Double Your Business: How to break through the barriers to higher growth, turnover and profit

233 Pages·2012·2.133 MB·English

by  Lee Duncan

‘Having worked with Lee five years ago to achieve great success, I
consider this book to be essential reading for entrepreneurs. It is
packed full of business gems that focus on solving real-world problems
to create on-going business growth.’
Darren Pescod, Owner of The Mortgage Broker Ltd
‘The ultimate reference manual for ambitious business owners. If you
read only one book on business, make it this one.’
Heather Townsend, author of The Financial Times Guide to
Business Networking
THE BLUEPRINT TO DOUBLE YOUR
BUSINESS IN TwO YEARS OR LESS
Doubling your business in two years or less isn’t some outlandish aim.
It’s a very real and achievable target. We know this because Lee Duncan
has used the techniques in this book with hundreds of companies to
help them achieve remarkable growth. Many have achieved growth of
100% or more, with the most successful achieving 500% growth.
Now you can follow the same steps to unlock the potential inside your
business.
For further resources log on to: www.double-your-business.com
£14.99
BUSINESS
Visit our website at
www.pearson-books.com
Praise for Lee Duncan and
Double your business
‘In two years, Lee helped me to double my turnover,
motivate my staff, and work half the hours I used to.’
Chella Heyes, owner of Zoom Answer Call, Cambridge
‘With Lee’s guidance and a lot of hard work, I grew my
sales by 148% in just 11 months.’
John Carmichael, owner of Superwarm Services Ltd,
Edinburgh
‘If you want cotton wool then Lee is not for you. If you
are looking for an honest, to the point, solution-focused
business expert then Lee is your man.’
Nathan Siekierski, Managing Director of Jasper’s Franchise
Ltd

Double your
business
How to break through the barriers to higher
growth, turnover and profit
Lee Duncan
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.pearson.com/uk
First published in Great Britain in 2012
© Lee Duncan 2012
The right of Lee Duncan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-0-273-75949-2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Duncan, Lee.
Double your business : how to break through the barriers to higher growth,
turnover, and profit / Lee Duncan. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-273-75949-2 (pbk.)
1. Small business--Management. 2. Marketing--Management. 3. Consumer
satisfaction. I. Title.
HD62.7.D856 2012
658.02’2--dc23
2012002677
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior
written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in
the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House,
6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out
or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the Publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
16 15 14 13 12
Typeset in 9/13pt ITC Stone Serif by 3
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire
For Julie, Michael and Rachael – I know how much you have
sacrificed to allow me to write this book. Thank you.
In memory of my father, Ronald Edward Duncan.

Contents
About the author / x
Acknowledgements / xi
Introduction / 1
1 Break through your Barriers to Growth / 9
About the questionnaire / 11
Instructions / 11
Identify your Barriers to Growth / 12
2 Cultivate your habits of success / 21
Growth Blueprint 1: Get your mojo back! / 23
Breakthrough Action Plan 1: Get your mojo back! / 29
Growth Blueprint 2: Get organised and focused / 30
Breakthrough Action Plan 2: Get organised and focused / 38
Growth Blueprint 3: Build your support network / 38
Breakthrough Action Plan 3: Build your support network / 43
3 Understand your accounts to make more money / 45
Growth Blueprint 4: Properly managed cash flow / 50
Breakthrough Action Plan 4: Properly managed cash flow / 54
Growth Blueprint 5: Robust profit margins / 56
Breakthrough Action Plan 5: Robust profit margins / 60
Growth Blueprint 6: Realistic sales forecast and budget / 61
Breakthrough Action Plan 6: Realistic sales forecast and budget / 64
viii Double your business
4 Turn your employees into a gold medal team / 67
Growth Blueprint 7: One-page growth plan / 69
Breakthrough Action Plan 7: One-page growth plan / 76
Growth Blueprint 8: Right people / 77
Breakthrough Action Plan 8: Right people / 88
Growth Blueprint 9: Build a winning team / 89
Breakthrough Action Plan 9: Build a winning team / 98
5 The double your business marketing plan / 100
Growth Blueprint 10: Lead capture marketing / 102
Breakthrough Action Plan 10: Lead capture marketing / 108
Growth Blueprint 11: Make your business stand out / 108
Breakthrough Action Plan 11: Make your business stand out / 113
Growth Blueprint 12: Magnetise your marketing / 113
Breakthrough Action Plan 12: Magnetise your marketing / 117
Growth Blueprint 13: Top ten marketing channels / 118
Breakthrough Action Plan 13: Top ten marketing channels / 128
Growth Blueprint 14: A back-end to boost sales / 129
Breakthrough Action Plan 14: A back-end to boost sales / 131
6 Create your unstoppable sales machine / 133
Growth Blueprint 15: Sales activity management / 135
Breakthrough Action Plan 15: Sales activity management / 142
Growth Blueprint 16: Create high-performance salespeople / 143
Breakthrough Action Plan 16: Create high-performance
salespeople / 156
7 Systems to make your business work without you / 157
Growth Blueprint 17: Stabilise to eliminate firefighting / 159
Breakthrough Action Plan 17: Stabilise to eliminate firefighting / 165
Contents ix
Growth Blueprint 18: Systemise to create your operations manual / 165
Breakthrough Action Plan 18: Systemise to create your operations
manual / 170
Growth Blueprint 19: Optimise your business for efficiency / 171
Breakthrough Action Plan 19: Optimise your business for
efficiency / 175
8 Peak service to delight your customers / 176
Growth Blueprint 20: Essential service for satisfied customers / 177
Breakthrough Action Plan 20: Essential service for satisfied
customers / 182
Growth Blueprint 21: Premium service creates customer loyalty / 182
Breakthrough Action Plan 21: Premium service creates customer
loyalty / 187
Growth Blueprint 22: Peak service produces customer referrals / 187
Breakthrough Action Plan 22: Peak service produces customer
referrals / 191
9 How other businesses have used these techniques to
double their business / 192
The Riverside Restaurant / 193
Zoom Answer Call / 197
Superwarm Services / 198
Mrs X’s property management business / 201
Airworld Tours / 207
Further reading / 210
Index / 212