Sunday, October 25, 2026
More people call themselves a business coach than ever before. Here's the one test that actually separates a coach who gets results from one who just talks.
The meeting went well. They nodded, asked sharp questions, said "this is exactly what we need" — and then nothing. No reply to your follow-up. No reply to the one after that. If a sales process that quietly dies after a great first conversation sounds familiar, the problem usually isn't your offer. It's that you read warmth as a buying signal, and warmth and commitment are two completely different things.
Kevin has sat on both sides of thousands of these conversations — inside global agencies pitching household brands, and now coaching SME owners through the exact same pattern on a much smaller stage.
A prospect being friendly, engaged and complimentary in the room tells you they liked you. It tells you almost nothing about whether they've cleared the internal hurdles — budget sign-off, a competing priority, a colleague who needs convincing — that stand between "this is great" and an actual yes. Most SME owners stop following up right around the point a real decision process is only just starting, because the silence feels like rejection instead of what it usually is: someone's week got busy.
Research from RAIN Group puts the average at around eight touchpoints just to land a first meeting with a new prospect, with top performers needing roughly five. If it takes that much persistence to get someone into the room, one polite follow-up after the meeting was never going to be enough to get them to a signature.
You don't need a longer script. You need a short, deliberate sequence that gives a busy, genuinely interested person three different reasons to reply:
"Kevin doesn't just present — he electrifies the room and drives massive, real-world value! He drops game-changing insights and actionable shortcuts that show businesses exactly how to turn everyday customers into raving, loyal fans — and acquire new ones faster than ever thought possible."
— Gareth Bayliss, Sales Manager, The Icehouse
Most SME owners know, intellectually, that one follow-up isn't enough. They stop anyway, because every additional message feels like it risks being "that annoying salesperson," and there's no one checking whether the sequence actually ran. A sales system — not willpower — is what keeps the third message going out on day ten instead of dying quietly in a drafts folder. That's the kind of unglamorous, specific fix that moves a pipeline more than another round of lead generation ever will.
If you close this tab and keep sending the same one follow-up, you'll be wondering about the same quiet deals this time next year. Fix your sequence and you won't be.
Be the owner whose follow-up runs every time, so a good meeting turns into a decision.
Monday, September 21, 2026
Most SME marketing still targets a customer persona sketched out years ago. Here's how to find out who's actually buying — and fix the mismatch.
Monday, September 21, 2026
Most SME sales proposals are built to impress, not to close. Here's the one-page format that gets buyers to yes faster.
Monday, September 21, 2026
If Sunday afternoon has become the least relaxing part of your weekend, it's a design problem, not a discipline one. Here's the fix.
Monday, September 21, 2026
Most owners choose a coaching format by budget, not by stage. Here's the test that shows which format actually fits your business right now.
Monday, September 21, 2026
Private label deals look like free growth — until they quietly cost you margin, capacity, and control. Here's how to protect your brand before signing.
Monday, September 21, 2026
New global research says 68% of small business owners now choose stability over speed — and that's the smarter growth strategy. Here's the 3-step Depth Audit to grow without breaking what you've built.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Most growth strategies don't fail because the market changed — they fail because nobody tested the assumptions underneath them. Here's the four-question audit that catches the weak spot before it costs you a year.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Your website, socials, and sales team may all be telling a slightly different story. Consistent brands see up to 33% more revenue — here's the one-page Message Map that fixes the drift.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Sales closes the deal, then delivery loses the customer within a quarter. The one-page Handover Brief that carries the promise, the anxiety, and the customer's real definition of success forward.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Every interruption costs roughly 23 minutes of refocus time, not seconds. The Protected Block system that stops "always available" from quietly destroying your most productive hours.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Coaching doesn't feel like steady progress — it dips hard around week five before the real structural change lands. Here's the 90-day curve nobody warns owners about, and why it matters.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
The instincts that built your first million will cap your next five if you don't replace them. Greiner's Growth Model explains why — and the Stage Check that shows if you've already outgrown your playbook.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
A new NielsenIQ study found 58% of shoppers don't care if it's your brand or the store's own. Here's the 3-step test to see if your FMCG brand earns its price premium.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Chasing every dollar of revenue isn't a growth strategy — it's a collection plate. Here's the four-question filter Kevin uses with clients before any deal gets signed.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Most SMEs treat marketing spend like rent — fixed, tolerated, never questioned. Here's the 70-20-10 test-and-learn loop that turns it into compounding evidence instead.