Hugh Griffiths, Board Advisor with us at elephants child, is a former military aviator, turned entrepreneur. He founded Inzpire Ltd, one of UK’s fastest growing defence companies, which he led as CEO for many years. He shares his tips for SME leaders to help them survive and thrive beyond the start up phase.
The mid 1980’s saw the emergence of the concept of the Marketing Mix, the 4 P’s - Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The model was further developed with the addition of the People, Process and Physical Evidence elements. These pillars form the cornerstone of many businesses’ commercial strategy.
One of the simplest ways to win new business is to sell more to people you know - a process affectionately known as juicing or squeezing the lemon1. You already have a relationship with these people, they know that they can trust you, and they value your work. So, what are your options? Geoff Gwynn, one of our Business Growth Advisors has some advice for you.
You’ve set up a business with a friend or connection, to keep things fair you split things, including the ownership of the business, 50:50. But what happens if you disagree on major decisions? Particularly if one of you decides you no longer want to be part of the business going forwards? We’ve worked with businesses in exactly this situation.
One challenge we regularly come across when we work with businesses is a trepidation to sell their products and services. Non-salespeople often find the prospective daunting or just a bit uncomfortable. But if you want to grow your business, you need to be clear on what you are selling, who is going to buy from you, and how your products or services can solve their problems.
