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We recruit top talent for our clients. There, I've said the dirty word.  Recruiter. It is a word that's right up there with car salesperson (been one of those also), estate agent (also sadly been one of those)* and lawyer (not been one of these fortunately). Straight out of university I imported luxury cars into the UK (p.s. this is not me!) Yes I worked at Foxtons, yes I had a Foxtons mini and no this wasn't my one! I didn't intend on becoming a recruiter, it started by helping a client out initially at the end of 2021... "Nick you know the industry, you've built and scaled a business and teams in this space and we're struggling to get value out of the recruiters.  Why don't you help?" How hard can it be, I thought.  Turns out it wasn't at all. I don't look or act like a recruiter, so I can reach talent that others simply can't.  Not only that, I could sell my clients' business really well.  So I found someone, he loved the opportunity, was hired (he is still there today), and with that I realised there is a problem to fix. It’s the industry that needs transformation, and that's what got me interested. I realised that my experience of recruiters (generally) has been a process I've always had to endure.  There are exceptions, Rob Case, who took me seriously from the first call, even though at the time I was sitting in my paddling pool drinking champagne (see * for my excuse, and it was hot). He placed me into Inca Software, has hired for me since and is a friend today. But generally, recruitment is a transaction, it's not a partnership and definitely not a strategic one, where they actually are interested, motivated (and capable), of helping you scale your business in the long term. You'll be familiar with the following: Candidates being presented that aren't relevant Pushed to choose a candidate as they are 'wanted elsewhere' All candidates presented are immediately available (desperate?) You're not sure if you trust what the recruiter is telling you (knowing they just want to make the placement) You're not sure if you're interviewing correctly for competency and fit or asking the right questions You're not sure you're making the right decisions on hires It is what frustrated me as founder and a hiring manager.  So much so at Sempre I hired our own recruiter, embedded them into the sales team and built out a large database so I wouldn't have to deal with recruiters again (Rob excepted). Except that it didn't really work. Back to today, following that first hire I helped with, we've been sought out by others again and again to help.  'I' is now 'we' and we've blended our deep industry know-how, with recruiting excellence, which has enabled us to reach further, faster, and better build and nurture our 'career-curious' candidate base. We're targeting everything that's wrong with the industry, and trying to do what is right. Not only do we work extremely hard head hunting every single role we work on, we're constantly evolving and improving our outreach strategies. We look into the future and warm up people in advance of roles going live. We deliver a multi-stage assessment and interview process, which means that by the time you get recommended a candidate by us, you're going to want to meet them. We're not 100% perfect, but we're getting pretty darn close. And we've gone further than just head hunting, we also deliver: Custom resourcing programmes Where your reputation is predicated on delivery and reputational damage sets in with your inability to implement, we provide the delivery elasticity you need to flex up and down via custom-built training and secondment programmes. Strategic resourcing If you don't know exactly what or who you need, you aren't confident in your interview/onboarding/development capabilities or you just don't have the time, then you've failed before you've begun. We cover the entire spectrum of the process right from the very start - designing the role with you as well as what good looks like, owning the entire process through to building onboarding and development programmes. Talent Strategy We deliver a comprehensive programme that trains you on (and implements) best-in-class talent processes, systems and capabilities. This ensures you programmatically hire the best, every time, become a great company to work for and build a talent pool that makes people like us (recruiters, urgh, I've said it again) redundant. Sales as a service We drive up opportunities in your business by having the conversations you don't or can't have. So if any of this resonates, and if you want a team who can: Deeply understand your business and your culture Sell your business better than you Comprehensively head hunt and leave no stone unturned Access candidates that no-one else can Land extremely high quality candidates Genuinely help you move the needle forward Then we should talk. At very least, we'll give you insight into how our talent advisory practice works with clients and what learnings you can take from that to help transform your business. This post was written by Nick Patrick, Founder of Vicit. * In my defence when I was young I thought I was cool, so I wanted to buy fast cars and property - which I did (without being cool)!

