Statistics from a recent article in the Mail on Sunday by Vicki Owen showed that small firms are more likely to take advice from friends and family rather than a professional. The main reason that they used was because friends and family’s advice was free and that they thought professional advice was expensive. And more interestingly, 60% of small business leaders believed that they would actually gain much from professional advice – especially in the sales and marketing areas. Advice with sales and marketing would help companies to grow and increase profitability. The article related to Growth Vouchers, which is a Government scheme where SMEs can apply for funding to cover half the costs of up to £2000 of professional advice. This has to be strategic advice supplied by a registered Growth Voucher Advisers who are competent in the relevant growth areas such as finance and cash flow, management and sales and marketing. I have successfully applied for Growth Vouchers for customers in Yorkshire wanting strategic advice on growing their sales and I found the process exceptionally straightforward. From my personal experience, Growth Vouchers are really worthwhile for companies that are looking at either creating a sales plan/strategy or wanting to implement a best practice sales process. With these tools, they will be much more focused and will therefore able to grow sales faster and more effectively. There are other schemes available which cover other areas of professional support, such as the GrowthAccelerator scheme which can be used for sales growth coaching and Leadership and Management training. If you want to know more about how to apply for any of these funding schemes, please contact me and I would be happy to steer you in the right direction and help you apply for some government funding to grow your business!