Shake off the demons

One day in a London office in 2008, after 12 years of what I considered a pretty successful career in BT Global Services (and starting at BT Labs in Martlesham), it all came crashing down. For those that remember, September 2008 was the start of the global financial crisis. I worked as a Sales Specialist for the account teams managing HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays providing them with innovation and ideas on the services that would shape the future of the banking industry. 

But, almost overnight, the banks funds dried up for anything remotely innovative and my role became redundant. This was the first of three 'Can we have a chat?' meetings that dented my confidence and made me question my own abilities.

How do you overcome that? Do something absolutely outrageous. I chose to enter an Ironman triathlon (Ironman UK, 2015). When I crossed the finish line (with 43 minutes to spare before the cut-off), I knew at that point that no-one could question my capability, determination and grit to get something done.

The demons I held from those three meetings had been cast aside and it was time to launch my business to the next level.

Networking

I went 'all-in' with networking from 2014 to 2018. 400 Meetings, 4 Years, 4Networking. Starting out as a new service-based business with no cash in the bank, there aren't many marketing options. No cash, but plenty of time and boundless energy.  What started out as a way to do business development for a small IT company turned into me growing the network in East Anglia from a single meeting in Norwich to managing 20 meetings across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire with over 300 members.

What did I learn? 

Referral networking really isn't for me. It's hard enough running your own business without having the distraction of being a pseudo-sales person for someone else's business. Don't get me wrong, natural referrals are one of the best type of leads you can get, but a forced referral because someone has a scorecard to hit just seems contrived. I avoided these type of networking organisations for that reason.

No-one goes to a networking meeting to buy stuff. So, why try to sell? We're all in the room for the same purpose - to grow our business - but if no-one is here to buy, then there's no point trying to sell. Your main goal is to build a tribe around you, build trust by being honest, positive and showing off your professional skills and reliability. This takes time and patience. When you enter a room and immediately start to peddle your wares, it comes across as desperate and awkward. Bide your time and build trust and credibility. The opportunities will follow.

Consistency is critical. When you're time-rich, cash-poor, you can afford to attend meetings regularly. Choose the meetings you enjoy and surround yourself with folk whose company you would keep in your 'regular' social life.

Show off your skills. One of the biggest decisions I took early on in my 4N days was to join the team. Initially, I did it for a couple of reasons....firstly, I really didn't get on with 'Open Networking'. I found it a struggle to do the chit-chat without focus and being part of the team that organised the meetings meant that I could focus on welcoming guests, setting up tables, ensuring breakfast was ready and generally keeping busy. Secondly, I got a 50% discount on membership fees - easy decision.

This decision had a profound effect on what happened next....an opportunity arose to become an Area Leader for Norwich. A paid position based on selling memberships. An eye-opener to the concept of 'getting paid whilst you sleep'. For a service business that sells time-for-money, this is an important step in the next phase of my business.

Sales

Selling services is usually based on the following questions from a prospect :

• Are you going to solve my immediate problem?
• Can I trust you with my systems and people?
• Are we going to get on?
• Will you be able to help me in the future?

Pricing

I've tried it all. As a service-based business, I sell time for money. Let me share the path taken....

Early days

With two clients secured (one being my former employer and the second being a contract role), pricing was simple. Based on a day-rate and turning up in the office to 'do stuff'. Basically, employed but under a different model. As my smaller client base grew - with my new networking contacts putting their faith in me, it became increasingly difficult to work for two companies on a contract basis, manage an increasing network and deliver for new clients. Time to make the leap....

Becoming a multi-client business meant that a new hourly pricing structure was required - to split my week across several projects and tasks. This requires planning, co-ordination and clear methods of engagement for the client. We charge for all our time after the free initial consultation, but we're extremely transparent with time recording and managing. Every call/task/project is measured in 15 minute increments. This means that when a client asks for a small task or quick fix, it keeps the cost low and they get a quick response.

Initially, we worked on a paid block of hours upfront. This to help with early business cash-flow without chasing invoices at the end of the month. We offered discounts for loyal clients - who perhaps purchased 20 or 50 hours upfront. This process worked really well for a while, but becomes an issue when clients bank hours - this can then become challenging to manage schedules and quarterly reconciliations -such as VAT, Corporation Tax etc. Your essentially paying tax on services that haven't yet been delivered.

So, we moved to Fixed Price for initial projects and hourly for support. This can be a double-edged sword. Pricing a project based on a service can be very challenging for a few reasons :

• Very difficult to capture specific requirements
• Project adapts as the client gains new knowledge on their service
• Innovation kicks in and the client wants to add capability
• The products you use have a hidden feature limit that prevents you from delivering what was promised

With fixed price projects, you win some, you lose some. But for a stable service-based business without the gamble of unknowns, we've reverted back to extremely clear hourly based pricing. The main difference this time around is that we're now in a place financially where we can bill at the end of each month for the time used. 

