The Red Review - Leveraging Client Centric Funnels into the B2B / B2G space
In this episode, Jeremy talks to sales expert and entrepreneur Dan Newton about taking a structured funnel approach to growing B2B/B2G organisations and Dans new initiatives in the sales and schools estates spaces.
Find Dan Newton on LinkedIn - Dan Newton
Transcript
[00:00.4]
I'm Jeremy Brim and welcome to the Red Review podcast brought to you today by Growth Ignition, the Transformation, consulting and enabling tech business. All in the work winning space and the Bid Toolkit, our, online bid process and guide. So, hello, welcome to the Red Review with me, Jeremy Brim.
[00:20.2]
I've got a friend along this week for a chat, who's done something quite inspiring. So, let's get into it, let's understand what he's up to. Hi, Dan. Hello, Matt. How are you? I'm not too bad, not too bad, thanks. Little, little bit of a cold, so I might be a little raspy.
[00:35.3]
Might need you to do some unusually, I might have to switch my voice off a bit and let you do the talking. But great to have you along. So if you wouldn't mind just introducing yourself, Dan, a little bit about your career and then we can get into what you're up to now. Yeah, absolutely. So, hello, everyone, my name is, Dan Newton.
[00:53.4]
I, I run a couple of businesses now. I run a business development and marketing agency, predominantly aimed at the construction industry. So I work with construction companies to help them generate more leads, create sales funnels and just help them, yeah, basically get more, get more leads and work, which is what most construction companies want.
[01:15.0]
And then I run a second business called Settle Setl, which is also known as School Estate Thought Leaders and it's a community for school estate managers. So we're bringing the first 24,7 chat room for state managers across the UK to be able to collaborate with each other.
[01:33.7]
So that's in its infancy at the moment, but, we've got a good start up with that. We've got about 20, well, just short of 20 multi academy trusts that are in the build phase of this and that'll be ready to launch on the 1st of May. Yeah, so we are bringing something a little bit different, to market, but that's where a lot of my attention's been at the moment.
[01:56.0]
I've got, you know, from the two businesses, the business development ticks over and does what it does. And then the Settle Group, the Estate Management Group, there's a lot of focus going on to that at the moment. Very good. So, but let's wind it back a bit. How did you find yourself here?
[02:11.9]
So tell me a bit about your career, a bit of a potted history. Yeah. And how we found ourselves here. Yeah, so it was, interesting. I do a lot of talks in schools actually, where my career gets brought up. All the time, you know, what was my journey from school to where I am now? And I'm quite open about this because it's, you know, it's best to give real life examples.
[02:31.8]
But I literally left school, didn't do any further education and started at McDonald's. That was my first job. I went straight into customer service, as I called it. And what, you know, this then just created this chain reaction of working in sales, business development, customer service marketing, which now finds me where I am today, today.
[02:50.0]
And started at McDonald's and then it went into builders merchants. And that was my first test of construction. So, I was about 21 and when you get into construction you tend to never get out. That was, that was, that's usually the play and it's not because you get stuck in it.
[03:07.2]
I think people just love it. And I was very much like that. I was back in the day stacking bricks, stacking timber for, you know, for builders, yards. And then eventually I went on to work for some big companies like Kingspan and Langley, where I got into the world of specification sales and then eventually led on to my role with Charles Garth, chartered building surveyor.
[03:29.4]
So that was quite a big jump up. But all these little pieces all led me to the point of being comfortable enough to be able to go, I've got a great product in in myself. I almost kind of created a brand and I can package that and sell that as a package.
[03:48.3]
So that was quite a big move because I think with a lot of business development managers and salespeople is they, they get caught into the company and it's the company that kind of, you know, supports them. Whereas I almost created my own my own offering. And yeah, last year, about May time, yeah, May June time, I was approached by a couple of companies to go actually work for them while I was still at Charles Garth.
[04:14.4]
And I wasn't ready to leave Charles Garth. I had a really good gig. I was happy, but that was the trigger. It was almost like if I've got other businesses wanting my service and multiple ones, what is it then that I'm offering? And I realised at that point it was the branding, it was my connections and I thought actually how about I just package this up and take this to market.
[04:34.9]
So yeah, in August time I sat down with my then employer, who've been amazing to be fair, and they actually came on as one of my clients. But I said I need to go off on my own. And the Companies that had approached me, they then became my clients.
[04:51.0]
So, yeah, it was, A lot of work has gone in. This didn't just happen overnight because I think this would, be a lot of people's ideal scenario to work for themselves and just naturally putting myself there, doing podcasts all the time, going to events all the time, getting speaking gigs all the time.
[05:08.5]
I almost just created this place that I could monetize it. And then a bit of deep thought I was able to create what is now known as Cobra Consultancy Group. And yeah, now I've got a website and I help businesses. And then that's been ticking on lovely.
[05:25.6]
But it didn't stop there. I was like, right, how can we do more? And that's when the second business then came along, which is Settle. So that's the journey to where I am now. And it's just been, it's not happened by one. You know, one thing's very clear.
[05:40.8]
This, none of this happened because of luck. It happened because I had to put myself out there. I had to have awkward conversations, I had to go to events I didn't want to go to. I was pushing for speaking gigs of just anywhere because I thought the more I can be seen, the more I get recognition and then the more people will want my services.
[05:58.8]
So it almost just created this natural progression to where I am now and this. And now I'm officially on my, own doing my own thing, which is amazing, to be fair. Love it. Yeah, well, it's really exciting, isn't it? So, we met, I, I, you, sold to me when you at that building surveyors, didn't you?
[06:18.4]
And we bought into it. We ended up in a bit more of a deeper, meaningful conversation about this sort of stuff. Then, and your launch of your business was a surprise because we'd had a bit of a chat about financial freedom stuff and what I get up to, a destination freedom, and then off you go. You've gone and started to execute on it, which is really lovely.
[06:36.7]
But yes, you'd sold me a product because I, engaged your previous employers to go and do a building survey of a pilot project I've got in the north, in the Northeast. And, they went and did a great job actually. But I bought into the proposition and I'd interviewed a few companies actually, and you come across the best and, and did a really good job.
[06:59.3]
So, it worked. So, and I think that's a great example there of like, even though we were engaging with you, I Was really curious. I'm really curious all the time. And that's how I ended up kind of. And we ended up getting chatting about financial freedom, literally from, from, you know, you buy down service to me talking to you about, right, okay, then what do I do?
[07:17.2]
You know, let's talk about my pension. And all of a sudden our conversation went down a different path. And that's really big part of growing anything. It's being curious about things all the time. And that was just really good little snippet of, how you can engage and find more out from people rather than just selling.
[07:35.0]
Not everything has to be a sales game. It's like, okay, what's this guy doing? I knew you're into building in property. I knew you were, you know, looking up here and I'm thinking, I wonder if you've got some information that I can take. But yeah, it did. It stuck in my head and and I realised I need to do more.
[07:53.5]
You know, I was already doing a lot. I was already doing a lot, but I was stuck in that system of being employed. You know, you've got this glass ceiling all the time. The only way I was going to grow it would be to sell more, which then makes more. It means putting in more effort, more energy, more time.
[08:10.2]
And yeah, it's But yeah, that's. I think actually it's a great example of not everything needs to be just one linear work at that. We could not be sat here today having this chat. I could have just sold to you and gone. That would have been the end of it. Yeah, but I know I followed your content closely and it's been exciting to see you launch.
[08:27.4]
But you're right, I mean, what it comes back to, funnily enough. So if this podcast goes out, so we're recording this on the morning of the 19th, this podcast will probably go out a week or two after that, depending on workload and things. But on this afternoon, on the 19th, I'm delivering a webinar actually in personal development and career planning for the proposal.
[08:48.3]
Industry experts, community, North American based but global community for bidding people. And it's funny, the conversations sort of cross over that, a lot of this comes back to the value that you can create for yourself or for your clients or for your employer.
