The boss of fast-growing transport firm Belle Vue Manchester shared some of the secrets of his success at a Marketing Stockport monthly breakfast meeting.
Phil Hitchen was the guest speaker at the event, which was held at Orbit Developments’ Regent House office block on Heaton Lane.
Phil spoke frankly about the challenges of managing a growing company and shared personal experiences, telling the audience how a number of significant changes have brought huge benefits to himself and his business.
In his talk, entitled ‘A guide to growth and freedom’, Phil explained how adopting the principles of the iMA ‘language’ has helped to boost Belle Vue’s performance.
In the past four years, Belle Vue’s revenues have quadrupled and its profits have tripled.
Phil said:
“When people trade with us, they stay with us.”
Implementing iMA – which stands for Identify, Modify, Adapt – has helped to achieve this, he said.
It categorises people according to their character traits and personalities into four distinct groups – blues, greens, reds and yellows.
This means that everyone in the world is on the same wavelength as 25 per cent of the population.
In business, success comes when people in the same group interact, so a company will send a ‘blue’ member of staff to meet a ