Salesbond

The Issue

Nicole Markham, founder of Salesbond in Birmingham, first met the DropJaw team after Roy Shelton was assigned as her Cohort Mentor through the Aston Business School – Small Business Growth Program in March 2018.

Since then, the growing telemarketing and lead generation company has gone from strength to strength.

Nicole and her team specialise in creating face-to-face meetings for clients through strategic calls and social media connection building. In an increasingly competitive market, Nicole looked to Roy to support with ‘big picture’ thinking and to help guide the business to maximum success.

The Solution

From the beginning, Roy and the DropJaw team took the time to really understand Salesbond’s business, market opportunity and potential hurdles.

Since 2018, DropJaw have worked closely with Nicole to review core financial and operating procedures, including a strategic refinancing to maximise the working capital needed to scale.

Roy Shelton has also been appointed a Non-Executive Director of Salesbond, meaning he can deliver on-the-ground guidance to Nicole and her team.

The Results

DropJaw Ventures have advised Nicole and her team on the very best blend of People-Technology and Process to ensure Salesbond can continue to scale and helped create a clear growth plan which all members of staff have embraced.

Since 2018, Salesbond’s revenue has grown 411% and, during the 2020 covid crisis, Nicole and Roy worked closely together to manage client expectations, cashflow, processes and staff to continue this growth by a further 57%.

Salesbond now has cashflow forecasting, resource planning tools and a strategic growth plan called ‘Project Skyfall’ that engages and galvanizes the team. The growth plan also has a detailed pitch deck to gain additional funding should the company need it for the next stage of growth.

In 2020, Salesbond were able to make their first trade investment in a new Strategic Marketing Agency, made of möre. Not only does this celebrate Salesbond’s ability to support new up-and-coming UK businesses, but the companies are aligned in their delivery of Sales and Marketing support and are often able to collaborate on client campaigns.

Nicole Markham said: “Like most SME leaders, I regularly feel like I am pulled from pillar to post, particularly during the last 18 months as I have battled to survive the impact of Covid-19. During the least three years, Roy Shelton and the DJV team have helped me to manage multiple business issues and have supported me through the trickier challenges of implementation and change. 

Roy brings an independent and valuable perspective to decision making; he holds me to account and supports and mentors my management team. He has become a critical friend, always at the end of the phone when I need him and, quite frankly, Salesbond would not be where we are today without his guidance and support.”

Roy Shelton said: “Working with Nicole and her team of fantastic lead generation specialists has been a true delight.

Seeing how the team has flourished and grown since meeting them is a real joy, as we look to the future to further expand not just the range of services but additional team members and a new North West based office whilst continuing to deliver the same high-quality service to all clients.”

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