Tim Brown May Newsletter

Welcome to my May Newsletter

Your go-to place for proven ideas, challenging insights and anything in between that could add value to your day. Enjoy the read and let me know what you think.

How To Break Your Team in 12 Easy Steps

Are you fed up with your team coming up with innovative ideas, taking responsibility and putting in great performances?

Are you pining for those exciting days of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants chaos and fire-fighting?

In this article you’ll discover – or re-learn – the 12 easy steps to really break your team and become the magnet for all of their problems, questions and gripes.

There are no quick fixes or silver bullets here–but these are simple to implement and guaranteed to work.

Read it on my website

Book Review: They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

10 years ago a great coach asked me a great question: "How would you change your approach to sales if you knew you couldn't sign someone as a client?"

On reflection I came to the conclusion that I'd be more curious, ask more questions and dig deeper to understand what the crux of the issue was and what they really needed.

Less 'selling', more 'advising' – and it's influenced my approach to sales ever since.

Marcus Sheridan’s book They Ask You Answer takes that approach and applies it to marketing.?

What is certainly true is that the amount of research (online) done by a prospective buyer before making contact has never been higher, and this prompts 2 important conclusions:

First: if your marketing material is more helpful to the prospective customer than your competition, you’re more likely to get the call

Second: your marketing dept should be doing an increasing amount of the leg work of sales dept.

And this is the crux of the book. Your potential customers have questions they want answered. You can either duck the issue and aid in their frustration – or be the unguarded voice of wisdom in your space and help them figure things out.

There are 5 main questions that will arise:

1. Pricing / costs: how much and why. Most people would start with ‘that depends on …” but that won’t cut it. You can give people some guidance – and should.
2. Problems: what are the problems / drawbacks with your solution vs that of your competitors. For which types of customers will this matter and why.
3. Comparisons: how does your product compare to the market. (Tip: only approach this once you’re comfortable with who your product is not right for).
4. Reviews: honest reviews of the various solutions in your marketplace
5. Best in class: who are the best product / service providers in your marketplace

?It’s hard to write these if you’re not prepared to admit that your solution will be the wrong fit for some people. It’s hard to write these if you fear your pricing doesn’t make sense. Or that your competition is a better fit.

If you’re confident on those, these articles are liberating, and your prospects will thank you for it.

Enjoy the read and let me know how you get on.

If you want to read more and are struggling to get round to it or aren’t sure what to read, check out our Business BookClub. We meet on zoom on the last Weds of the month from 5:30pm to 7pm.

This month (Weds 31st May, 5:30pm to 7pm) we're reviewing another classic book to improve your networking, management and relationships in general: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.)

Check out Business BookCLUB

GrowthCLUB Online

Are you in need of some strategic clarity in your business?

According to a survey by Barclays Bank, less than half of the UK’s SME owners have a business plan – and half of those never see the light of day.

I suspect this is because most business plans are designed purely to support a request for funding. Which is why they are reassuringly long, with lots of impressive extrapolations and way too much ‘why’ and ‘what’ – and nowhere near enough ‘how’, Which in turn is why they end up in a drawer / bin as soon as that finding has been secured.

But: business planning is hugely valuable.

Making time to stop, think and learn. Identifying the logical next steps – and what ‘best practice’ looks like for those steps.

Bringing the team together and identifying when it’s time to celebrate – or if things aren’t going quite so great, to trigger the process of displacing anxiety with (the correct) activity.

This isn’t something to do if you have the time and budget. It’s the thing to do if you want to make the time and budget.

Our next award-winning quarterly business strategy session is in June and comes in 3 parts:

1. Tues 20th June from 12-1pm - Prep Session: to make sure you’re thinking along the right lines to maximise the value you get from the main session.
2. Fri 23rd June from 9:45am to 1:15pm - GrowthClub Online: – with all the tools, education and discussion you’ll need to create your plan of action.
3. Weds 28th June from 12-1pm – Finalise Plans: your opportunity to review your plan, write up any loose ends and be ready to put it into action.

Check our GrowthCLUB

Kent Rhodes Challenge 2023

What could possibly go wrong??

On Sat 10th June I’ll be dusting off the hiking boots and joining 49 colleagues and mates to have a crack at the ‘Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge’.?

According to Google, it amounts to 3 peaks (thanks Siri) with a total climb of c5000 ft spread over a 25-mile walk - which has to be completed in under 12 hours.?

Or, as my stepson kindly put it “So you’re doing a marathon uphill? Have you had a medical?” Harsh but fair.?

We’re doing it to honour the memory of our fellow ActionCoach Kent Rhodes who died of a brain tumour in 2018. Kent was a straight-talking South African who was as abundant and generous as he was direct and was someone I looked up to from my first day. A top man and a great coach.?

Since then, the Kent Rhodes Challenge has become a yearly gig to have some fun, stretch ourselves and remember absent friends.?

In the process we’re aiming to raise ￡30k for Children with Cancer UK and the ActionCoach UK Foundation which provides a business education for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. If you are able to donate, it’d be greatly appreciated.?

This video will give you an idea of what's involved from previous years - plus some words from Kent's Mum which puts things in perspective.?

Click here if you'd like to donate