SAQs - Should Ask Questions

SAQs are questions you should get answered prior to choosing who you will work with. We approach this from the perspective of what we would advise a relative to ask about our industry if, for some reason, they could not work with us.

• Q: What should I look out for when choosing a business growth consultancy?  
  
  A: Beware of anyone who promises you quick or amazing results without you having to change   anything about how your business operates or portrays itself. Many business owners "borrow" 
  their offer or sales message from their competitor. (Interestingly enough, so do many marketing agencies.) This will make you look and sound the same as everyone else in your industry and force you to compete on price instead of setting yourself up as the exceptional provider of your product or service, where price becomes irrelevant.
  We have a policy of NOT working with clients who are unwilling to innovate themselves, their offer, their operations and their messages. We like to win and to see our clients win.

  
   

• Q: What is the one thing I should know that will enhance my odds of success?
  
  A: I could go on about only working with people who have a track record of success, but everyone else says that, so it has no real value. It's a platitude.
  The real value is in working with organizations that can transform not just your business but your whole industry and who are committed to creating a win for you, your customers and your industry as well as themselves. Innovation is the secret sauce. It's so secret that very few people know how to do it properly. 
  
   

• Q: Does the agency or consultancy have a full spectrum approach?
  
  
  A: Many consultants and agencies take a piecemeal approach to scaling businesses. They tend to 
  
  focus on tactical things like more content, more channels and getting more customers in order to 
  
  increase revenues. This involves more effort, overhead and resources. Additionally, once you grow 

  
  past 3–5M dollars your business changes. You will need dashboards, accountability, playbooks 
  
  and scorecards as well as a navigation system to ensure you are making the best decisions for 
  
  the business and your customers. These are also essential for eliminating key person risk, which 
  
  then enables you to step back from the day-to-day operations and make the business sellable. 
  
  In order to grow, you must be able to remove yourself from the day-to-day operations, even if you 
  
  just want to pass the business to your children.