Going from nearly bankrupt to +$400,000 in net income in 4 months . . .

Going from nearly bankrupt to +$400,000 in net income in 4 months###-###-#### one client's results from my SMB advising days. This is advise you can use to improve your business post close.

Here are the 5 powerful steps:

1. Focus He was distracted because he and his wife were talking about a divorce that was good for them, but neither was pulling the trigger. I set him up with an outstanding personal coach and 30 days later divorce papers were served - while I was on a Zoom with him.

Sometimes the most important issue is you-related. Not business-related. I stayed on the call to help him process what was an amicable divorce. Both of them needed freedom to be happy.

2. Create an A+ team 8 calls was average to convert a lead, but many on the sales team were stopping at 2. The A player who was killing it was tired of working with underperformers and threatening to quit.

We started tracking follow-ups in a sales meeting and 8x became the norm. Salespeople are naturally competitive. Use that to your advantage. The best salesperson was excited again to work there.

3. Optimize debt payments We paid the minimum on debt with an interest rate. We put as much as possible to pay off some high-interest debt. Paying off the 1st $150,000 completely faster than expected was a huge win that further improved the owner's focus.

The main supplier gave him 90 days to pay (that's similar to a 90-day zero-interest loan), so we pushed those payments while building up cash flow.

4. Align roles & salaries Two people were being paid as sales managers, but no one was doing the work. Changing their roles added more cash to the business. One went back to doing sales full-time and was happier there.

The other was the owner's son who wanted out but didn't want to disappoint Dad. We gave him a leave of absence. By noon the next day, he called his dad to say he no longer had anxiety, was happy, and had applied to 12 jobs! The son became a reliable project-based contractor.

5. Cut down people drama The top salesperson was threatening to quit. Improving the performance of his peers made him happy to stay.

Inappropriate comments in the company Slack after nights of drinking were no longer allowed. A growth vision was shared and people were fired up! They now had a vision for themselves and the company and leveled up their behavior across the board.

TLDR

1. Focused the owner's mindset by addressing personal issues
2. Create an A+ sales team through processes & team meetings
3. Optimize debut payments
4. Aligned roles and salary
5. Cut down people drama