I've been in sales all my career, dabbling in some pretty 'interesting' sales jobs at the start; selling cars, gym memberships and then houses before moving into B2B sales in the software industry. The one thing that was consistent in all of them was cold calling, every day. Back then we didn't have social media, in fact we barely had technology. The gym membership sales role involved the Thomson Blue Pages and a bunch of pages ripped out for each rep. Proper old school selling, lots of choice language thrown at us, lots of phones slammed down on us (back then we all still relied on actual phones, not everyone had a mobile!). Outreach as a function of sales has changed and morphed since then, LinkedIn and email automation play a big part, as does AI now (rightly or wrongly), but arguably it has just enabled salespeople and entire sales teams to hide away from having actual conversations with people. I'll put my entire career on the line to say that there is no better way of building a (sales) relationship with a stranger than an actual conversation over the phone. In fact, I'd argue it is more effective than face to face. On the phone you can 'act as-if' (for this and many other great quotes see the brilliant version of the Wolf of Wall Street called Boiler Room), it is far easier to add value to a senior decision maker when they haven't already been able to judge you based on your looks, age or experience. It is for this reason that LinkedIn is such a double-edged sword. Unless you have absolutely nailed your profile and it is utterly aligned, authentically with what you're selling, you've failed before you've begun. Cold calling is a core part of the reason why I've sold £250m+ of software and services in the last 20 years, it is why I could build and aggressively scale a software reseller in a crowded market, it is why the companies we work with across the world now are growing. This brings me to the problem that has been bugging me for years, how to bring this back and make it work. Really work. Transforming businesses from the ground up to be inherently more sales-led. Matt and I have been musing on this for months. It is how we came together with James and Khristine to build something unique that genuinely delivers returns for businesses. The problem is that cold outreach is difficult to do. We find most salespeople sadly don't have the tenacity and discipline to do this effectively or consistently. Further, most don't understand the science that underpins this, let alone master the art of being great at doing it. Then you play the cost lottery - with reps costing £4-6k per month (plus commissions, plus all the tax trimmings), add to that sales cycles growing - how long do you know until they're truly effective - 6 months, 12 months? What'll that cost you if it fails? Matt has some great, if pretty terrifying stats on this - let me know if you'd like us to share them with you. So, what do you do? There's lots of 'lead-gen' solutions out there to help with this, but they rarely work; their focus is on booking meetings - and thus validating their existence, so their activities are coin-operated, a transaction not a transformational partnership. It is for these reasons that we launched our SDR-as-a-Service function. In partnering with Matt and James, we've combined over 100 years of expertise, over £500m in sales and over 250 personally coached/mentored. Businesses deserve better; they deserve quicker time to value, hungrier, more dedicated people working hard to drive their growth, better support around this from true masters of the craft. You might be thinking do we still do our own cold calling today? Yes we do (and we all still love it!).  If you want to see how good we are at it, drop us a line.

To take a giant leap forward, start with taking a step back. Our retreats enable founders and leaders to take a breather from the day-to-day and learn from peers who are in the same situation or have successfully solved your challenges. We provide framework for growth; deep insight into how to overcome growth hurdles, action plans tailored to your needs, in an environment that enables you to dedicate time to work 'on' the business, whilst enjoying some of the greatest cities on earth. Two days out of your business, but guaranteed that you'll regain that in time saved and benefit from so much more. Uninterrupted time out of the office to focus on what's important Be part of a peer group facing (or have faced) similar challenges Learn from our experts on topics relevant to you Actionable insights you can deploy on your return What's discussed stays at the retreat, guaranteeing discretion Revitalising, hugely rewarding and great fun "You'll come back revitalised, with clear actions that will improve your business growth" Retreats are crafted specifically with founders and business leaders in mind: We carefully vet all attendees to ensure fit and suitability and that everyone maximises their opportunity to learn from each other, it is not an opportunity to pitch to each other. We meticulously choose interesting and outstanding locations, hotels and restaurants. All preferences and allergies are catered for, every venue is