More Applicants for Your Programmes
The broad range of businesses you support means there's a large
target market out there - but it also means the bulk of the
people you're working with are not "numbers people". There's nothing
wrong with that, but you need to know that they're put-off by spreadsheets and
calculations.
Imagine the difference it makes when they're deciding between two support providers:
-
An organisation that directly addresses their numbers barrier by
providing an intuitive tool to transform their passion and idea into
a viable business forecast.
-
An organisation that gives them a spreadsheet template to hack through.
There's no contest - and why would there be? One provider understands them and
has provided a package to ensure they get the same insight that their
maths-loving competitors get. The other... doesn't.
Increase YOUR Performance
"The problem for small firms isn't an absence of money, it's an absence of time and advice".
That's a direct quote from one of Lord Young's speeches to an Enterprise Centre conference
in October 2014 and reflects the changing goverment focus. It's no longer about startups and
access to funding, it's about growth. That's where jobs come from: one third of private sectors jobs
are with companies started in the last 15 years!
With the changing face of support funding your proposition has to stand out from the crowd and
go further to drive growth.
Better-informed decisions mean a stronger business - and you'll need no persuading
that an understanding of the numbers is absolutely central to success.
-
Develop their understanding with a tool to compare profit between products, model scenarios,
test ideas and actively work ON their businesses and you'll boost everything from
survival to growth rates to GVA.
Once your clients understand what their cash flow forecast and profit could look
like they will drive the demand for your support - pushing to get the most
from your seminars. Everything you already offer, from marketing to pricing to
cost management, becomes a high value service and they better appreciate the
importance of your expertise.
No matter how familiar it is to you, that spreadsheet is
putting people off understanding their business - and that's a powerful
lesson you don't want to teach.
Reduce Your Risk
A new threat is emerging in business support - a threat that has cost another
advice industry billions of pounds, and their reputation, in the last 10 years.
The Financial Services Industry failed to provide its clients with the information
and tools they needed to understand the cost and value of the insurance they
were taking-on, and have paid a heavy price.
High business failure and startup loan default rates suggest it may be just a
matter of time before the same hits the business support industry.
Are you "going the extra mile" to make sure they understand their numbers, or
are you exposed to claims that your clients just went through the motions on
their business finances?