Chris Ayers is a Certified Value Builder™ with over 30 years of experience in sales and organizational development. He is the CEO and founder of the advisory firm Peak Value. Since 2015 Peak Value has helped hundreds of business owners increase the value of their companies. They work closely with every client to assess the current state of their business. Then, they customize a strategy to achieve the owner’s specific goals for their organization using proven drivers of success.
Business Challenges
Ayers wanted a software solution that helped him run his advisory firm more efficiently. He found himself spending too much time with each client. Rather than addressing every aspect of a company’s operations, he was looking for a platform that would allow him to focus on crucial aspects of a business. He needed assistance isolating each business owners’ individual pain points.
Ayers was also looking to streamline client interactions. If he could, as he put it, “somehow expose them to everything and then circle back to what they really need,” he could efficiently aim his effort at clear targets.
In addition, Ayers realized he was losing potential clients. Peak Value was focused on exit planning. But, Ayers says, “We were sending 100% of our customers that weren’t ready to sell away. We didn’t have a tool that really identified their weaknesses with data.” They would refer them to another advisor and hope the client would return when they were ready to put their company on the market.
Why The Value Builder System™?
When Ayers first discovered The Value Builder System™, he found a solution that would accelerate his practice. He began with the Value Builder Questionnaire, a set of 34 questions that assess the business through the eyes of a potential buyer. These questions pinpoint areas for improvement and demonstrate how making those changes increases the value of the business. Using the principles of The Value Builder System™ with one business owner, Ayers helped to increase their company value by 500%.
This helped him establish a clear process for all advisory clients. They begin by getting their Value Builder Score through the questionnaire. The Value Builder Score is a clear assessment—from 0 to 100—of how valuable their company currently is. He then walks them through The Value Builder Engagement, 12 modules that are statistically proven to grow a company’s value. Each step builds on the previous one, and they are based on 8 Key Drivers of Company Value that an acquirer deems important.
Ayers then made a transformational discovery. He presents a condensed version of The Value Builder Engagement, covering the entire program in only 10 weeks instead of the traditional one year. In addition, he’s turned the program into a weekly Mastermind group. He will typically schedule eight clients in one Mastermind group, all from varying industries. This generates varying perspectives and sparks new ideas. During the session, they each share their experience with the key driver focused on that week. Although Ayers moderates the call, his real goal is for clients to help each other.
These Mastermind groups have impressive attendance rates: In a program of eight sessions with 80 busy owners and CEOs—64 interactions—only three of them missed a call because of schedule conflicts or revenue-related commitments. That’s a 95% attendance rate.
The condensed version of the Value Builder Engagement allows Ayers and his clients to go through the concepts of The Value Builder System™ in a fast-paced yet efficient manner. Adapting the Value Builder Engagement to a Mastermind has saved Ayers an immense amount of time. He can also charge less per client but earn more cumulatively. Most importantly, Ayers also converts 40% of Mastermind attendees into one-on-one advisory clients. This has helped to establish a recurring revenue stream for Peak Value.
Results
After helping to increase a client’s business by 500% with The Value Builder System™, Ayers understood the impact the software can have. He’s since maximized the platform for more business owners by introducing highly effective and profitable Mastermind groups. This has proven to be a reliable entryway into one-on-one advisory and increased recurring revenue.
“From the advisor perspective,” Ayers says, “it helps us get scale and leverage. This model can generate a lot of revenue.”