Mark Vaesen on working with Julia Chanteray

Mark Vaesen runs Tomango and did some one-to-one business coaching with Julia Chanteray. Here, Mark chats with Jane de Vos about the benefits the business has seen as a result of his coaching time with Julia. And why he’s still using the techniques today that increase his sales conversion rates to nine out of 10.

You can watch or read the interview here:

Hi Mark, tell us about when you worked with Julia and what it’s meant for your business.

Julia was our business coach for around a year and our time with her has made a big difference to our business. Many of the things that Julia had us implement are being used today in the company and continue to bring clients.

And what are your ‘can’t live without’ moments?

For Tomango, one of the main things Julia changed for us is how we do proposals. We would spend a lot of time writing proposals, they’d be sent off and we’d hope that we get a call back.

Instead, Julia got us to develop this process so it became a product in itself. We now run a diagnostic exercise with a potential client to find out more about their business. Then we create the proposal from our findings. It’s great because we have in-depth knowledge about the client, we are getting paid for our time and our conversion rates have increased.

Before working with Julia we’d win maybe one in every three proposals. But since using the discovery sessions, we’re winning eight or nine out of 10.

If you’re talking to a friend or colleague about Julia, what would you say was her style and how she works?

I’ve met quite a few business coaches and consultants over the year that do things by numbers. They take you through the same routine as every other business. Julia doesn’t do this.

Julia takes the time to find out about your needs, capacity, and appetite for change. And then she tailors it to you.

Plus, it’s always good fun. Julia’s very funny and every session with her has lots of laughter. We need more of that when we’re running a business.

I’d also say that Julia has an excellent breadth of knowledge. There’s lots of her content that I dip into both from the website and the email stories she sends, which are always very useful. Business Stories serve as great little reminders for the bad habits you might slip into.

Finally, Julia is brutally honest about what you need to do. But she’s also honest about herself and the things that she’s been through. When you’re working with somebody, and they are a bit vulnerable, it builds a real trust in the relationship. I’ve spoken to Julia about things that are as much personal as about business. And I’ll always count her as a friend as much as a coach.

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