[09:08.6]
If you focus on maximising the value that you can help people create, not necessarily selfishly, but, you know, for them, the rewards will come from that. If you're valuable, you'll be valued 100%. Nice. So that's what I've thought.
[09:25.0]
You've got great emotional intelligence and empathy and that curiosity is really important. And a lot of people get a bit stunted in that in the day to day nine to five. They just get, you know, it's quite easy to just go along with the flow and sort of be part of a mediocre business.
[09:42.4]
Most businesses I'm finding are fairly mediocre in their performance and how they run because it's quite easy to get into the rut. Whereas the higher performing ones are exactly that. They're focused on client outcomes, delivering value and having fun, having a good time doing it.
[09:59.2]
Yeah. So that's, that's what I do for myself and it's what I've been sort of pleased and proud of you for generating your approach because it's the same that you know, you can have some fun along the way. Gonna use those skills you've got but you're going to create a load of value for people. It's really exciting.
[10:15.0]
Yeah. 100 and there's a great example I've. I always say with, with Settle School of State Thought Leaders was, wasn't by accident. What had happened here was most business I tried talk a lot about this is if you're a business development manager you've got to try create value that your employer can almost not remove you from the business.
[10:37.3]
That's what I always try to position myself. I see business development managers getting the chop all the time because one, they've invested 40 grand into them. There's no movement, nothing's really happening and they're all costing. So what I try teach people is try build value.
[10:53.3]
So Settle School of State Thought Leaders was an idea built on the fact that we were going to school shows to sell roofing products and building surveying, product, our services. So when I was at Langley it was all about selling roofing products.
[11:08.6]
When I was at Charles Garth it was about selling services. But when you're in a room there's 25 other people selling their service. And I said well what makes us any different? So what I did is instead of going to an event to sell to the event, I just said why don't we create our own events?
[11:24.3]
And everyone's like, what do you mean? Like how are we going to do that? So I said let's learn more about these people. Let's create them a, a curated network event. And by making an event, guess who sits at the top of the table with them? And everyone's like, that's ridiculous.
[11:41.1]
Then we add in the podcast at the top of it, which is the behind the Chartboard podcast. Now we interview CEOs, the DFA, we interview the top end school people. And all of a sudden you've just positioned yourself in a completely different space.
[11:56.9]
And then going back to what we say about creating value, you almost become undroppable. Because what happens is if the company wants to let you go, they're not just letting you go, they're letting your entire network go with them. And that's the key. And that's where most business development managers get it wrong.
[12:14.9]
I say, you know, they go to a networking event, build your own networking event, they go to a sales conference, build your own sales conference. But it's all right saying that it's a lot of hard work needs to go in. But that's my methods with everything. It's building the value that I attach myself to that almost you become undroppable and then you can negotiate the next move.
[12:37.1]
You have complete control over it. So, yeah, there's a little bit of a, that's. That's exactly the tactic I use. No, I get that. And that's funny enough, that's what I'm doing for myself at the moment. You'll have understood what I'm up to. It is fascinating because you're the first person I've come across in a long time other than my best mate Jack, who's in the similar sort of space.
[12:58.5]
It's got a similar sort of business to you, based out of London. But you're. Other than Jack, you're the first person to use the word funnel In a, B2B. B2G environment. Yes. Almost. So you're taking some of the tactics and skills that we see in the sort of Instagram guru world of creating what they call a flywheel of content.
[13:24.2]
So yours was, you know, events, podcast, etc. And so, yeah, to circle it back, I. I had a really painful December. I had two, in December 24th, I had two really embarrassing conversations because, you know, funnily enough, talking about the construction industry, the.
[13:42.8]
The last house to be built is always the builders, isn't it? You help everyone else. So I've been helping everyone else with this stuff. Talking a good game about funnels and key account management and capture and bidding and how you join the dots through that arc.
[13:58.6]
And, I hadn't been doing it for myself. So, yeah, I've employed a PR person that I used to work with at MACE to get me in the construction press and we'll move on to the defence press. Those are a couple of key verticals for us. We work in all sectors, obviously.
