Why talk to Ben? :: Ben M. Bartlett - Business Strategist, Strategic Planner, Business and Executive Coach

As you know, there are a variety of people and firms you can call upon to help you grow your business. Let me see. You've got business/management consultants, marketing agencies and consultants, business coaches, accountants, psychologists….the list goes and so on.

What's more, this variety also extends to the fees you can be charged. Take consulting and coaching for example. On the one hand you have consulting heavyweights like Tom Peters who charge as much as US$40,000 an hour. Then, at the other end of the scale there are some local business and life coaches who hawk their services for a measly $50.00 an hour.

So why do some consultants and coaches charge so much? Simple. It's called expertise. In effect, when you hire consultants and coaches you are purchasing their brains. In other words, their expertise, experience and ideas. This is not something you can buy off the shelf like a software package or chocolate bar. The best consulting brains have accumulated a significant depth of expertise… so will charge accordingly.

When you think about it, the best consultants and coaches aren't really expensive at all. They are not charging you "so much". You actually get very good value for money. And a few words of warning. When you use price as the main criteria when choosing a consultant – with a view to hiring the cheapest around – the cheapest could end up being the most expensive.

So why should you talk to me?

1. Genuine strategist

I deal with the high-level, strategically important factors that help my clients to become more competitive and to have more wins, more often. Primarily this involves helping clients to:

Analyze competitive and internal environments more creatively and effectively
Figure out how best to beat competitors
Develop the right business, competitive and brand strategies
Produce clear, concise and actionable strategic plans
Build robust revenue stream models
Design results-focused marketing plans, systems and processes
Establish an effective organizational structure
Build and maintain a high performance culture

Ultimately, I help business owners to be more effective at working "on their businesses" and "working in their businesses.''' The benefits? By taking a strategic approach to business improvement you will be able to:

Work smarter..not just harder
Achieve more with less
Improve productivity and effectiveness…not busyness
Leverage your time, talents and resources
Creatively dominate your markets and competitors
Balance your business and personal life better

2. Work directly with a strategic brain

To assist clients, I work with a network of highly professional and experienced project partners. But, your primary contact will always be yours truly…and my brain. Yes, that's right. There are no underlings, acne-faced graduates, inexperienced and poorly qualified consultants whatsoever.

Interestingly, when it comes to strategic thinking and planning, our brains are primarily wired in one of two ways. First there is the strategic brain and then there is the sequential brain.

According to Wikipedia, those who have a strategic brain (also known as masterminds) "…are better than any other type at brainstorming approaches to situations… [are] highly pragmatic, and they will put forth a great deal of time and effort to implement effective ideas. They are driven to solve complex problems and to create organized, decided, and executed solutions." (see Wikipedia-mastermind role variant). Approximately 1% of the population have strategic brains.

Now compare the strategic brain with the sequential brain, which is far more common and is the type of brain associated with your traditional accountants and consultants. This type of brain is more logical, focuses on the present, is less intuitive, has difficulty thinking outside-the-box, and prefers structure and orderliness.

Make of this what you will, but you really need to decide the type of brain you want help you to solve your problems. Do you want the dynamics and ideas of a strategic brain, or the logic and tradition of a sequential brain?

My brain? Strategic.

3. Visual thinking and planning tools

As suggested above, to improve business results you need to reduce the emphasis on the left-brain, spreadsheet and numbers-focused thinking and planning that is the domain of traditional consulting firms and number crunchers. Instead, you need to more effectively utilize right-brained strategic and intuitive thinking. How can you do that? To help you here I offer a range of tools and processes based on the concept of visual thinking and planning. Developed over a 15 year period, these tools include:

SmartSWOT visual planning tools. These include strategic planning visuals such as grids, process visuals and models. Altogether I've developed over 200 of these, which make analysis more effective and creative, and lead to more creative, viable solutions.

One page strategic plans. Places key elements of a strategic plan onto an A3 to A1 page – instead of a long-winded document that hardly anyone understands or will read. Can be used in the formulation of strategic plans, marketing plans, project plans and more.

The concept of visual thinking and planning has evolved over the last 20 years and has really come of age since the mid 2000s. Large companies that utilize visual planning include Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Google and Coca Cola, and its principles and practices are taught at such universities as Harvard and Yale.

4. A unique mix of services.

Built upon my approach to strategic thinking and planning I offer a range of unique services to help you improve business results. These include:

Strategy Sessions. These are one-off as needed analytical, brainstorming and planning sessions you can use to help solve an urgent issue or develop an opportunity.
Strategic Brand Development. Auditing and – if necessary – re-building one of your company's most valuable assets. Your strategic brand.
Business Model Design. Designing a visual framework of how you will operate and grow your business.
Marketing Systems Planning. Again, using the SmartSWOT system and tools, this service helps you to build a more effective and systematized marketing function.
Strategic Business and Executive coaching using sports-based coaching models
SmartSWOT Bootcamp – Strategic planning bootcamp
Strategic MBA – Workshops to help business owners and executives improve strategic analysis, thinking and planning skills.

Surprisingly affordable, these services are available for as little as $2,000 per month, which is about what you'll pay for a part-time receptionist. More importantly, they focus on achieving specific results, which can include:

An improved strategic position and market dominance
Competitively superior strategic plans
A more knowledgeable and skilled leadership team and workforce
Stronger leadership and management
A more dynamic work culture and environment
Much improved brand awareness
Better opt-in rates and lead generation performance
Higher sales conversion rates
Increased customer retention and loyalty
Improved cost utilization
Increased revenue and profitability

5. Services targeting family-oriented CEOs and owners of growth firms.

Over the years I've worked with a wide variety of clients, ranging from corporates, non-profits and government departments through to small businesses. However, I mostly enjoy working with family-oriented CEOs and owners of growth firms participating in dynamic and competitive industries.

Just as importantly, it is important to establish who I don't work with. Take a look at the list below and see if any apply to you:

You have a profit-at-all-costs mentality
You don't have a problem sacrificing your family in the pursuit of business success
You have a drug and/or alcohol problem
You have a reputation for being difficult to deal with, your ears are painted on and you don't listen to good advice.

If any of the above sounds like you then you and I are not a good fit. Our values are totally at odds with each other, and so it just would not work.

6. Practitioners, not just consultants.

Yes, my project partners and I are practitioners and not just consultants. Why is this important? Let me explain it to you this way. Are you familiar with the definition of a consultant? Here it is in case you haven’t heard it.

According to the definition, a consultant is someone who knows 999 positions for making love but has never been in bed with a woman.

You think that’s funny? I think it’s scary. You see, many so-called consultants and coaches are very good at telling their clients what to do. Problem is, many don’t know how to execute the advice they give. The results, if you’re not careful, could be disappointing. Or even disastrous.

Actually, it’s a bit like someone who calls himself a builder, but he doesn’t even know how to construct a dog kennel. You wouldn’t dare have your dream home built by such a person would you? So don’t make the same type of mistake with your business growth and performance improvement requirements. My project partners and I will tell you how to build a mansion…and then help you to build it.

What to do now?

Firstly, if you haven't done so already I recommend you subscribe to my e-newsletter and blog. Eagerly read by CEOs and business owners in countries throughout the world including India, USA, Australia and New Zealand, my e-newsletter is a must-read for growth focused individuals.

With my newsletter you will receive notifications of blog updates, plus you'll get invites to free workshops, access to free Power Point presentations and much more.

Most importantly, you will get to learn, understand and apply strategic high performance theory and principles to improve your business. To subscribe, simply fill in your name and email address below.

Next, if you want immediate help, I suggest you contact me to arrange a no -obligation discussion – in person, by Skype or email. And tell me what your biggest business challenge or goal is.

Once I've assessed your situation I'll give you a brief outline on what I think you need to do. I'll be brutally honest and tell you if it's a strategic or tactical problem you need to overcome. Then I'll give you some specific, concise recommendations.

Contact me on 09 534 9314, or you can send me an email to ben at benmbartlett.com

So go ahead. Subscribe to my e-newsletter below. Or write or call to tell me what your biggest business challenge or goal is.