5 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Strategic Facilitator for Next-Level Impact Business Growth
From recognizing growth plateaus to enhancing stakeholder engagement, check out the five tell-tale signs that it’s time to elevate your impact business growth alongside a strategic facilitator.
If you’re at the helm of an impact start-up that’s seen its fair share of growth, you know what it's like to ride the upward curve.
During this time, growth isn’t just a goal – it’s proof that your idea is working, making a dent, and creating a change.
But what happens when that growth starts to level off and plateau?
You’ve been there before, right? You know, at the beginning of everything, when you were working with consultants who helped you find your footing.
But this? This feels different. And it’s frustrating.
Sure, you’ve brainstormed and whiteboarded every possible scenario… but it feels like you’re running in circles.
You’ve doubled down on what’s worked in the past… but the fear of losing ground is real because your mission is too important to falter.
After all, you didn’t sign up to run on a hamster wheel – you signed up to make a difference. And when your impact start-up starts to plateau, it’s time to take a look at your impact business growth strategy.
Let’s take a look at what the process might be like for you and your business.
What is a strategic facilitator for impact businesses?
Put simply, a strategic facilitator for impact businesses is someone who steers conversations and strategic development without the need to dominate the process.
Ideally, their role is to bring up the unasked questions and inject their expertise to help answer them – AKA, shape the business’s strategic path toward continued growth.
Coming in to bridge gaps, a strategic facilitator can become your guide in navigating the challenging landscape of impact businesses. This means they can connect your impact with a viable business strategy to reach revenue and profit goals.
Because let’s be honest: It’s no secret that most impact-business founders, like you, are already very familiar with the high-pressure environment of startups.
That’s why strategic facilitators for impact startups are so important. We understand the intricacies of aligning business strategies with social impact goals and can ensure that both objectives are met without compromise.
Through a combination of clarity, direction, and strategic insight, a strategic facilitator can help you create the plan to secure funding and drive business growth while maintaining the integrity of the business’s social mission.
What could next-level business growth mean for your impact business?
Think about the future of your business. What milestones define success? What drives your progress forward? How do you amplify your impact?
Holding this vision at your core, next-level growth might manifest itself in different ways:
Securing more sustainable and influential business deals.
Garnering increased affirmation from investors with more "Yeses."
Attracting strategic partnership inquiries that propel your mission.
Streamlining your lead generation for a more effortless influx of prospects.
Expanding your work's reach, deepening the impact both within your business and the broader community.
Broadening your community and client base by resonating with a larger audience through stronger brand recognition and a clear unique selling proposition (USP).
Sounds good, right? We think so, too.
If the above resonates with you, it might be time to bring in a strategic facilitator to help you reach your next-level business growth.
Let’s take a closer look at the signs…
5 signs it’s time to hire a strategic facilitator
Choosing to bring in an outsider is always difficult. After all, your business is your brainchild. It reflects your values, and it embodies your vision – and what if that other “someone” doesn’t get it like you do?
This is obviously a valid fear, but it can also stifle your business’s potential.
Here are five signs it might be time to seek the expertise of a strategic facilitator:
1. You’ve hit a plateau with business development
Let’s say you’ve made a name for yourself and gained plenty of recognition within your industry – congratulations! However, there’s a catch. Despite all of the public support, your business growth has hit a ceiling.
Sure, people like what you have to offer… but this hasn’t translated to business growth and there’s already a clear limit to your reach.
What’s the problem?
Although the plateau might seem like a problem in itself, the reality is that pinpointing that as the sole issue is barely scratching the surface. There may be a lack of clarity about the tangible benefits your business offers – meaning how you help people – which is ultimately vital for business growth.
Bringing in a Strategic Facilitator can help you translate your impact into tangible benefits that your audience, clients, community, and investors can understand. A Strategic Facilitator will be able to capture the bigness of your mission and synthesize it into a business strategy for you to implement.
2. You’re not getting the ‘right’ yes and buy-in
Picture this: You're surrounded by nods, smiles, and agreements. Your content and events draw crowds… But when it comes to significant commitments, you’re met with hesitation.
Your stakeholders, while supportive, aren't necessarily converting their interest into the solid business deals you need for business growth. And while they agree to smaller partnerships, they usually balk at the big leaps. You know, the kind that would sustain and propel your business forward…
So while all of this happens, you’re left wondering why such an engaged community isn’t translating into substantial growth.
What's the problem?
The heart of the issue here is that there’s a potential haze surrounding your unique selling proposition (USP). What does that mean? There's a disconnect in effectively communicating the value of your work which leads to a lack of deeper buy-in.
Without clear, compelling conversations with key partners and community members, your business can't leverage its potential.
One way FairForce has supported clients to get the right yes and buy-in is by facilitating numerous product position and UVP (unique value proposition) workshops for early-stage startup founders. Many of our clients struggled to develop a clear business case around their product to be considered as a strategic solution for their clients and/or partners.
During the workshops we broke down the business case of their product or service and curated a clear statement around its business utility for their clients and partners.
After the workshops, our clients now had a clear and concise way to present their product as a business-relevant solution that showed immediate competitive advantage for their business growth objectives. This made sales processes easier and faster for the clients, getting the right yes and buy-ins from strategic partners and clients!
3. You’re noticing missed opportunities for business development
There’s nothing like a silent inbox to signal a dry spell in business development! You know you could be garnering more qualified leads and clients with the reputable brand you’ve built…
However, you're coming face-to-face with a shortage of leads and referrals. And the few inquiries that do arrive – while still appreciated and acknowledged – simply lack the substance you really need to drive your business forward.
