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Owner-led firms usually hire their first salesperson in a moment of exhaustion, then wonder why the role fails. This playbook covers how to define the job before advertising it, test for real selling ability rather than likeability, structure pay sensibly, and run a 90-day onboarding plan with milestones that mean something.
UK SMEs invest heavily in understanding the customers they haven't won yet, and almost nothing in understanding the ones they have just lost. A structured exit interview costs 45 minutes of senior time and routinely yields better intelligence than a new campaign. Here is who should run it, what to ask, and how to convert five conversations into one commercial decision.
Most SME owners know concentration is a risk in principle, but few can state their largest customer's share of gross profit without checking. This is a practical framework for auditing concentration in half an hour, setting thresholds the board can defend, and stress-testing cash flow before a key account decides to leave.
A turnover of £1m is a change of gear, not a badge of arrival. This diagnostic helps UK SME leaders identify which constraint is binding — and sets out three levers, with a 90-day sequence, for pushing past the plateau.
The last weeks of 2026 should not be treated as a quiet wind-down. This operating sprint gives UK SME leaders a practical weekly rhythm for tightening cash collection, reviewing pipeline quality, repricing with evidence and starting one focused scaling bet for 2027.