[14:14.7]
There's, there's some skills that align particularly well in construction and defence. And so she'd got me an article in NCE magazine and we did an email campaign off the back of it and she phoned me up and she said, right. A week later she said, right, Jezza, what leads have you got out of that email campaign?
[14:32.0]
And I said, what do you mean? And she goes, what do you mean, what do I mean? Who's clicked through the email to read the article? Oh, no. So it transpires that I've created a whopping great big flywheel. So this podcast is the biggest podcast in the world in this space.
[14:48.4]
It doesn't have, someone text me the other day to say there are other ones and sent me a couple of links. We don't have any competitive competitors, just purely because I'm far more fun. So this is the biggest podcast in the world in this because there aren't really any others on the pitch, by chance.
[15:06.2]
And then I've got a big email list and I'm obviously becoming sort of LinkedIn famous with sort of doing more and more in that space. But the key missing building block in that, in that inbound traffic or that community engagement was I wasn't looking at any of the analytics.
[15:23.0]
So, you know, I'd got. When we send out emails about our bid writing training, I've got a couple of companies in particular, they've got eight or nine people each that click through our emails 46 times. Why wouldn't I phone them up and say, oh, do you guys happen to be interested in bid writing?
[15:41.8]
So, you know, how do we. In the funnel, where we're working with our clients to advise them on their funnel and how to optimise and grow their business, you're absolutely bang on creating a thought leadership event, but recording that conversation, turning it into a white paper or a little micro site and then looking at the traffic to that site or people that click through email campaigns to get to that content, that creates leads, that creates insight or at least a view on intent and then you can follow up on that and almost nobody does that.
[16:15.8]
It's mad. It's absolutely mad. And then the second thing, I've got a non exec director working with me across my group of companies. Recognition, destination, freedom, the property stuff, we're piloting and launching at the moment. And she, said. She's, head of the business school at Coventry University.
[16:32.4]
And she said, right, Jazza, in December, this was January, you know, 2025 in January. What's your dream 100 list? And if you scored that list, who does it punch out as your top 10 prospects? And what are the plans for those top 10 prospects?
[16:48.5]
Oh, no. So that I take. I teach people to do that all the time as well and hadn't done it for myself, now I've done it. Where are we now? We're halfway through or towards the end of March and we're absolutely smashing it. So of those top 10 prospects, I've converted four already in dialogue with another four.
[17:07.3]
The other two I'll get to. And these are potentially quite major programmes of work for me. And all it required was me to figure out who are the clients that fit my perfect client, avatar types of companies I like to work with. Of those, score them by closeness, of relationship, amount of value.
[17:26.6]
I can add, a couple of other things, total those up and sort it by highest to lowest scoring. That's given me my top 10. We've gone after it and we're smashing it. Why wasn't I doing that before? So, but. So it's really brought it home to me, the value of doing this with our clients.
[17:43.9]
And it's really simple stuff. Look at the analytics of what's coming inbound and then create outbound traffic to the right clients you should be targeting who have pipelines of work. It's no more difficult than that, is it? It's not. You're absolutely right that, like, we don't use the methods outside of what we think, traditional methods.
[18:02.6]
So I'm going to a networking event tomorrow. It's a good one, but the more that I've dipped my toes into the bigger world of generating leads, you know, through funnels and guiding people down the networking event, it's not a great trade of, of time for money anymore.
[18:18.8]
I'm spending four hours in one event to speak to three people. And I've done a lot of work on the. With, well, not a lot of work with him directly, but Russell Brunson has clickfunnel and his. Yeah, how he works are absolutely incredible. And all I've done is taken them methods and brought them into what is traditional construction.
[18:38.8]
There's such a gap. I'll be honest with you, I was genuinely looking go. I could create a workshop on just creating a funnel system for construction. Companies because they leave so much on the table, but it's because they're not educated. The way they sell is buying a business development manager for 50 grand a year.
[18:56.4]
They're, they're the funnel. The problem is the human. So they have one to one interactions, they have a phone call and I've, I'm really struggling to go back to that method. Now that I understand that there's a completely different method. CPDs. The amount of CPDs we used to do, I'd spend go to that event, one CPD, go to that.
[19:14.7]
I do 25 CPDs now instead of doing that I'll just do one webinar and invite a thousand people onto it, get everyone's email address and then. But where it can get complex is when you've got different. We've got a really, really straightforward funnel system which is top of Funnel Podcast drops them directly into Settle.
[19:34.9]
Settle's a membership organisation now. So I've moved from the one to one transaction. So me selling to you, I now do the one for many. So I've created a product which we can sell a thousand times to many people for the same effort.
[19:51.7]
So a lot of my attention goes into that top of Funnel podcast that creates what's going on, who's Settle drops you straight into the landing page. And once you're in as an estate manager it's kind of. And then to get them in even better is we have a free access area.
[20:08.8]
So there's the second part of the funnel. Then when they're in the community they can upgrade finally to the paid membership model, some really clean model. And it's weird, this compounding effect. You know, we interviewed the DFE the other week, we interviewed CEOs and now we're like, you know, it's someone's like, oh well, I know someone from government and it's like this is really rolling into something really big and yeah, yeah, but you're right, it's taking their methods from outside, bringing them in here, and then applying them to what we know.
[20:36.1]
So that's where I spend 95 of my time now. So yeah, I don't go to many network, I don't go to any. I used to spend all my time networking and now I don't do any networking weirdly because I use LinkedIn as my top or you know, I use that as the face and that drives me most traffic and I'm getting more done for my time.
[20:54.9]
I can work half the amount of hours a week and get double the amount of Done so and I'm still refining that every day. You know that I don't have this nails by any means but it feels like the construction industry especially so slow when it comes to generating sales. I have length.
[21:10.4]
We've got the magic pillar here. So. But now it's. Can we teach this on a bigger scale? So that's something I'm looking at. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you're onto something. So we, we use almost an identical funnel for my Destination Freedom business.
[21:26.7]
The, the financial freedom stuff that we do which people will see spin up through April because April's Financial Literacy month in the uk. And so the third sprint of the next cohort of people. So that's, that's training programme, video based webinars that people can sign up for.
[21:47.6]
We're changing the proposition a bit to be more about parents with kids who are 14 to 24 and taking the programme together as, as adults and young people. It's about setting your young people up for success because you know cost of living is only going up and up.
[22:06.7]
Increases in earnings are not keeping pace or haven't been for generations. But it's only getting worse and worse and then you've got the headwind of what's going on in the, the world. It's quite likely that our children will never be able to afford a house if we don't teach them about money and teach ourselves about how to set them up for success with a better platform.
[22:26.8]
And so we've got a whole training programme in that. But similarly we're setting it up for a webinar towards the end of April and the webinar will then upsell the training programme. And it is the Russell Brunson sort of thing. So in terms of sources that people could go and do some reading or understand about this kind of funnel and then interpret what it means for their business.
[22:49.8]
Russell Brunson is sort of the biggest name in the world in Funnels, owns ClickFunnels, a platform you can use for that kind of email based funnel. Activity you do have to. There are a lot of people that misuse it or use it aggressively. When I first came up with Destination Freedom I worked with an agency that were using that funnel tactic but for a more high ticket version as they would call it.
[23:14.9]
But they'd get your phone number and then relentlessly phone you up if you join that funnel. And we're not that sort of vibe. There's obviously Alex Hormozy, who's A bit of a gym bro but has his 100 million dollar offers book etc.
[23:31.0]
It's worth a read in the right context and he's worth following on YouTube and Instagram etc because he is an incredibly intelligent man with great. I have to say probably the best tips in how to grow a business I've ever seen.
[23:47.9]
You just have to slightly filter out some of the the, the some of the behaviour I guess. And so have a look at those two and then you're off into the usual sort of Simon Sinek and that kind of stuff. But it's, it's how do we the, the interesting thing with construction, whether it's the professional services element, project managers, quantity swaying architecture or whether it's actual main construction or smaller, it's how do we take the best learnings from that kind of funnel activity for a complex sale.