What's the problem?
The issue here lies in the absence of a strategic and optimized approach to community engagement and building – this includes not just new, external audiences but also nurturing past and current clients.
Missed opportunities and lack of lead acquisition mean there's a gap in how your products or services meet the needs of your potential clients, which indicates a misalignment with your ideal customer base.
During our strategic facilitation, we focus on curating a high-quality client service experience, no matter what product or service the company is developing.
We find that many of the clients we work with are focused on strategizing offers that meet their clients or audiences’ needs, so they don’t have the headspace or capacity to craft an experience that can help clients feel more personally seen, connected to the product or service, and engaged with the co-creation of it.
One of the areas we support clients during strategic facilitation is developing communication and interaction funnels that allow the company to build consistent and personalized connection points with their clients during the entire client journey. We strategize the execution of programs and communication campaigns that bring their clients or audiences at the heart of the growth process, becoming ambassadors or living testimonials of the service/product’s qualities and experience.
This then builds out opportunities for repeat business and further business development from some of the best people - your past clients who loved the experience working together!
4. There’s a clear lack of long-term results
Imagine your business experiences a sudden surge in clients, users, or partners, and everything feels like it’s going so well. But just as quickly as that initial growth spurt happened, the excitement tapers off.
This roller coaster of abundance and scarcity means that you’re unable to maintain a steady growth trajectory. Despite having a sizable brand presence, it doesn't seem to be converting into enduring success or a consistent stream of inbound requests.
What's the problem?
You're missing out on key relationships and partnerships that can stabilize and sustain your business financially. Without these alliances, your business's growth is uneven and unpredictable. It's like trying to build a house without a solid foundation — your business is in feast-and-famine mode, which is tiring for you and your team.
FairForce has helped clients go from occasional or *random* activities offered to their audiences, to a set of offers, content campaigns, and community engagement activities that become their evergreen sales assets.
This has helped our clients maintain a consistent visibility, connection, and high-quality positioning in their industry and with their clients.
Through our strategic facilitation, we can help you find the right balance and campaigns, as well as support you to implement the strategy and set long-term goals and actions to reach them.
5. The momentum for the mission or solution has stalled
You've probably noticed those times when there seems to be a burst of activity and interest in your business, right? The “BOOM!” you’ve been looking for…
Although there are spurts of momentum, there is no strategy to sustain your ‘BOOM’. In theory, the momentum you had for your mission or solution can be used to continue growth, yet after each momentous moment, the business quickly stalls again.
What's the problem?
Business momentum for your mission or solution can be the kind of energy that can spur new product development or strategic advancement. If you’ve had moments of momentum that quickly tethered off, this is a sign that there is a lack of strategy to effectively channel this energy.
The core issue here is the absence of a solid strategic framework for the business and definitive leadership steering. This sporadic push leads to uncertainty or unsustainable work within your team and squanders chances to convert short-term wins into sustainable advances.
A Strategic Facilitator for impact businesses can connect your mission with a business growth strategy - centering impact while creating pathways to sustainable financial growth.
The FairForce Framework for Business Growth
At FairForce, we understand that the journey to substantial business growth is multifaceted.
That’s why we’ve honed our expertise into a dynamic process that identifies, nurtures, and accelerates the growth potential within your business.
Here’s what that looks like from a holistic perspective:
1. Assess: The first step is a deep dive into your current strategies. Our team will work to audit your operations and spotlight any of the misalignments and missed opportunities that might be hindering your progress. Remember, though, that this isn’t about surface-level fixes – it's about uncovering the fundamental shifts that need to happen to set you on a trajectory of success.
2. Elevate: With all of this newfound knowledge in hand, we’ll move on to the “elevation” stage. Here, clarity becomes your new cornerstone. With sharp focus, we’ll work to outline the specific actionable steps that will lift your business practices from their current state to their optimal potential. This bespoke roadmap is designed with your unique business landscape in mind to help enhance your operational performance and solidify your strategic direction. (In this stage, we can work on effective systems, leadership strategies, and/or financial strategies for investment)
3. Accelerate: Once a clear plan is set, the real work begins. You'll receive direct support from our team – in advice and action. Whether it's refining your pitch deck, overhauling your go-to-market strategy, or coaching your team to bolster their leadership capacity, we're there to guide you – ensuring that every move is one towards greater capacity and growth.
Curious about how this all comes together? Our upcoming 12-week "Elevate to Success" program is designed to help catapult your business forward.
Leveraging the FairForce Framework for Sustainable Business Growth, let’s work together to dissect, enhance, and expedite your business growth potential!
Ready for business growth? Take the leap with FairForce
Recognizing the signs that your business needs strategic facilitation is the first step towards achieving the next level of impact business growth you're aspiring to.
Here are the signs it’s time to bring in external support:
1. You’ve hit a plateau with business development
2. You’re not getting the ‘right’ yes and buy-in
3. You’re noticing missed opportunities for business development
4. There’s a clear lack of long-term results
5. The momentum for mission or solution has stalled
If any of these resonate with you, it’s definitely time to take action.
Ready to unlock your business's potential for financial sustainability and growth? Schedule an introductory Strategy Call with our founder, Margherita, to discover the power of strategic facilitation for your impact start-up.
Hungry for more insights? Check out our most recent blog post on Values-led Entrepreneurship Culture for Ethical and Business Growth to learn about integrating humanity into business for a more ethical approach to success.