Harmonic Advisory

Are your employees advocates for your business or a missed opportunity for growth? According to Sprout Social, Inc., employee engagement and advocacy of company content amplifies reach by 561% Adobe's employee ambassador program and Edelman's Trust Barometer found that the everyday employee is 2x more trusted than a company’s CEO. Although logical, Sprout also finds when employees are happy, they naturally become advocates and this brings in new business, helps retain existing customers and – this is a big bonus - finds ways to help customers solve problems with YOUR products and services. So, how might you interpret and take advantage of this? Here's my take: 1️⃣ Employee advocates instantly take pressure off reluctant or maxed out executives - and shares the load. It also creates a tremendous opportunity for growth given the higher levels of trust they hold. We're working with businesses whose people on customer sites are creating the most extraordinary opportunities for their businesses by co-creating solutions with customers which leads to long-term, mutually beneficial business partnerships. A little training to give them a framework for engaging with customers and building relationships helps scale this significantly and empowers less confident team members. 2️⃣ This strategy helps customer acquisition and retention too, because it showcases your subject matter experts - and it doesn't cost the earth! This fits in extremely well with current cost cutting measures as it creates space for employees to generate opportunity, increased market engagement and profitability - all of which build morale. Amplifying your SMEs can be extremely powerful for businesses - it not only help brands build trust, stand out, attract extraordinary deals and grow market share; it empowers individuals to help your business succeed. 3️⃣ If you want to attract and retain great talent, recognise they are looking at the people who work for you, because, while your CEO might be a rockstar, not everyone reports to them. Making more of your people visible, means you're more likely to appeal to people who fit your culture and who feel they're going to love working with you. With so many reasons to build employee advocacy into your growth, what do you think? Could your business train up your employees to support growth objectives or does it feel too risky? #growth #gtm #personaldevelopment #leadership

If I was responsible for creating growth opportunities by leveraging new products or services that gave me access to dozens of new customers per month, here's what I'd do: 1️⃣ Create a product roadmap I'd map out all the problems my customers and prospects are grappling with and the industries they’re in, then I’d list all the ways my products can help them solve those problems. This is a simple, uncomplicated list, not a fancy pants document. Over complicating it misses the point. It can also be one product. Then list them in order of priority ie. biggest problem to smallest or most market ready to least market ready. Hint: it's a great way to share your vision and engage with customers and prospects. 2️⃣ Talk to my customers I never assume I know the problems my customers are facing or what their biggest challenges are so this is when I would do something outrageous… Pick up the phone and start talking to people. Shocking, I know 😉 You’d be surprised how few people do this. They just go off and create something no-one wants or needs. I want to know if my list of perceived problems and products aligns with what my clients are experiencing and I’d ask them for advice and feedback. 3️⃣ Fix problems, plug critical gaps, protect IP Customers will nearly always tell you where you can improve, if you’ve missed something important or what they really need. Now I have the information to create a market-ready product, so I fix the problems, plug critical gaps and start talking to legal - to make sure I’m not giving away the farm. 4️⃣ Get ready to go to market I use a timeline as working backwards helps clarify the best time to launch and how much time is needed to prepare... or if I need to freak out that Christmas is only 16 weeks away. Plotting key information into my timeline gives me a nice little go-to-market plan. This includes resources, operational requirements, stakeholder considerations and comms and a launch date etc. 5️⃣ Build a lead list The thought of selling something or building a lead list scares a lot of people, so I find it helps to think: – Who is this product going to HELP? I look at who I already know, who the team is engaged with and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 6️⃣ Launch Take it to market - send out a news release, socials, EDM, newsletter etc. I'm always mindful of capacity to deliver so this step is based on that - the last thing you want is to break the business with demand you can’t fulfil. Although waitlists can be quite handy. 7️⃣ Follow up This is one of the most crucial steps, yet people always run away once they launch. You have to remain front of mind and you do this with following up. I would call people, offer demos and gather more feedback - for the various iterations that will come. Think ChatGPT 3, 3.5, 4, 5 etc. It's hard to do this on your own. As someone said to me, “You can’t operate on yourself.” If you’d like some help, I’d love to hear from you. #innovation #growth #sales

When you're trying to cut through the noise and bring new ideas or growth strategies to life, there's a wonderful sense of achievement and possibility that comes when you have clarity about your first next step. Here are some ways you can cut through the overwhelm and get there. I'd love to hear what works best for you. #strategy #leadership #innovation #management #motivation

Thank you to everyone for the lovely messages about the 12 year anniversary of Harmonic Advisory. Some anniversaries you hanker for (the first one) and others creep up on you (this one). It's got me thinking about what I've learned along the way and what I'm leaning into in the future. Thought I'd try and capture it in 12 points, because who doesn't love a 12 point plan. Right? 1. You can't do it alone. I've had such an incredible group of people around me from the get-go. This has included my team, clients, family, mentors, friends and advisors. Thank you! 2. Relationships are everything. Strong relationships are the key longevity, trust, connection, knowledge and insights. I just don't see the point in doing anything without building great relationships. 3. Don't just keep learning. Do. You can do all the learning in the world but unless you do something with it, it becomes worthless. I said to a client recently that I'll die on the bridge of implementation. This is because implementation is the only path to successful outcomes. 4. If you're off the patch, you might as well be off the planet. Similar to being out of sight and out of mind. if you want results, being visible matters. 5. Get the basics right but do things that energise and excite you. This is just about every client project 😁 When you love what you do, it's not work. 6. "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." H.G. Wells 7. There's always more than one way to solve a problem. 8. Diversity is a tonic for the spirit and brain. 9. Trust your gut. Every time I've ignored my instincts I've paid for it. 10. Exercise is a not negotiable daily activity, particularly in nature. It's restorative. 11. Growth is an evolution, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them,” Albert Einstein. 12. Value your work. You're not helping anyone if you starve for your art. I'd love to know if any of these resonate with you and what you're leaning into right now. Nina #personaldevelopment #entrepreneurship #careers #innovation #motivation

CEOs are storming along their growth agendas and here's how they're going about it. (See what I did there? 😉 ) It's not just about cutting costs. Building confidence, launching new products and finding new markets are just some of the ways they're empowering their people to go out and win the market. #growth #leadership #strategy