Whatever stage you are at in your business growth, effective and efficient processes can be the difference that makes the difference.
Our latest client success story looks at the work we did with Tracey Miller, Managing Director of Bigger Brighter Bolder, a business growth club specialising in helping service-based businesses launch, build and scale.
Our process mapping sessions and best practice advice helped them solve their member onboarding challenges.
Business Boost / Business Builder / Business Mastery / Sales Pipeline Management / Product Boost / CRM for success
The Challenge
At its core, Bigger Brighter Bolder (or BBB to its friends and members) is all about helping people to grow their businesses. They build close relationships with all their members, getting right under the skin of their businesses and understanding what keeps them awake at night.
Their own process for getting members into the organisation and benefitting from their services wasn’t delivering. They felt it was taking too long to onboard new joiners and, as the business grew, this was becoming a bottleneck in delivering a service that fitted its action-focused, dynamic business owner members.
They asked us to facilitate their team brainstorming session and help them understand what wasn’t working and how they could employ best practice to improve things.
The Approach
Whenever we consider processes, we like to keep things simple. Often, what feels like a huge mountain of a challenge can be solved by putting simple prompts and reminders into existing processes and using technology, such as a CRM, to automate activity as much as possible.
A process such as onboarding is all about making the client feel noticed and nurtured so consistency is key.
We brought the BBB team into our offices to provide them with a relaxed and neutral environment where they could really open up their thinking. We then provided gentle challenge and questioning to draw out every interaction that formed part of the existing process, examine it and work out what needed fixing.
Tracey’s Story
“Working with Julia really appealed to me because she has a fantastic mix of high motivational energy and meticulous attention to detail. I knew we needed to get right into the nuts and bolts but the thought of doing this was daunting. I, for one, am not a detail person.
Julia created an excellent customer experience by facilitating our discussions, drawing out opinions and finding every part of the process so we could examine it thoroughly.
The outcome was a much slicker process which has halved the time it takes us to onboard a new member. We’re growing as an organisation and, without Julia’s invaluable support, we’d never have managed to keep up with onboarding. We set high expectations and ask our members for a 12-month commitment, so this first touch needs to be right.”
In addition to finding the right solution, BBB are delighted to be current contenders for a Customer Service Award, a sign that they’ve done what they needed to fix this important part of their business processes.
Julia’s Solution
BBB have evolved organically over time and their issues with a lumpy process are common among businesses that have grown. Often, a basic process ends up with bits being bolted on, or quick fixes to allow delivery to continue, and organisations end up with this ‘teetering tower’ effect, where the slightest issue can cause the whole thing to come toppling down.
Tracey asked me to work with the team at the right time, before any major issues materialised, and I was delighted to run a session for them.
When it comes to business owners examining their own processes, it’s easy to become blinded by detail. I brought a logical, systemised approach to the proceedings and helped them plan what they really needed. They were able to use existing technology to support the solution we designed so there was little disruption in exchange for a much better approach.
“Julia really bangs the drum for systems and processes, and her input enabled us to scale our onboarding effectively. She’s diligent, sensitive, genuinely cares and takes her clients’ success personally.” Tracey Miller
“When it comes to processes, I can’t overstate the importance of simplicity. It’s also really valuable to step back now and again and revisit what is working and what isn’t.” Julia Blake
How could Blake Consultants help you?
If you run a small to medium sized business and would like future growth and success, here’s how Blake Consultants can help:
1. Experiencing overwhelm? We will reduce your workload and increase your revenue by making you more efficient;
2. Experiencing high success? We’ll set up your business to enable you to cope with high levels of delivery and have time to plan and grow;
3. Reached a growth milestone? Our CRM solution will enable you to recruit and maintain consistency of approach;
4. Struggling to convert opportunities? We will help you find the time to nurture your business and segment your activities and messaging;
5. Forward thinker? As a very early start-up who recognises you need a business structure to grow in to, we should be your first stop.
If you’re a coach, consultant or other service-focused business owner, ambitious for growth, contact Julia on 01635 592020 or Julia.blake@blakeconsultants.co.uk for an initial free consultation.