Suppliers and Vendors

One of my very trusted networking contacts once questioned my rationale behind being single vendor. What if they go bust? What if they cut ties for no reason? What if they go down for unmanageable amounts of time? And so on...

All very valid questions, but that's why I chose to go with Zoho. In 2017, I visited Zoho HQ in Chennai and it cemented what I already knew. They were in for the long haul and needed partners around the globe to help implement complex solutions for a growing market. The business is owned 100% by the founders, there's no external investment - and this is what's driving issues in the rest of the CRM sector at the moment.

After 11 years, we have a solid relationship with Zoho. We help each other and they've now opened a local HQ in Milton Keynes. It's growing rapidly and again emphasises that I chose the right vendor all those years ago.

The benefit of being single supplier is that I know the products inside-out. This helps differentiate from general CRM consultants who go whole-market and don't focus on delivering solutions. My brain would hurt if I had to learn as much as I know in Zoho in tools like HubSpot and Salesforce.

Time is your most important asset

When you're selling time, it becomes your most important asset in business and in life. When you sell time, you're effectively removing that from the other parts of your life - family, hobbies, chilling - whatever. So, make every minute count. I'm not really talking here about grinding it out in front of your computer delivering constant output, but more about being smart.

One of the first time-saving elements I eliminated endless meetings (no agenda) or unscheduled calls. These can be massive time-drains.

Get yourself a bookings scheduler tool. And stick to it. They allow you to block out time for meetings. I generally schedule mine in the afternoons so I can focus on delivery in the mornings (or take the dog for a long walk). Booking meetings works both ways as long as you're professional. Turn up on time and focus the energy on that client for the whole duration - no distractions.

For unscheduled inbound calls, voicemail is fine initially but you may want to consider a call answering service if the volumes are higher. Distractions during delivery hours can be large time drains as it takes time to get "re-started" on the task in hand.

The referral effect

In 2015, I helped out 4Networking on their stand at The Business Show. Those close to me questioned my rationale behind devoting so much non-billable time to another business. But, here's the story...

On that stand, I met a chap called Tommy - the founder of a truly wonderful business - Captain Fantastic Parties. His business was growing quickly and they'd outgrown Google Sheets. A CRM was needed, but customised to meet the needs of a party/event business. His energy was infectious and we hit it off straight away. A few weeks later, I delivered their custom CRM and they became a long-standing client.

The story doesn't end there though. Tommy's sister helped out with the admin side of the business and grew to love Zoho and what it could offer. A year later, after she had settled into a marketing role at a large defence contractor, she had the opportunity to present a solution to the board for a new CRM. Enter Target Cloud. 

So, from a small offer of help on another business's stand to a 250 seat CRM system that became a great client for over 5 years.

Present as a business

As a service-based business, having the basics in place ensures a professional image. Most are so easy to achieve and make all the difference.

• Have a clear and concise website/landing page with a professional domain name. A Facebook Page just doesn't cut it.
• Avoid the gmail/outlook email address. They make you look cheap. Use an email provider and associated domain.
• Use a designer to create a Brand Pack. You'll thank them later.  Canva is great for this.
• Update your LinkedIn profile - it's where service-based businesses live - and win a lot of new business.
• Keep your socials professional. I recommend separating your personal life and business life on socials.

Have plenty of outlets

When selling time, it's difficult to detach at first. You almost feel that if you're not working your billable hours, then you're leaving cash on the table. But, we're not machines....yet. We're human. We need time to rest and reflect. Most of my business ideas have come from simple downtime i.e. long walk, taking a shower, long car journey i.e. when I'm most relaxed.

Switch off an focus on something you love. Do that more often than you think you should - it will help in the long run. The flip side is also true. When you're in billable mode, stay sharp and focussed. Your clients will thank you for quality, timely deliverables.

Plan for profit

When you have a successful service-based business, you should plan to be in profit. With no or very little "Cost of Goods" and only your own time as a "cost", most of your billable work is essentially profit initially. It's very tempting to go out and buy campervans, electric scooters, e-bikes (yep, been there, got the t-shirt) but eventually the taxman catches up with you.

You need rewarding for all your hard work, but keep it real and invest in people to replace the stuff you don't want to do (usually non-billable admin), equipment and systems to make you even more productive and most importantly, your pension. All of these options help you grow your business and keep the taxman happy *

* definitely not financial advice :-) - speak to a pro.

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