Raise your hand IF you feel you really, really want to make the 7 Stages of Growth a main aspect of your business?

Keep your hand up IF you know how to do that.

Ok. I see a lot of hands go down.

IF you are one of my GCS that has figured out how to incorporate the 7 Stages of Growth into your business model, you can stop reading and instead go spend more time on the GCS Membership Site and discover more resources you can use immediately.

IF you are still struggling to incorporate this incredible model into your business, read on. I have a couple of suggestions that will help.

Suggestion #1:
Incorporate the language of the 7 Stages of Growth into EVERY conversation you have with a PROSPECT or an EXISTING client. Doesn’t matter if you are talking to a CEO of a startup, a COO of a 220-employee company, a manager of a 1,000 employee company or the HR person for a 30,000 employee company. 

If you are talking to a company that falls under the 500-employee count, you have enough information to engage that person for the next hour. Start by asking what they feel their top challenges are today? Why?

Ask the following questions to better understand how FAST they moved from one stage of growth to another.

How many employees did you have 12 months ago?
How many do you have today?
What is your hiring plan over the next 12 months?

When you are talking to a company with more than 500 employees, think in terms of the divisions or the departments. If I were in front of a Manager of Production, I’d ask him/her how many employees they manage. If they said 22, I’d ask if they were struggling with accountability, with employee engagement, if they had trouble getting buy-in with their team on critical initiatives the company was rolling out. I’m NOT selling anything to that person. I’m just explaining throughout my conversation, the knowledge at my fingertips based on just a few questions I ask. 
 

The point is that as soon as you get better at TALKING about the concepts, you’ll get more confident in the response you’ll receive. That confidence will lead to better conversations, better opportunities for engagement with a company who needs your expertise.


That’s my First suggestion. TALK ABOUT the 7 STAGES OF GROWTH.
 

Suggestion #2:

KNOW YOUR STUFF! You have tons of information at your fingertips on the Membership Site. When you can help a CEO understand some of the issues they are facing BECAUSE of their current stage of growth, they pay attention. Remember: CEOs are looking for answers! Not more questions! They want us to help them SOLVE their problems. And by understanding the concepts in this model, you can offer them those solutions.


Here’s a quick quiz. How did you do? Looking for answers? You’ll find them on the Membership Site. See below for resources you can grab right away.

 

  • Do you know why the Builder/Protector ratio is 3:2 in Stage 4? Do you know it’s the ONLY time the Protector Ratio becomes so high in all the 7 stages of growth? 
  • Can you explain to a CEO why understanding this critical hidden agent can make or break their ability to manage growth in Stage 4?
  • Do you know why Leadership Modality is Facilitative in Stages 3, 4 and 5? Can you explain what a Facilitative Modality looks like? 
  • Or, why the Builder/Protector ratio bumps up to 3:1 in Stage 6? 
  • Can you explain the Affiliative Leadership Style to a CEO and explain why that style is so critical with 96 – 160 employees?
  • And, can you explain the change in the Three Faces of a Leader as a company moves from Stage 3, to Stage 4? This conversation is a MUST when you talk to a leader who is struggling with delegation and letting go to let the company grow.
     

That’s my Second suggestion. Improve your Knowledge of the Concepts in the 7 Stages of Growth.

Look for these resources by stage of growth in the 7 SOG Videos Tab:

 

Stage 1 Overview

Stage 2 Overview

Stage 3 Overview

Stage 4 Overview

Stage 5 Overview

Stage 6 Overview

Stage 7 Overview

 

Once you listen to all of these videos, you will know ALL of the answers to the questions above!

The Membership Site if full of articles that explain in detail all of the hidden agents in each stage of growth as well as the non-negotiable rules and the specific challenges. Taking the time to really understand what a CEO is facing due to the stage of growth they are in, gives you incredible insight into their world.

http://www.gcspecialists.com/member-dashboard

Try incorporating these two suggestions and let me know if they helped you begin the process of incorporating the 7 Stages of Growth into your business model.

Remember: CEOs are looking for answers! Not more questions! They want us to help them SOLVE their problems. And by understanding the concepts in this model, you can offer them those solutions.

Your success. My passion.

Laurie Taylor, FlashPoint!