Monday, November 02, 2026
You're closing deals and still going without pay. Here's why discounting to win the sale is costing you more than the sale is worth, and the fix.
Choose ActionCOACH if you want a coaching brand with a platform (ABoS), a free two-week start and a coach near you. Choose Simple-Growth if you want one owner-run coach to find the single constraint first, then build a 90-day plan around it. Both start with a conversation, and neither publishes a price for coaching.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this guide and Kevin D'Ambros-Smith is an independent business coach, so he is not neutral. That is why this explains who each option suits instead of ranking them, and uses only what ActionCOACH says on its own website. Checked 4 November 2026. Market: United States.
ActionCOACH's homepage now leads with ABoS, a platform it describes as "a proven system to diagnose, plan and grow". It scores a business across six areas (Mastery, Marketing, Systems, Team, Scale and Freedom), and sits beside business coaching and training. The company says it has been coaching "since 1993" and shows a 98% client recommendation rate and several named client results. The page does not say how typical those results are, and the recommendation rate has no stated sample.
Simple-Growth is one person's practice. Kevin has coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries since 2017, after more than 30 years in business. Coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse return a Net Promoter Score of +72. The method is simple: find the real constraint in your numbers, fix that first, and only then add tools.
The practical difference: a platform gives you a scorecard and a system to install. A coach who diagnoses first tells you which part of the scorecard matters this quarter. Some owners want the system. Others are already buried in systems and need the decision.
This is not for you if you want a public price list for coaching today. ActionCOACH's pricing page says "our pricing for business coaching varies depending on your specific needs and goals" and gives no dollar figures. Simple-Growth quotes coaching by conversation too.
| Question | ActionCOACH (per its website) | Simple-Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Coaching price | Not published; "varies depending on your specific needs and goals" | Quoted by conversation |
| Contract | "No long-term commitments or contracts required"; pay per session or choose a program | Agreed in the first conversation |
| Free start | Two weeks of free coaching; complimentary initial consultation | Free 30-minute call |
| Guarantee | "Cast-iron, money-back", on condition you follow the systems and complete the agreed work; full terms from your coach | 30-day money-back on Making It Happen and Know Your Future (see each page) |
| Fixed-price entry | Not shown | Quick Wins $97, Making It Happen $297, Know Your Future $497 |
Whichever you choose, ask for the guarantee terms in writing before you start. A guarantee that depends on you completing every agreed action is only as good as the plan you agreed.
If you would rather start with a fixed price, Quick Wins is $97 (15 ways to lift sales), Making It Happen is $297 (turning plans into action) and Know Your Future is $497 (your destination and roadmap). All three are self-paced.
"Working with Kevin has pushed us to step back and look at the business from the outside. He's easy to bounce ideas off, and he keeps us focused on working on the business instead of getting stuck in the day-to-day."
Ben Leitch
Home Lab Store (quoted word for word)
Gallup surveyed 5,926 working US adults, including 3,501 self-employed workers or business owners, between September 26 and November 3, 2025. Among owners without a detailed plan, 75% said they could definitely (38%) or probably (37%) find an outside person to help write one. Help is easy to find. The harder part is choosing the right kind of help for the stage you are at.
Not quite. ActionCOACH describes itself as a coaching company with a platform, programs and a Find A Coach route, so you work with a local coach under the ActionCOACH name. An independent coach runs their own method and practice. Both can be excellent; ask who your coach will be and how they work.
Not on the pages checked on 4 November 2026. Its pricing page says cost varies by needs, goals and meeting frequency (weekly, fortnightly or monthly), and that advisors help you choose a package in the first conversation.
ActionCOACH advertises two weeks of free coaching. Simple-Growth offers a free 30-minute call, plus a free sales training, The World's Greatest Sales Line.
Neither is automatically better. If you want a platform and a local coach, ActionCOACH is worth a conversation. If you want one owner-run coach to find your constraint first, book a call with Kevin. Take the same six questions to both.
Yes. Kevin coaches online, so location is not a barrier, and the self-paced programs are priced in US dollars.
Be the owner who knows the one decision to make first, and makes it.
Not sure which suits you? A 30-minute conversation will tell you, and you are welcome to take the answers to any other provider. You can also read how Simple-Growth compares with Scaling Up and EOS.
Sources (checked 4 November 2026): ActionCOACH, home page. ActionCOACH, coaching cost and pricing. Gallup, Business Planning and RFP Pursuit Vary by Ownership Type, 27 May 2026 (United States). The testimonial is quoted word for word from the person named. Last updated 4 November 2026.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Your best salesperson might be the one quietly eating your margin. Here's how to audit and rebuild your commission structure so it rewards the sales that actually grow your business.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most SME owners quietly go quiet on marketing right when customers are buying the most. Here's the simple plan to hold your ground through Nov-Jan without burning out your team or your budget.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
That pricing review, that org chart, that product line nobody will kill — they're not neutral. Learn how to spot and pay down the strategic debt quietly taxing every decision you make.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most business owners survive the slow season and wait for trading to pick up. The ones who grow fastest use the quiet to fix last peak's bottlenecks, cross-train their teams, and renegotiate supplier terms.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
When coaching starts feeling comfortable, most owners think they've outgrown their coach. Usually they've just outgrown the scope. Here's how the Scope Reset Conversation keeps a great coaching relationship producing great results.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
At five people, the founder is the system. At twelve, that system breaks. The Ten-Employee Wall is a predictable structural failure — and here's the Systems Reset framework that gets you through it.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
January is the hardest month to sell in — and the work that prevents the January gap needed to start in September. Here's the 90-Day Pipeline Bridge framework that fills the gap before it opens.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Category managers at major retailers are making their Q1 2027 ranging decisions right now. Most FMCG founders find out too late. Here's the Buyer-Ready Proof Pack framework that gets you into the conversation.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most businesses plan for Q4 in January — after it's already over. The owners who consistently outperform their peers write their Q4 plan in September, while there's still time to act on what they find.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
A new survey shows the average small business owner is running five jobs at once — and burning 200+ hours a year proving it. Here's the two-hat framework that gets your time back within 90 days.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
New 2026 consumer data shows most shoppers are value-seekers, not bargain hunters — yet 95% still rate brand trust as important. Here's the six-point test your FMCG brand must pass to earn the sale without discounting.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
New 2026 grocery data shows branded FMCG products are being promoted twice as often as private label — and still losing share and loyalty. Kevin D'Ambros-Smith on why discounting harder is the wrong fix, and what pricing architecture looks like instead.
Monday, September 07, 2026
A 2026 Fed survey of 6,525 small businesses found owner confidence at a 6-year low — while actual revenue, employment and profitability held steady. Why the gap, not the economy, is the real risk for SME and FMCG owners.
Sunday, September 06, 2026
Burst campaigns reset to zero every time. Here's why a sustainable weekly cadence beats an intense one-month push, and how to protect it through the slow months.
Sunday, September 06, 2026
Most SME sales forecasts are built by adding up pipeline value — and it's almost always wrong. Here's how exit criteria, deal age, and weighted forecasting fix it.