vetted beforehand, to guarantee the quality of your retreat. Our team will be on hand to help with anything that you need, including our performance coach, should you wish to exercise or talk about exercise during the retreat. Having run retreats for a number of years, we know what works and what doesn't: We limit each retreat to a maximum number who can attend, tailoring our agenda to the audience for maximum value. To be eligible, you must be a founder or leader of a consulting or tech firm, with a turnover in excess of £1m (either currently or historically), max £20m. We vet all applicants for suitability and fit with the audience. These retreats are not an opportunity to pitch to other delegates. If you'd like to know more please drop us a message. This post was originally published on LinkedIn here

Having attended many corporate events before, I’ve always come away thinking they could have been better. Too often they feel too corporate; corporate hotels, highly structured agenda, formal speakers, buffet food and so on. Impersonal, lacking inclusivity and also hugely (and unnecessarily) expensive. Covid has played a significant part shaking up the world of events, but we’ve been involved in running events for business leaders and their teams since 2005 where the focus has always been on inclusivity, relevance and a more relaxed feel. A decade ago, when building Sempre, a core foundation of what success meant to us was having a great team, one that works hard for each other and the client, making a better reality – a genuine understanding that sometimes personal life is more important than work. Whilst the work was taken seriously, part of 'better' meant to enjoy ourselves, treat each other like family and our customers like friends. A core part of building the team was a trip away each year, that gives the team the chance to come together, reflect on company progress, plan for the future and take time out of the day-to-day job. They also were a chance to get to know new faces - more important now than ever - and enjoy some adventure and local cuisine in a new city. Whilst there’s some focused work sessions and chance for a lot of fun together, the additional opportunity to work in different ways with others is invaluable. Working under pressure in a different environment, not only helps bond better teams, but also cross-departmental collaboration as well as getting the creative juices going; an opportunity you don't always get when stuck on a Teams calls, in an office, or focused on the day-to-day job. In turn this has a positive impact on clients: learning to work with each other in new environments, outside of our comfort zones, enables us to work more effectively as a team, and crucially, the bonds we forge mean we know we can rely on each other to get the best outcomes in all situations. When you add in a journey and adventure to the mix, especially when the team can be involved in the choice, you get an excitement and buzz that starts long before the event and lasts long after. Do it right, and regularly enough, as the buzz of the last one wears off, there’s the excitement of a new one to look forward to. Having analysed staff churn and motivation, we also know that a welcome upside of this is a very effective recruitment and retention strategy. It provides your business with an irreplicable benefit to your working environment and culture. Moral of the story? Get you and your team out of the office together and away from the computer screens. You'll work better as a team, build stronger relationships and have a lot more fun along the way. Some starting considerations: Inclusive from the ground up: Not everyone is a golfer, or a foodie, or into bars, or wants to be with everyone all the time. For the more introverted in your team, lots of time with others can be intimidating and exhausting; it's important to have options. Safety & Privacy first: Does your event enable everyone to feel safe? Are you renting a villa that means people don’t have locks on their bedrooms (or do you want them to share rooms?) Do they have to share a bathroom? Sounds obvious – it's amazing how often we hear of company events happening where there is an expectation to share rooms, bathrooms etc. Are your staff going to be safe if walking/travelling between locations? What if they get separated? All things to consider. Location & digs: Does this match your company culture? For example, is the hotel you’re in too corporate? Too large? Are wellness options important? Compulsory v Non-Compulsory: Work sessions must be compulsory of course, but what isn’t? What about those who need to get back to their families, how do you make it easy for them to opt out? Thinking of running one for your team? With the slight exception of a bear gate-crashing one event in Canada (which is a story for another day), and despite Covid, we've still run and continued to refine events for companies in the pursuit of the perfect event DNA. So, we’d be happy to help and give you some pointers. As well as myself, Leonie, our resident events expert, who's managed many trips in her time, (quite literally from Pole to Pole), is available to chat through pointers and ideas.

