to go back and look through our systems and determine which of those would be the most appropriate to implement in increasing the profitability of that particular business type.
We use the information we have gathered on the business to put together a detailed Alignment Report that will serve as our roadmap to success for the next 12 months of Business Coaching.
Once we have established that the business can be profitable, we move on to our secondary goal, which takes place during the Coaching process. That goal is to teach the business owner the difference between working on their business and working in their business. Small business owners can spend 60 hour or more per week just trying to keep their business alive. Most often, what we find is that they are working on the wrong aspects and end up spinning in a relentless circle until the business finally folds in on top of them. Our goal is to help them in working on growing their business instead of concentrating on the technical issues, which are usually counterproductive to growth.
Throughout the process of business coaching we will spend about an hour each week with the business owner (depending on their needs) helping them stay focused on their goals, testing and measuring results, assisting them with potential obstacles for growth, systems implementation, etc. We hold our clients accountable for reaching the goals that we set together, and work diligently to help them achieve great results!
So basically, we teach the self-employed how to become successful business owners. We teach them how to make more money for less effort, and we have been very successful at that.
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