Business Mentoring and Business Development Coaching for Professionals
Do you have a business in a rewarding field like stress management but are struggling to make the financial rewards you deserve?
You're not alone. I've known very many highly qualified people with great skills really struggle, especially when it comes to business development and marketing.
The toughest thing for professionals by far in my experience is getting the business; firstly finding people likely to be interested in their service, then generating leads, and ultimately finding clients who will pay for their service.
You're not alone. I've known very many highly qualified people with great skills really struggle, especially when it comes to business development and marketing.
The toughest thing for professionals by far in my experience is getting the business; firstly finding people likely to be interested in their service, then generating leads, and ultimately finding clients who will pay for their service.
"This is where I can help. I offer a one-to-one business mentoring and coaching service aimed at helping professionals such as Psychologists, Occupational Health Professionals and HR Consultants improve their business development and marketing. |
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How the business mentoring and coaching service works
The main aim is help you grow a profitable and sustainable business in ways that work for you. Key areas are business development and marketing, but I'll provide feedback on other business areas as needed. (Interested? Please use my mentoring enquiry form.)
The first session (usually a video skype call) is free and lasts up to an hour. We'll chat about your business: what you've done, what's worked and what hasn't, what you're currently working on and what you're planning. I'll ask you quite a few questions to get a good feel for your business and the kinds of challenges you face. Then we'll discuss what you see as priorities, the areas you feel you most need help with. I'll contribute my ideas at this point too. We'll discuss what would happen should we continue - costs, scheduling and so on. And before we finish, we'll explore any priorities or actions to complete for the next session. Yes, there will likely be some 'homework'. This might be simply to consider some questions around business development. Or it could be some more concrete business development project or task, that we can work on together in following sessions.
Subsequent sessions can be organized to suit. They will typically be a skype video call of up to an hour. If you are willing to commit to a series of sessions, this will reduce the cost per session. During the sessions we'll discuss general business stuff about how things are going and any areas you'd like feedback on. But there may also be projects where I give specific coaching and advice. So it will be very practical and focused on what you need.
Examples we could work together on include:
Here's how one client described the service...
The main aim is help you grow a profitable and sustainable business in ways that work for you. Key areas are business development and marketing, but I'll provide feedback on other business areas as needed. (Interested? Please use my mentoring enquiry form.)
The first session (usually a video skype call) is free and lasts up to an hour. We'll chat about your business: what you've done, what's worked and what hasn't, what you're currently working on and what you're planning. I'll ask you quite a few questions to get a good feel for your business and the kinds of challenges you face. Then we'll discuss what you see as priorities, the areas you feel you most need help with. I'll contribute my ideas at this point too. We'll discuss what would happen should we continue - costs, scheduling and so on. And before we finish, we'll explore any priorities or actions to complete for the next session. Yes, there will likely be some 'homework'. This might be simply to consider some questions around business development. Or it could be some more concrete business development project or task, that we can work on together in following sessions.
Subsequent sessions can be organized to suit. They will typically be a skype video call of up to an hour. If you are willing to commit to a series of sessions, this will reduce the cost per session. During the sessions we'll discuss general business stuff about how things are going and any areas you'd like feedback on. But there may also be projects where I give specific coaching and advice. So it will be very practical and focused on what you need.
Examples we could work together on include:
- Exploring the business development process you currently use to generate sales, with a view to making simple changes that will substantially increase your revenue.
- Looking at the many ways you can dramatically reduce costs so you can become a much more efficient marketing machine (note: the most effective marketing strategies are largely free).
- How best to respond to your enquiries, including distinguishing between genuinely 'hot' leads and time-wasting information gathering.
- Using events both for your marketing and for income generation. I can help you understanding the vital role that events play in the business development process for professionals, boosting lead generation and sales of your service.
- Developing and publishing content and how you can use this strategy to enhance your marketing effectiveness.
- Boosting your social media profile and using social media to improve your marketing.
- Feedback on your website and ways to boost your website's effectiveness to market your services.
Here's how one client described the service...
