Introduction to  the Accelerate Programme  

Accelerate is a Management Development Programme which offers structured support for owner-managers of small businesses which have been up and running for a minimum of 18 months. The objective of the programme is to provide participants with management, leadership, business skills and knowledge to achieve sustainability and growth in their business. 

We would be delighted to welcome you to an ‘Introductory Session’ to meet the 2 trainers involved, get a good insight into what the Acceletrate Programme covers and participate in a Q + A session.  To reserve your place on this ‘Introductory Session’, please follow the prompts to book online and join us for one hour in the: Abbey Hotel on Monday, 14th September 2015 at 9am.

Module 1 - Planning

• Need for planning in all aspects of the business.
• “All work is a process – all processes can be measured”.
• If you can’t measure – you can’t control.
• If you can’t control you can’t improve.
• Identify where we want to be.  What are barriers ?  How do we get there ?

Module 2 - Being the Boss

• Lead versus manage.  In SME we must lead AND manage – do everything when required.
• Look at management requirements – action centred leader;  motivate;  set targets;  report;  take action.
• Being the Boss activities – internal / operational; external / sales & growth, feedback, etc.

Module 3 - Find / Keep Customers – Business Growth

• Real business growth process from a 200 million to 250 million pounds pa business (Proudfoot).
• Value proposition – what do we really sell ?
• Market segmentation  strategy.
• Market research  what action ?
• Customer communication – very necessary.  How do we do it ?
• Cost effective marketing.
• E marketing – facebook, twitter, etc.

Module 4 - Continuous Process Improvement / Innovation.

• Need for a system to measure in order to identify areas requiring change.
• Different improvement techniques -  eg Toyota model, business process re-engineering, etc.  Good theory, but are they relevant to SME’s ?
• Purpose of module is to come up with potential improvements / ways to grow, etc.  Interactive exercise on this.

Module 5 - Managing the Money

• Do you know your breakeven figure ?
• What do your accounts say about your business ?
• How good are you at debtor management 

Module 6 - Selling for Profit

• Do you have an accurate costing system in place ? When was it last reviewed ?
• Are you making money on all the products and services you provide ?
• Do you know which products are most profitable ?

The training is a mixture of workshops and one-to-one mentoring.