This year I've been training for 'LEJOG' (Lands End to John O'Groats). Frankly, LEJOG is a rubbish acronym. Cycling over 980 miles in 9 days whilst camping and sharing facilities, CRAP seems far better (Camping, Riding And Portaloos). Whilst I'm now accustomed to (and quite like) donning Lycra, embracing my inner MAMIL, this is going to push me further than any endurance event I've done before. The upside is that whilst I'm cycling I've a lot of time to think and in the hours of boredom I've made up some parallels between cycling and running a business which I thought I'd share. Think big: When I started training, I thought a couple of laps around Richmond Park was good work, but now Richmond Park simply isn't big enough or have enough hills. If I'd had a smaller goal, I'd have achieved far less. Have Time-bound goals: Establishing an event or deadline date helps you focus, think bigger and push yourself to achieve. Reduce Drag: Seek out and solve what is getting in the way of progression; you'll go faster and get there quicker and easier. For me it was a misaligned hub on a new bike, meaning I cycled 75km with a wheel that didn't want to turn - unnecessarily hard work! Draft behind someone better: Learning from others who've been there, done that and know the way, can streamline and even transform your journey; helping you avoid the mistakes they made and get there quicker. Leverage data: Data must be the baseline for understanding where you're improving, failing, in line with your targets and benchmarking you against what good looks like. Without it opinions and decisions are biased, subjective and siloed. I didn't actually know if I was improving my speed, strength and power output until I switched on Strava. I was just out enjoying the ride. Invest in the best equipment: Don't get stuck halfway on your journey because the tools you rely on fail you. 'Cheap' is a short term solution and guaranteed to fail on you at some point. Batten down the hatches: Always be prepared for stormy weather and you'll still come out smiling (see top pic). Protect your assets: Make sure your assets and IP are tightly secured, or you risk someone stealing it for themselves (as someone did with one of my bikes). Beware of BMWs: Customers (and staff) who are B**ches, Moaners & Whiners can be a real drain on your resources - avoid! They're also the worst cars (in my opinion) for cutting up cyclists! Hold yourself accountable: Enlist the help of others to ensure you do what you commit to. Which is why I'm writing this on LinkedIn - there's no backing out for me now! But I need your help... I'm cycling as part of a team who are looking to raise £100,000 for the Advanta Foundation to help child poverty at home and in Africa. You can see my journey on JustGiving (link below) and on my profile. Any pennies you can spare are greatly appreciated. For the cyclists out there, am I missing any cycling-based business insights? https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nickrab

Our founder recently explored some of the learnings from failures he made as a a leader, and some considerations for those looking at stepping into leadership roles. Nick was invited on to a podcast hosted by the fantastic Rebecca Jenkins and Callum Jenkins. Their discussion is available on the Lead to Succeed Podcast which you can find on Apple & Spotify. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lead-to-succeed/id1521166867 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5dUTcR1xq1Zp723ZonLRal

Outside of published government guidelines and actions, Iisted below are the best documents that have found, that been written by other specialist organisations. They are well worth a read, although note you take any advice at your own risk. _______________________________________________________________________________ McKinsey - The Quickening - 10 year's growth in 3 months (July 2020) - https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/five-fifty-the-quickening?action=download# Beauhurst - High Growth in London 2020 - London Ecosystem - https://about.beauhurst.com/research/high-growth-london/ Softbank Group report - especially from slide 43, booming industries and post-Covid outlook (18th May 2020) - https://group.softbank/system/files/pdf/ir/presentations/2019/earnings-presentation_q4fy2019_01_en.pdf

