Mike Innes

During my career I've held a number of leadership roles at international companies. 13 years with Mars Inc provided superb training and experience followed by MD/CEO positions in companies with high levels of global sales.

Most recently, I led Manchester based Money Controls through significant growth and the eventual sale of the business.

As the company integrated under its new ownership I noticed that one key question kept coming up – ‘What’s the value proposition?’

This simple question prompted me to develop the Value Proposition Workshop and I now work with senior leadership teams, helping them answer arguably the most important question – Why should customers buy from you?

With 15 years of experience in MD and CEO roles I have led companies through good times and more challenging times.

Most recently at Money Controls, I led the company through a period of profitable growth with sales growing by 70%. I have a degree in engineering and benefited from superb training during the 13 years that I spent at Mars.

The number one lesson I learnt is that it pays to be obsessive about customers. You can never spend too much time understanding your customers, their problems and what they need.

Since leaving Money Controls and working with a number of businesses it has become clear that companies really struggle to develop compelling value propositions – probably because it is difficult to do well.

The Value Proposition workshop I developed has a particular focus on B2B companies. It is based on both my years of practical experience and researching widely on the subject.

My workshop differs from others of its type. Not only does it help develop compelling reasons for customers to buy from you, but it also provides a clear process which will become a core skill in your business with long lasting impact.

You can certainly do it on your own but evidence suggests that most companies struggle without someone to guide them through the value proposition process.

I facilitate by providing guidance, asking the right questions and making sure everyone keeps focused on the end goal. I don’t just help you understand your company's value propositions but I also help feed this back into your company’s business model.

I think it is important that everyone contributes to the value proposition process. By striking a balance between nurturing and questioning I help make sure that everyone feels good at the end of the day.