We are now seeing a steady flow of leads from the system we put in place three months ago. This could, of course, mean vendors are now waking up to the reality of the market but I like to think it’s also down to the marketing we have initiated. It’s all well and good having a lead flow but they need to be converted, and converted at the right margins.

Our 30% margin is challenging to some but with the right focus and strategy it is very much achievable. But what about the 20% margins we say no to, some of which are off-market? Well it’s always been a nagging point for me that we were wasting such leads. The answer came about very unexpectedly in the form of a mastermind group that I belong to. Currently, I belong to three groups, all different in various ways but with the one intention, to raise my game and receive a new outlook on our business, ‘outside in’ if you catch my drift.

Actually, I had just joined the third mastermind group of business owners, all from various backgrounds, two months ago. It was on the third meeting that we were invited to present deals in order to receive constructive feedback. I had volunteered to present a Vincit deal that was very interesting in terms of location but only reached 21% margin on GDV.