Outside of published government guidelines and actions, Iisted below are the best documents that have found, that been written by other specialist organisations. They are well worth a read, although note you take any advice at your own risk. __________________________________________________________________________________ Business strategy during the COVID-19 crisis - Brighttalk webinar with John Courtney, Boardroom Advisors - great insight into crisis management tools (18th May 2020) https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/14157/409296?utm_campaign=knowledge-feed&utm_source=brighttalk-portal&utm_medium=web ​ Government insight to discretionary grant for local businesses (13th May 2020) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/885011/local-authority-discretionary-grants-fund-guidance-local-government.pdf ​ Personnel Today - Furlough and notice pay considerations (29th April 2020) https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/notice-pay-furlough-pilon/ August Equity -Insightful 4 part blog series on navigating out of COVID-19 (22nd April 2020) https://www.augustequity.com/insights/land-ahoy-navigating-covid-19-part-4-of-4/ ​ 4C Associates - Guide to Procurement behaviour in COVID-19 (21st April 2020) https://www.4cassociates.com/uncategorised/coronavirus-response-guide-commercial-procurement-leaders/ First Round - Founders field guide for navigating the crisis (14th April 2020) https://firstround.com/review/the-founders-field-guide-for-navigating-this-crisis-advice-from-recession-era-leaders-investors-and-ceos-currently-at-the-helm/ Cranfield's Business Growth Programme - provides a staged approach to managing out of a crisis https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/bgp-response-programme-hub ​ London Business School - the economics of a pandemic - https://www.london.edu/think/coronavirus-understanding-the-economics ​ PwC - A comprehensive business checklist in times of emergency (30th March 2020) https://cloud.email.pwc.com/covid-19-response-considerations?Medium=UK&Channel=Web&Format=Landingpage&Campaign=Feature

Recently, the general mindset has shifted to looking at the opportunity the near future holds, especially in companies where excessive furloughing has been avoided. The most common topic I've seen is how to re-build the sales pipeline. Many people will not be wanting to talk to salespeople now or be sold to. So its more critical now than ever for pipeline generation to be invested in by a broader community within the business. It also needs to be relevant, understanding that revenue is in the future, not now, and focus on building relationships first, based on value, before selling can happen. So I thought I’d share some practical tips, that have stood the test of time for me, and whilst aren't intended to be a comprehensive guide, will hopefully provide some easily understandable principles that everyone can adopt, whether they are in sales or not. Existing pipeline – how do you drive that compelling reason to act? DON’T, resort to price conversations. Unless you know that their position hasn’t changed. Have you re-qualified the position the client is in and got a clear sequence of events to close? If not, and then it’s probably not the time to talk money. DO consider how procurement may have changed. Your prospect may not be aware of this. Your salespeople should be earning their crust here and be able to help them, firstly by finding out and understanding what has to be done. 4C Associates provide a very informative document, which I’ve added into the comments that gives some real structure to the different areas of this crisis. DO as the founder/leader/owner, support your sales team. Messages to specific contacts (where relevant), which are well crafted, honest and genuinely authentic, can have a tremendous impact on kick-starting a sales cycle again. (Get in touch with me if you'd like to see some of my examples.) DO consider your customer pain. Has it changed? What is constantly breaking for your customers? How can you and the team fix it? DO consider broader conversation starters with your client/prospect. Take them away from the specifics of pitching and qualifying to open them up and see your considerate side, eg; is your vision for a solution the same now as when you started - if not, what’s changed? If you were to start again with this cycle, what would you look at differently? What are your future plans and how have they changed? DO think about the long term value of a relationship with your client. At Sempre, the whole company works hard to get to know our customers and become friends with them. It's one of our values; treat colleagues like family and customers like friends. We look after them and in return, they look after us. By the way, DON’T think of your customer or prospect as a ‘logo’. This is a real pet hate for me and this type of mindset was one of the reasons I left a former employer before going on to set up Sempre. It drives the wrong mentality in your team. If you treat your customers with the respect they deserve and look after them correctly, they will look after you in the long term. Simple. Prospecting - How do you find new prospects? DON’T pitch to people – at least, not until they are ready. DO consider WIIFM. What’s In It For Me. Every time you talk to a prospect or client, they ask this question in their heads (whether they know it or not). For me, this is one of the most powerful questions in life, let alone in sales. When I started in sales over 20 years ago, things we take for granted today like social media and marketing automation didn’t exist; this became my mantra when cold calling, enabling me to outperform year after year. It is just as important today. WIIFM: Whats In It for me If you don’t answer this, As an old boss of mine said, if you don’t answer WIIFM, you’ll