"Whilst growing my stress management training business, Alan was my coach and business mentor. We had weekly skype meetings where we discussed how to grow the business, business planning and goal setting, marketing and promotional strategies and weekly action plans. I really enjoyed working with Alan as his approach was always helpful, relaxed and he had a genuine desire to enable me to grow and develop my business. He shared some of his own experiences which I found really beneficial as I was new to the sector. At the end of the session we had agreed clear goals which offered me direction and structure. I really enjoyed working with Alan and would certainly recommend to anyone thinking of setting up their own business or developing their existing business to get in touch with him. He is extremely approachable and would always respond to any email enquiries that I had in between our sessions.... It was a real pleasure working with you, Alan, and thank you for sharing such a wealth of advice and information." Natasha Shearer
A bit about me. I've been in the stress management business for nearly 20 years, and have developed several businesses, including a university spin out company. With my current business, I work mainly with large corporate clients across all sectors. This includes Government (UK), NHS, Utilities, Local Authorities, Universities and Colleges and large private companies. Most of my business delivery has been training and development, especially to managers, but I also provide stress management consultancy and surveys.
I confess that I've made just about every marketing mistake it's possible to make in my business career. But I've learned a lot from those mistakes and have come to understand (and love!) business development. Over the years, I've developed a set of competencies in this area that have enabled me to be successful and build profitable and sustainable businesses.
Recently, I've started to pass my knowledge and experience on to others. I've presented on business development at psychology conferences (which got fantastic feedback possibly because no one seems to talk about business development), and I've written several business articles, which you can download from another page. Coaching and mentoring are becoming a much bigger part of my business life and I'm enjoying this immensely. It's wonderful to be able to help people grow their business and make more money. (One colleague recently confided in me: "Alan, it's just great to make some money!").
I'm interested in business mentoring - what should I do next?
If you're interested in working with me, the best thing to do is to use my mentoring enquiry form. Alternatively, you could contact me directly by email or by phone via my land-line (which you can find in the footer below). We could then arrange an initial consultation, which is free of charge. This session usually lasts about 50 minutes via a skype video call. During the session, we can discuss your business, any problems you're having and explore whether I could help. It's important to establish if there's a good fit for a business mentoring relationship to be successful.
What happens after that is up to you. If you want to continue working with me, we will agree when, how and how much it will cost. I don't look for long-term commitment. My mentoring or coaching support has to be of real value and work for you, otherwise it's not worth doing and you can stop the sessions at any time.
If you'd like to connect with me on social media, you can find my social media links at the very top of this and all other web pages on this site. Just click on any of the icons.
I look forward to connecting with you and helping you grow a highly profitable and sustainable business.
Alan Bradshaw, Business Psychologist
I confess that I've made just about every marketing mistake it's possible to make in my business career. But I've learned a lot from those mistakes and have come to understand (and love!) business development. Over the years, I've developed a set of competencies in this area that have enabled me to be successful and build profitable and sustainable businesses.
Recently, I've started to pass my knowledge and experience on to others. I've presented on business development at psychology conferences (which got fantastic feedback possibly because no one seems to talk about business development), and I've written several business articles, which you can download from another page. Coaching and mentoring are becoming a much bigger part of my business life and I'm enjoying this immensely. It's wonderful to be able to help people grow their business and make more money. (One colleague recently confided in me: "Alan, it's just great to make some money!").
I'm interested in business mentoring - what should I do next?
If you're interested in working with me, the best thing to do is to use my mentoring enquiry form. Alternatively, you could contact me directly by email or by phone via my land-line (which you can find in the footer below). We could then arrange an initial consultation, which is free of charge. This session usually lasts about 50 minutes via a skype video call. During the session, we can discuss your business, any problems you're having and explore whether I could help. It's important to establish if there's a good fit for a business mentoring relationship to be successful.
What happens after that is up to you. If you want to continue working with me, we will agree when, how and how much it will cost. I don't look for long-term commitment. My mentoring or coaching support has to be of real value and work for you, otherwise it's not worth doing and you can stop the sessions at any time.
If you'd like to connect with me on social media, you can find my social media links at the very top of this and all other web pages on this site. Just click on any of the icons.
I look forward to connecting with you and helping you grow a highly profitable and sustainable business.
Alan Bradshaw, Business Psychologist