My business 12 months ago was experiencing the effects of the credit crunch; the turnover for May 09 was 30% less than the previous year, of which the company suffered a loss of approximately 35%. Comparing figures on staff numbers with the previous year which was 29 (May), last year we employed 18 for the same period.
Donald has been instrumental in me focusing ‘on’ the business, instead of ‘in’ the business via ensuring that I promote the business via the provision of a company brochure, along with revitalising our old website. He has opened doors with potential new clients & has given direction on approaching old clients. I now have staff to chase up on any outstanding quotations, enquiring with the customers whether or not we were competitive; this being done on a regular basis & not only as & when we remember to do so. I regularly check the profit & loss on jobs, as before I did start to leave this slip, just concentrating on the end of month profit & loss.
At this moment in time the future of the business depends upon on whether or not we can maintain the levels of both enquiries & win rates of such, along with any interest that the company brochure & new website generates.
The wholesale business has acheived a 10% increase over the previous year.
The current economic climate, the uncertainty of the election, the World Cup football and the weather have been challenging over the last two months. All of these factors have conspired to reduce turnover dramatically in the last two months of the year. Compared to our competition some of whom are down by as much as 60% we are doing very well. In order to maintain sales in all areas we have continually reviewed our selling strategy on Ebay and introduced new selling strategies to our wholesale customers. The new selling strategy for the wholesale business has resulted in new customers being found (approx £10k in May and £6k in June) and orders from old (dormant) customers (£8k in May and £10k in June)
The time management of Simon has been greatly improved and a lot of tasks have been successfully devolved to the office and warehouse staff. This has resulted in growing confidence within the team as a whole and has led to Simon having more time to do things like this instead of running the business.
During a very difficult time, working with Donald has helped us to maintain our focus on the correct aspects of our business. There is no doubt in my mind that without his input we would be in as bad a position as our competitors (most are struggling badly and several have ceased trading). The next few months will be critical for our survival, but with Donald’s input we should get through this and be in a strong position when the market improves next year.
Since working with Donald my business has become a lot sharper and as a result we are working smarter, not harder. One of the most important area’s for me was purpose or rather lack of, Donald has given my clarity on where my business is, where I want it to be and how I’m going to get there.
Donald has also helped me catch up with effective marketing techniques I have been able to use with good affect and in the process I have gained a much deeper understanding of business promotion. Donald introduced the concept of Strategic Alliances, we now have a great working relationship with 18 Funeral directors. A recent check showed that over 1/3rd of all leads coming into our business come from this source.
Donald has helped us increase sales from £400k to £525k is under 1 year, we are operating with the same numbers of staff. This year we returned a healthy six figure profit We have just taken the opportunity to purchase another Stonemasons Business, this bring our compliment of shops to 4. I will achieve our financial goals if I can secure 7 outlets. We have taken the opportunity to develop new systems and processes and have moved to a new software platform that will improve visibility and control.
Already I am beginning to see the benefits of a business coach within my personal life, as a knock on effect of having a more intelligent business. I am getting more time to myself to pursue some personal hobbies of mine which are often neglected in favour of business.
Aside from the above, the main benefit of coaching I’ve seen has been my increase in self-motivation, instead of procrastinating I now have someone to hold me accountable to perform certain tasks which is moulding me into an achiever. I had never heard of business coaching prior to contacting Donald, but it’s safe to say it has had nothing but a positive impact on my business and personal life, and now wouldn’t hesitate to refer any businesses that are facing challenges to him. A number of Stonemasons are reporting significant downturns in business as a result of the recession, we have grown by over 20%.
12 months ago I was advised after speaking with another Action Coach to contact Donald Melrose who operated within my area. Although passionate about my business I was at a point that I could no longer keep all the “plates spinning” and was becoming stressed and ill as a result. Donald immediately with his considered, calm approach analysed the problem. It was really twofold. 1) It was evident that I needed more staff. Over the year I outsourced two roles,( copywriting and book-keeping)my husband has joined me in the business on a ¾ time basis completing the administrative role and I have recently taken on a part-time (2 days) member to account manage my clients. 2) I need coaching on the sales process having never done this type of sales before. Via several 1-2-1’s with Donald both at his office and via the telephone I am more confident in my approach as the results testify. I now have a 65% success rate as I am qualifying prospective clients first and have just created a client audit which will improve performance further. Under Donald’s guidance my time management is much improved too!
Over the last 4 months I have seen my business grow from £2.5 K per month to £7K per month and I am on track to achieve £10K per month and a turnover of £100K this year and looking to double that in 2011/12
