Time and again the outcome rests on how the business is built and the drive of the people in it.

Planning where your business is heading in times when the road ahead looks unclear is tough. Every day we read about risks facing businesses but when was it ever different? No one saw the pandemic coming and few can say what lies around the corner.

What you can do however is shape your business so it can face what comes next, good or bad. Time and time again the outcome rests on two things: how the business is structured and the drive of the people in it. Think of it like a car. The chassis may be different but the engine is what drives it forward.

At Tinderbox we focus on that ‘engine’ with owners, managers and business leaders:

• Leadership and management

Many owners step up from doing the work to leading a team of people without any training It’s not their fault but it creates two key challenges.  Firstly, they spend too much time fielding day-to-day questions instead of building up the business.  And secondly, they risk losing the best people, as top staff want growth and career development, not just a pay cheque.

We give leaders the tools and techniques to manage effectively and free up their time to think bigger.  At the same time we help them build careers for their teams so talent stays put.

• Marketing and sales

These two business-critical departments must work closely together.  Marketing should feed leads and sales should turn those leads into paying clients.  Simple on paper, yet many firms struggle.  They pick too many routes without testing what works.  Or they hire salespeople who promise to  ‘bring customers/ clients’ with them and rarely do.

We’ve seen firms sure they had a product / service issue when the real problem was a weak sales process. A £3million gift business doubled turnover in two years after we helped reset their sales process and team.

• Supply Chain

Modern stock control systems are very capable of supplying precise information of the status of stock and exact delivery times in real time.  Used well they can help optimise customer/ client service while preventing costly overstocks or missed orders.  Yet many SMEs miss gains because their buyers  have never received any training in negotiating skills. Teaching buyers to negotiate adds margin and builds strong supplier ties.  A few points gained here can make a huge difference to profit.

We’ve worked with hundreds of businesses on these areas and the results speak for themselves.  Have a look at  our case studies here.

If you’d like to talk, we’re  happy to offer our first no-obligation chat free of charge Book here and we’ll be in touch to confirm.

Keep an eye out for our new recruitment and retention service, designed to help firms hire the right people and keep their best talent.   

David Turner
MD Tinderbox and Director of The Growth Experts