get BOHICA instead – Bend Over Here It Comes Again. How do you avoid getting BOHICA’d? Get to know them and help them identify their pains. Due diligence first. Add value (help them) second, then only think about pitching. DO review your prospect communication. Calls, presentations, and emails – how is the balance of 'I', 'we', 'us', compared to 'you', 'yours'? Are you finding out about them or just talking about yourself? DO understand the buying cycle that everyone goes through. First and foremost, is the customer even problem aware? No point selling your offering to them if they don't know they have the problem. Single Grain and the fantastic Eric Siu have a great article on this, which I’ve posted in the comments detailing examples of what content to use at the TOFU, MOFU & BOFU / AIDA stages of a marketing funnel - relevant also for prospecting. DO be authentic. Automation is great, but with so much digital noise, human to human interaction is increasingly crucial. The best communications I have demonstrated initial research, are personally written (or at least 25% of the message), are relevant and genuinely looking to help, with no intention of any further commitment. Unfortunately, authenticity is still very rare. Whilst Covid-19 does present an opportunity in certain markets as some competitors are hibernating, spraying and praying will still not work. DO use technology. There are loads of free tools that can analyse: your content – you should be aiming for readability of an 8-year-old, your headlines to make sure they are impactful, as well as tools that make it easy for people to speak to you. I’ve put a list of these in the comments Many have comprehensive integration capabilities even in their free versions, so there really is no excuse for any sellers or even anyone communicating with customers not to take advantage of these. You can even get the lovely bot, Jen to be your scheduling assistant. By the way, DON’T send your customer a “we’re here to help” message Unless you know them well, and they know you, they are unlikely to have a positive impact. And last, but by no means least, if in doubt, less is almost always more. Always think KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. If you have any other tips and techniques I’d love to hear them. This blog was originally posted on LinkedIn Associated documents: 4C Associates Procurement document: https://www.4cassociates.com/uncategorised/coronavirus-response-guide-commercial-procurement-leaders/ Single Grain Marketing Funnel: https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/how-to-create-marketing-funnel/?utm_source=singlegrain&utm_medium=footer Content support: Headline analyser - https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer Reading age checker – free versions give you instant insight into the complexity of your content - https://readabilityformulas.com/free-readability-formula-tests.php / https://readable.com/ Grammar checker – free version integrates with your desktop and online working - https://www.grammarly.com Email & Calendar automation: Automate when you send your emails - https://www.boomerangoutlook.com/ Free versions enable you to integrate with your calendars. Chatbots also available. - https://www.drift.com/ / https://calendly.com/ Why not add in a personal assistant – you own jen bot - www.x.ai Analyse the time you spend with https://desktime.com/

Outside of published government guidelines and actions, Iisted below are the best documents that have found, that been written by other specialist organisations. They are well worth a read, although note you take any advice at your own risk. _______________________________________________________________________________ McCann Synergy - Planning for whats next - https://www.synergycreative.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/McCannSynergy-Next-Normal-Playbook.pdf ​ Tony Blair Institute for Global Change - roadmap for exit (4th May 2020) - https://institute.global/policy/roadmap-exit-saving-lives-and-livelihoods-lessons-around-world Accenture - new human truths to address (22nd April 2020) - https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF-2/Accenture-COVID-19-New-Human-Truths-That-Experiences-Need-To-Address.pdf Tony Blair Institute for Global Change - managing uncertainty (19th April 2020) - https://institute.global/policy/sustainable-exit-strategy-managing-uncertainty-minimising-harm

