Shark Flywheel; Amazon’s 3; Fewer Bigger; Feb 23 Negotiations Webinar

…a concession made before you start the negotiation counts for zero in the relationship bank. People like to see you concede during the negotiation.
Dr. Victoria Medvec
…we have fewer but bigger customers, our minimums are higher, orders are bigger—and it’s had a big impact to the bottom line.
David Harding commenting on HBS
High Stakes Negotiation Webinar – Feb 23, 11am ET
The strategies of high-stakes negotiations expert Victoria Medvec, Northwestern U, have saved and generated millions for businesses in the Scaling Up community. Alongside hiring, negotiating is among the top 2 most essential skills you need as a leader. Sign up for this free training.“Command the Conversation: The Top 3 Strategies to Win High Stakes Negotiations in the Digital Era” and dive deep into the powerful tactics behind Dr. Medvec's world-class negotiation methodology with University of Michigan professor Sara Soderstrom.

Fewer, Bigger Customers – Hunt Big Sales (Case Study)
Scaling Up fan David Harding, CEO of Tipton Mills, contracted Hunt Big Sales (HBS) to create a sales growth strategy. Notes David:

We initially hired HBS because we were not meeting sales goals and wanted a replicable and scalable growth strategy to take the company to another level. Now, through this new process, we have fewer but bigger customers, our minimums are higher, orders are bigger—and it’s had a big impact to the bottom line. Had we not done this, we likely would have had to do some structural changes to reduce costs... but instead, we are now growing!

HBS, who keynoted our last Summit, has been able to deliver over $18B of incremental sales opportunities to their clients and is helping a lot of Scaling Up firms. Here is more information: https://www.huntbigsales.com/scaling-up/. Or just reach out to them at [email protected] or 317-847-8037.
€4.5 to €60 Million via 14 Acquisitions (Scaling Up Case Study)
This ScaleUps.com article details how Marc Visser scaled his Netherland-based MSP hallo to €60 million and 300 employees thru 14 acquisitions. Teaming with a private equity firm that supplied €75 million, the article explains how he chose, structured, and integrated the acquisitions. Notes Visser:

Many of them are small businesses that find it difficult to scale to the next level, build a management team and put money into marketing and automation.

Using Scaling Up to aid integration, the daily and weekly meeting rhythms help to drive a common culture and brand that has helped hallo become an employer of choice in the tech sector. Please take 2 minutes to scan through the details. Our chaotic economy makes for a great time to do acquisitions!! Let us help.
Adelaide Firm Eliminates All State Managers (Scaling Up Case Study)
Rob Cowie, CEO of Move Yourself Trailer Hire, attended our virtual Summit in 2022 and came away with an immediate decision. With over 1000 locations throughout Australia, he eliminated all his State Managers. Notes Rob:

Despite our best efforts to guide them and train them, they always knew better and due to being remote to our head office, ran ‘their own show’ and bucked at attempts to improve despite systems we put in place.

Instead, he upgraded the “team leads” (called Coordinators) for Depot and Field Operations. The result – everything is better – morale, service, and financials.
Amazon’s 3 Priorities -- CEO’s Message to Employees
This Fortune article summarizes a leaked audio from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to his employees after cutting 18,000 employees (out of 1.5 million). He suggested that the moves Amazon is making will be “misunderstood and underrated” and asked employees to focus on three things:

Think Like Owners – be “speedy and insurgent” to stay ahead of competition. Focus – be more productive. Customer Obsession – “reprioritize and rethink” what is important to shoppers.

Have you decided/shared your themes for 2023 with your team?
Shark’s Culture Flywheel
Andrew Banks, one of the famous Shark Tank judges in Australia, was the opening keynote at our Scaling Up Summit in Sydney last week. This slide says it all – a strong culture is virtuous; a weak culture is vicious!

Ben Zander's “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony” and Talk Feb 26 Livestream
The iconic conductor Ben Zander, whose TED Talk and book The Art of Possibility are renowned, is heading to Carnegie Hall to perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on Sunday, Feb 26, preceded by a talk at 1:30 pm ET. It’s being live-streamed – not to be missed. For tixs.
Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.
Better Book Club –
What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.
Become an Authority and Reduce Your Marketing Investment
Top leaders know that branding is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Becoming an authority means you and your brand are synonymous with trust and confidence. Growing brand equity translates to greater pricing power and the ability to reduce marketing costs. If you’re interested in proven strategies to help outflank your competition and grow your audience, request a free copy of Authority Marketing.
COACHING:
Does it feel as if your business has hit a wall? If you don't see a clear path forward, it's a good time to bring in a coach. All of our Scaling Up Certified Coaches™ are masters at guiding you and your leadership team through the implementation of the Scaling Up Performance. Our promise is a custom diagnostic approach from Day 1, including how we match you with a coach. We even have a team member dedicated to helping you find the perfect Scaling Up Certified Coach.™Schedule a complimentary, personal follow-up. Or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]
TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.
SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive workshops to optimize your company’s performance.
(list of workshops below)
Barcelona, Spain – Feb 21, 2023 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Feb 22, 2023 (In-Person)
Madison, NJ – Feb 24, 2023 (Virtual)
Madrid, Spain – Mar 2, 2023 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – Mar 2, 2023 (In-Person)
Minneapolis, MN – Mar 7, 2023 (In-Person)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Mar 7, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Mar 7, 2023 (In-Person)
Oxford, England – Mar 8, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Mar 14, 2023 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Mar 15, 2023 (In-Person)
Barcelona, Spain – Mar 16, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne/Sydney, Australia - Mar 16, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Mar 16, 2023 (Virtual)
Hong Kong/Singapore – Mar 22, 2023 (Virtual)
Wilmington, NC – Mar 24, 2023 (In-Person)
Bengaluru/Hyderabad/India – Mar 29, 2023 (Virtual)
Scottsdale, Az – Apr 4, 2023 (In-Person)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Apr 6, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada – Apr 13, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Apr 20, 2023 (In-Person)
Nashville, TN – Apr 20, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Apr 27, 2023 (In-Person)
Dallas, TX – May 3 & 4, 2023 (2 Day) (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – May 10, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - May 11, 2023 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia - Jun 6, 2023 (In-Person)
Nashville, TN – Jun 8, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Jun 8, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Jul 6, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Jul 20, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada – Aug 10, 2023 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia - Sep 5, 2023 (In-Person)
Grand Rapids, MI – Sep 12, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada – Sep 14, 2023 (Virtual)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 10, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Oct 12, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 2, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Nov 9, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Nov 9, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Nov 14, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Dec 7, 2023 (Virtual)
Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >
EDUCATION:
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course
Planning to Exit?
It’s the most critical decision a business owner will make in their lifetime – and over my 40 years of helping firms, I’ve seen owners taken advantage of time and time again – leaving tens of millions on the table. You’re up against sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions – whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works. Seeking help, owners find the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). They are not your friend in the process, just another transaction. Email me to get a white paper on what to avoid when exiting [email protected].
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