If you’re highly skilled in the technical expertise you offer, it can come as a shock to discover a whole host of other skills you need to run your own business which you never thought would be a problem ...
After a highly successful career as a technician managing the complexity of cybersecurity for companies with highly sensitive security needs, in 2016, Laura set up Criticalis, a cyber security business, alongside her colleague Matthew and took on board the role of CEO
In her new role in a new business, Laura came to me for training in referral marketing. She and her business partner had worked together in another company and were relatively inexperienced in marketing their services. She knew from the nature of their work they were most likely to generate new clients through introductions.
Upon completion of the course, it become apparent that freeing up her time to undertake this role was a major obstacle, As the CEO with only her business partner to share the load she was a major contributor to the service delivery of their cyber security business on a 24/7 basis with clients based in Europe and USA as well as the UK.
Addressing this problem through recruiting a junior technician to their highly technical and skilled work in cyber security had brought its own challenges. Finding someone with the right problem-solving and self-managing attributes and who could work without constant supervision was a challenge.
Laura completed the Asentiv Pro™ course designed to give her the fundamentals in referral marketing and a business process for applying that in her business.
At the end of that course, we shifted to having regular sessions of mentoring and coaching to address her time management pressures and strengthen her leadership skills, especially when dealing with complex and at times uncomfortable conversations and decisions around the priorities in the business.
The timing and pace of these mentoring sessions were led by Laura as she needed a high degree of flexibility to fit around her time-sensitive client work. I also brought in some specialist advice to assist her in recruiting their much-needed technician.
Laura says, "The Asentiv Pro course has helped distil what our target market is and the messaging of this to people. I now understand the process needed to get referrals from people and it has given me some tools to help me.
The subsequent mentoring and coaching with Jacky have provided clarity and a different perspective and ways to approach conversations. It also makes me take time to focus on the issues that are not day-to-day, This with the business growth has given me confidence in my decisions and that I'm doing the right things.
When working with Jacky, I like the fact that we can switch tracks. I've valued the different perspectives she brings and the fact that she ensures there are actions and outcomes for the session. We have now recruited our technician and I'm ready for a more structured plan to grow the business."
Are you finding the transition from technician to leader more challenging than you thought it would be? Why not book on my Set Up session to explore what help you need to get off to a great start.
If you'd like to learn more about referral marketing then do give me a call on 07970 638857 and let's have a chat and see how I can help you.