Despite all the challenges in the world right now I hope you all had a lovely Easter and had a chance to enjoy the sun (if you're in the UK) and have some fun (at home). With so much content and news coverage of the Coronavirus, I expect every business leader is well informed, so I’m not intending to go over old ground. However, over the past few weeks, I’ve collated some insights from talking to business owners, clients, webinars I’ve attended and forums I’ve been a part of. In turn, I have been sending these out to my customers and friends, but as this is such a continually moving feast, I thought it might be useful to share this information with a wider audience. So below are a few topics that cropped up. I hope you find the content useful. COVID-19 checklist Whilst most will have undertaken a thorough assessment of the business in light of COVID-19, the PwC document I have found to be one of the most useful, providing a comprehensive checklist that covers strategic considerations, scenario planning, incident management coordination, with specific focus on; workforce, operations & supply chain, communications, customers and revenue and head office functions. Couple this with an astute focus on the well-being of your staff, you have a comprehensive template to crisis response. Responsible Furloughing As this process becomes more abundantly used, a lot of people are talking about what happens when a former employee who has just left asks to come back and be furloughed because their contract with their new company has been voided before they start. In most cases its reasonable to expect you'll want to help them, but do consider the risk you take on, both from a legal and HR standpoint. It is likely the government will retrospectively audit firms that furlough staff, and, as this is not what the scheme is designed for, if you have a paper trail, e.g. P45, you risk getting in hot water with HMRC. Remember, it’ll be us that pays this back eventually (and possibly our children and their children too). From an HR perspective, it's likely they'll need a new/amended contract, a review of notice periods (and give them notice again), and clarity on holiday entitlement, as this will accrue whilst being furloughed. It’s worth considering the impact on staff also, could this breed any animosity? Undoubtedly, it’s a difficult decision to make. There's some useful information from Peninsula and August Equity, including a furlough template letter. Tax credits Hardly a new process, and I suspect the majority already apply for and receive R&D tax credits. However, it is worth exploring the opportunity again, as I know there are profitable businesses out there wiping out their entire corporation tax bill by approaching this process rigorously, even incorporating work with clients as justifiable R&D. Consider R&D as anything where you are adding to the collective knowledge base of the UK, such as solving system uncertainty. With this in mind is it worth a revisit? To mitigate risk, it is also possible to get your R&D pre-approved. Zoom Not exactly new or news, but have you considered how systems like this give you an advantage over face to face meetings or phone calls? Firstly, you can capture valuable data from your prospects and clients using polls and surveys, gain feedback, measure engagement either whilst on the call or immediately afterwards. I've been on a couple of webinars, where this was used to steer the next part of the session, polling the 120 odd people there and then. Secondly, recording calls (with client’s permission), sales managers and leaders now get a far greater opportunity to coach individual sellers - a win for everyone, including customers and prospects. Moving out of Triage – a positive step forward? Cranfield University have a Business Growth Programme that covers 3 phases of action specific to COVID-19, 'Triage', 'Stabilise' and 'Bounce Forward'. Whether you follow their programme or not (there are free, resources provided), the terminology is a useful analogy to consider. Currently we’re in 'Triage'; understanding how our businesses can survive, evaluating all options and prioritising actions. For most business leaders, with this now complete, we’ll be moving in to 'Stabilise'; getting back into a controlled routine and structure, both as a business and the teams and the individuals within, before moving to 'Bounce Forward' where we can embrace the new normal with an adapted business strategy and a now embedded business development approach fit for purpose for the new world. All the links provided in the comments section. I will also be sending out a weekly email with content like this. If you'd find this useful, please contact me and I'll add you to the list (you can opt out at any time). If you'd like to talk through any of these ideas in more detail or any of the challenges you are having 121, then please message me, I will be happy to help. Thank you to everyone who've shared their insights with me thus far. Supporting documents: PwC document - This version is 2 weeks old now, which may seem like an age, but the checklist is worth reviewing - https://cloud.email.pwc.com/covid-19-response-considerations?Medium=UK&Channel=Web&Format=Landingpage&Campaign=Feature BGP programme - https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/bgp-response-programme-hub Furlough letter from Peninsula - http://go.peninsulagrouplimited.com/lWM6p000BLJ72K06O0c0P0I Furloughing information - https://www.augustequity.com/insights/looking-externally-navigating-covid-19/ Challenger Bank Countingup - provides some simple tools to use for grants and furloughing - https://support.countingup.com/hc/en-us/sections/360002098897-COVID-19-Support This blog was originally posted on LinkedIn.

