Make a decision and act fast

Once you know the answer to a problem don't hesitate to get it started.

Here’s a story of a business that wasn’t working.

It’s one of my own.

Ben Lucas (who I mentioned here last week) and I started a hybrid marketing consultancy/training company in 2023 called ‘Adroitly’.

The word 'adroitly' means to do something in a clever or skilful way, with quick thinking or movement. We chose it because it aligns with our philosophy on finding better ways to grow.

In a marketing sense agencies can grow a companies brand, and training companies can grow the skills of people.

We aimed to do both at the same time. Accelerating growth + creating long lasting capability.

We really believe in the product offering - and I should say we still do. Adroitly had some great clients and did some great work, but to put it brutally… we simply ran out of clients.

So last week we had a workshop and put everything up on the blocks. And I mean everything.

Here’s what we landed on.

Problem #1 - an unclear sales process. A wise man told me that all businesses are sales engines. Sure you get to have fun or add value by doing what you do but if you don’t have a great sales engine then you’re dead. We simply didn’t have the right way to build a pipeline of new clients.

Problem #2 - we were too muddy in our pitch. Every time we’d have to explain what ‘adroitly’ meant and why we chose it. Even with regular clients we were constantly re-educating them on how we work.

Problem #3 - we were focused on ourselves. By being obsessed with starting this new model we weren’t really talking about challenges our clients have. As I said, we still believe in the hybrid model of marketing + training but no one was out there looking for it!

So with that info we made a quick decision and here’s how we did it.

First, ‘What work do we like doing that adds value to businesses?’. The answer was clear: run workshops to help people get their brand messages clearer.

Secondly, how do we say that in the simplest possible language (you can see the irony based on the paragraph above).

Thirdly, how do we streamline a repeatable sales process that can build a pipeline as efficiently as possible.

And here’s the result that we revealed yesterday…

So from realising the problem, to identifying the solution was less than a one-week turnaround.

I’m lucky I deal in intellectual pursuits and don’t work an industry relying on supply chains, legal advice, and production timelines.

But the principle remains. Once you know the answer to a problem don't hesitate to get it started.

Make a decision and act fast.

You won’t know what works if you don’t.