[24:19.1]
You know building, winning and then building a 15 million pound primary school or something is a complex sale. You can't sell that through a webinar etc. That's just top of funnel and middle funnel. It's how do we execute then in the end game. And so it's about creating pipeline and then connecting it with my kind of world of key account management capture and then into bidding or ideally proposals to negotiate.
[24:45.0]
Ideally negotiating the job through a direct award through a framework. Yeah. So it's how do you take the learnings from that kind of Russell Brunson click funnel stuff, the stuff you're doing so well, what's, what good can you take from that? How do you then run that through the rest of the more complex sale funnel?
[25:01.3]
B2B. B2G stuff is the interesting thing I'm, I'm working with, with some clients at the moment but it could ironically mean if we get these businesses singing. If you mix that in with some market research that tells you where the money is going to be, run that data through a lens of who your perfect clients look like in terms of behaviours, ones that pay you in the right geography etc.
[25:26.4]
That will spit through a list of clients and projects to, or contracts to go after. If you run that then through who are the contacts and run that through this kind of funnel thinking and then into key account management, you might actually not need business development people anymore.
[25:43.8]
You will in theory create a client centric business that just needs account managers. Correct? Yeah, absolutely right. Exactly right. It's really strange this whole when you get into it like you've obviously been into it when you're in just opens up this whole new world of opportunity.
[26:01.7]
And I love business development managers. I've been one for a long time, a very long time. But since I've stepped out I'm like wow, there's such a big opportunity to actually use the money to other stuff. And it's not like we're looking to build people out from being business members man, just this is still human interactions needed.
[26:20.3]
But you almost just need account managers, people that are there just to show face rather than selling. And we'd almost take the pressure off these guys to start having sales targets because they'd be taken, taken care of himself. The only downside that I saw to that is it's a linear transaction.
[26:36.3]
So for instance the funnel would be to do win a job which then it would then need to run itself to win a job which means you need to keep feeding the beast. Whereas a community membership it just, it's the same amount of work so it just keeps, you know it once you've built it once it feeds itself forever.
[26:53.1]
And that was what we spoke to a couple of guys the other day. Whether it's creating ebook books or something that's almost evergreen that can just keep running. But yeah, I absolutely agree. I just I think there's such a better way to do it and I think it's taking them models of what's going on out there already for the high ticket items, funnelling them through and building it.
[27:15.0]
And you know what, I think you're on some really good and you know the person that gets it right, it's a whole new game. Because that's the thing with funnel systems. They're not to sell building services other ever. That's to say buy my two you know, buy my 997 course it's always courses or it's always ebooks.
[27:33.6]
Yeah. Because they know with that system. I went on a webinar the other week and it worked live. It was just a guy that was pre recorded and it went on and he went into this, he went into the stage one of the funnel and the thing is now you understand it, you know where the catch points are.
[27:50.1]
So they're not. The phone's not great for the ones that are educated on funnels. Yeah. At all. But if you never knew that you think oh this sounds brilliant. And then at the end of the presentation it was like right, we've only got five spaces. I'm like there we go.
[28:05.2]
Yeah. You know there was 40 people on the call and then it creates the urgency. But yeah, there's definitely something there to be built for construction companies. I'm trying at the moment for the Charles Garth, the building surveying company. They really want to deal with property management companies and they're really hard to get in front of the change job a lot.
[28:27.9]
The staff are always in and out and changing which means you never get a consistent flow of personnel. So that world's different because usually you're not building things on long term relationships, you've got to build it. So I'm looking at webinar, pre recorded funnels for them that you could just throw out that would feed them back into the system that they could pick on.
[28:47.9]
So it's a lot of work but that's where. That's exactly what we're talking about. That's how you level up. Yeah, yeah. That's how you become a key part of the team and not just another bdm. It is, it is funny though when you understand this stuff A, you get a bit irritated by other people's funnels with the urgency stuff and all that sort of stuff.