There’s a great quote from Abraham Lincoln that I’m pretty sure any entrepreneur can relate to. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Owning a business often means it’s down to you to care the most, work the hardest, uncover every opportunity and grab it with both hands. As Lincoln might say, to be the person who hustles and changes the status quo, not the one who waits. But something I’ve learned is that seizing the chance to make a difference – the answer I usually give when someone asks me ‘why did you become an entrepreneur?’ – it is only part of it. And it certainly doesn’t mean being a control freak. Trusting colleagues to run with things is vital too. Otherwise, you end up being a bottleneck, stopping your own business from growing. Personally speaking, it took a while for that penny to drop – and I still battle with it daily. I’ve spent countless hours down in the weeds of projects that others were perfectly capable of handling or trying to fix every little problem. Even now, I catch myself obsessing over minute details ahead of a board meeting despite the fact the colleagues I’m presenting to don’t need (nor want!) to hear them. How to relinquish control is just one of many things I’ve learned since launching Sempre nearly seven years ago. There are loads of other hacks that have, collectively, made a real difference to my working life. A lot of them are relatively simple and what follows is not meant as some kind of revolutionary recipe for success. But I do hope that sharing them might be useful for other business owners. Besides, if nothing else, it will serve as a good reminder to myself to abide by them! Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s easy to rush as an entrepreneur. To think you have to achieve all those big goals and ambitions right here, right now. A great piece of advice I received was to be realistic in what I can accomplish each day and break down big projects and long-term goals into smaller steps. That way, you can focus on incremental change without getting caught up trying to do too much at once. This bite-sized approach also makes it much easier to bring your team on the journey with you – what some experts refer to as embracing the power of one. Plus, you’ll have lots of mini-successes to celebrate along the way, which is great for momentum and self-confidence! Turn off. Don’t get me wrong, technology is great. In fact, my own business wouldn’t exist without it. But it can also be distracting. I’ve turned off all notifications, bleeps, noises and flashes on my phone, so I’m not a slave to the bombardment of incoming messages, and I’ve started only checking emails at certain times of the day. As well as being seriously liberating, this has helped me focus better on the task at hand and be more productive. When I turn off, colleagues know to come and chat to me for anything urgent and the worst that's happened so far is missing a meeting that someone booked in without telling me (despite sitting three yards away!). I’ve also stopped taking my phone into meetings, which has led to much better, more effective time spent – for everyone. Beware decision fatigue. In his book called The Organised Mind, Daniel Levitin says: "Our brains are configured to make a certain number of decisions per day and once we reach that limit, we can’t make any more, regardless of how important they are.” So, one thing I’ve started doing is lining up the important decisions at the beginning of the day. That means I tackle them when my mind is at its sharpest. The stuff that requires less brainpower comes after – right down to packing my work bag and laying out my clothes the night before. It sounds like a small thing, but I’ve found it makes a big difference, especially when I’m getting out the door in the morning! Don’t double dip. This comes back to the control thing. If you insist on trying to do colleagues’ work for them it will: a) mean your own workload soon runs out of control; and b) be very demotivating for them. As our non-exec director recently told me, my job is to work on the business, not in the business. Hard as it can be, it’s vital to let go and give people the space, trust and power to do their jobs – and, of course, I’m lucky the team at Sempre are more than good enough to do it. I’ve also started establishing certain key tolerances on particular processes. If any of those are breached, I want to know, Otherwise I don’t need to. Check out this great blog from Nick Thistleton describing leaders as being the safety car behind a pack of Formula 1 drivers. Take a breath. Whether it’s going to the gym or taking a stroll at lunch, finding time to step away from it all is massively important – even if what you’re stepping away from is your own business. I find an hour away doing something non-work related actually saves me time as I come back refreshed, alert and far more productive. Same goes for my drive to the office. Instead of checking my phone when I wake up, a friend suggested I wait until I’m at my desk. So, now I have 40 minutes listening to music, enjoying driving and thinking things through. That means I’m not reacting to things before I even get to the office and, interestingly, this tends to be the time when the ideas flow best too. And if you’re worried about colleagues getting frustrated that you haven’t replied to their email by the time they get in, I can honestly say no-one on the team even noticed the change! Embrace the admin. Let’s face it, few, if any, business owners are in it for the admin. But from payroll and invoicing to filing your tax return, the big little stuff is what makes a business go around. I’m not a naturally detail-oriented person, so a colleague recently suggested I try having an Admin Day every week where I don’t book in meetings. And while, yes, I don’t particularly enjoy those days and tend to drink more tea than is good for me, it definitely takes the pressure off the rest of the week. Plus, it helps with expectation-setting as team members know I'll cover actions on a set day. Finally: keep learning. You may have noticed lots of my hacks came from people around me, and I guess that’s the most important thing. Even as a business owner, where your company can feel like your child, you can’t always know best. In fact, always being open to learning from others is a major part of being successful. Which means, of course, I'd love to hear your hacks too... Special thanks to Derek Flynn, Alex Winchester and Fiona Talbot for giving me some of the tips included here.