Blog articles

Blink and you'll miss it

by John Kettley

Opportunities arrive in many shapes and forms which is why we (as business people) must be in a constant state of readiness to capitalise on them. Sometimes they are income generating and other times they are in the form of someone who can accelerate our ambitions. The challenge of course, is that we're often so busy and distracted by the day to day ‘task list’ that we literally stop seeing them for what they are... One of the advantages of being a mature ...

Decisions Decisions

by John Kettley

Decisions Decisions... if there's one thing I've learned over the years it's that success is achieved from being 'business agile' which in of its self is based on our ability to make decisions quickly and if that decision is wrong to quickly make another decision without beating ourselves up over having made the wrong decision earlier. The procrastinators often don't think of themselves as being slow decision makers, they typically just 'think' they need time too carefully think things through which translates ...

Thinking of selling your Business?

by John Kettley

Thinking of selling your Business? If you're thinking of selling their business in the next few years please do not make the single biggest and most costly mistake that 95 % of business owners make...i.e. leaving preparations until 6 months before they actually want to sell!!Doing this means that you won't have enough time to do the financial engineering needed to get the best possible price, it also often means that the business is simply not 'packaged' well from a buyers ...

So what is a sales process & do I really need one?

by John Kettley

So what is a Sales process & do I need one? The sales subject is a subject many people almost avoid learning because they have a misconception about i.e. they believe that it is almost immoral to reach out and sell to people stuff they don’t want to buy! The truth is sales is actually about ‘giving’ people what they WANT to buy, because it gives them a gain… To give you a foundation, sales essentially consists of 3 basic elements, each of ...

What's your next move?

by John Kettley

What’s your next move? Whenever we go through a period of flux, there comes a moment when we think to ourselves Am I on the right track? Is what I’m doing the best way? What should I do next? The good news is…. you’re asking the ‘right’ questions Most people out there will simply be do nothing, paralysed by the fear of doing something different for fear that it will be the wrong thing to do. This my friend is the entrepreneur’s moment and the moment when ...

How to fill your sales pipeline

by John Kettley

CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR NEW CLIENTS? Would you like more prospects to contact you when they are ready to buy? Would you like prospects to contact you before they call your competition? Wouldn’t it be great if these prospects were almost pre-sold as well? The good news is that all of this ‘is’ more than possible. I’m sure that you are asking yourself how, and how soon? While it’s not really that hard to achieve, most people won’t take the time out to learn how to do ...

Why these next 4 weeks are crucial to making 2021 a business success!

by John Kettley

Why these next 4 weeks are crucial to making 2021 a business success! If you take into account that the business community doesn’t ‘normally’ kick into gear until the 2nd to 3rd week of January each year, I think it’s fair to say that this on top of everything that’s happened in 2020, most people in the SME world are going to have a very bumpy start to the 2021. Which is why it’s absolutely crucial that we create as much momentum ...

From 6 to 7 figures in a tough business environment

by John Kettley

From 6 to 7 figures in a tough business environment It was at Martin’s kitchen table in 2010 that he shared with me his desire to take his business from 6 to 7 figures, ‘despite’ the business landscape looking really tough at the time. We were still very much in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 crash and businesses were still not making any significant investment in their ‘IT’, that said Martin had done exceptionally well in having maintained a steady turnover ...

How to pivot and know which direction is right for you

by John Kettley

How to pivot and know which is the right direction for you... There are times in our lives when we simply must ask of ourselves the BIG questions that will change everything... The kind of questions that for the most part we shove to the back of our minds because of the everyday distractions of our business lives. With everything that is going on in the business world, this is truly a moment to 'carve out' some time to re-calibrate and deep dive into ...

A Bridge into The Age of the Entrepreneur

by John Kettley

Sales Masters Guild Founder, John F Kettley tells us why the guild started, what it does so differently and why it’s still here today. As often happens when you run into an old friend, the conversation quickly focuses on what you’re doing these days, “turning businesses around and mentoring business owners” I said. “Really?… How did you get into that?” “I fell into it to be honest, I’d had a few years out of the business world and was starting to look at ...