[29:05.5]
But B, then you look around like you say in at the construction world and realise how they're not joined up at all, how the dots are not joined through that funnel at all and they're just epic wastage like you say, in a completely, in a completely unconnected manner, a completely unconnected issue.
[29:22.9]
I do have a free 80 minute training video in how to write bids. It might have an upsell in it for a 750 quid bid writing course. And I might have a 30 Ways in 30 Days automated email sequence thing you can sign up for which might have an upsell in it for that 750 quid course at the end of it because it's always selling a course isn't it?
[29:46.2]
But yeah, I thought I'd give it a go for for our growth ignition bid writing training webinar series. So keep an eye out for those posts. Yeah, you won't be able to escape me on LinkedIn will you? I guess. And if you're in our email list stuff on there at the moment, it's good, it's really good.
[30:03.1]
And I was really interested in your parts on the education points actually because yeah, we had literally had the DFA the week before that came out and then you came out and it was like, oh no, I don't know if we can have contradictory things like you know, they would like, you know, she was brilliant. She was. You'll see the episode go live.
[30:18.4]
But they look at it from their end and, you know, we're literally talking all the positives of what you spoke about and then you were like, like, yes, it's not exactly what we expect. 10. So, yeah, it's a bit of a shame. Yeah, let's not go too deeply into it. I've had about 15 fairly senior people from DfE look at my LinkedIn in the last week or so.
[30:39.7]
Or follow me. For those that missed it, I did a nine minute long video explaining in fairly graphic detail why their approach to procuring their new framework, or the DNA of their new framework is, and why it's going to waste us about £3 billion 15 billion programme.
[30:58.7]
So it's a bit of a shame because they're just copying and pasting what they've done before, which is traditionally what DFE have always done. They, they tend to try and procure at the lowest end where they need to look at these things as programmes of projects, in my view. But, what, what do I know?
[31:15.4]
I've only been involved in building schools for 25 years. But it has garnered quite a lot of interest. If I had time, if I didn't have a 3 year old to dad and a business to run, I would go after them quite hard with the IPA and politicians and stuff.
[31:32.1]
But it's too late. The PQQ's out on Monday, so by the time this episode goes out, the, the, the pqq, or common, but they call it spq, will be out already. So it's already in train, but it's just a bit of a. When the country's in such a pickle with what's going on in the world, we can't really be wasting money like that.
[31:51.7]
But anyway, such is life. I'm sure they'll, I'm sure they'll figure it out. The framework itself, they could flex within it and create alliances and things. We'll see how it goes. But, good luck to those people bidding it, because it is critical for so many businesses that stream of work when everything else is rolling back.
[32:14.9]
Public sector work like that is really important. So, I hope everybody finds their way onto the framework that deserves it. Good stuff, mate. Well, listen, I've got a run because I've got to go and spend the day actually with one of those construction businesses, or one of the modern methods of construction ones who won't be able to bid it because there isn't a lot for them, helping them strategize how to partner to find a way onto it.
[32:37.1]
So, yeah. Well, no, good luck with it. It's been good to talk to you. It's been really good fun. We will talk again. Well, hopefully I can find my way onto one of your podcasts. Probably not the education one. But. Blow it up.
[32:54.4]
Exactly. Yeah. I don't want to cause you any damage, but yeah, when it comes to your funnel, stuff, business growth stuff, we should keep comparing notes because nobody's really in that space. And I think I'm saying to clients, and you'll see campaigns for me, if you get this stuff remotely right, you can double your margins in two to three years.
[33:14.7]
So, yeah, it's not hard. Combined with cutting the tail and looking at the data of your business and optimising who you work with, none of which is rocket science, you can double your margin. So it's really exciting, but great to hang out, mate.
[33:30.9]
Give me, give me, give me links to share where people can follow you and all that sort of stuff because it's really good content, really valuable content and, keep it up. Thanks very much, Dan. Will do. Thanks, man. Bet.
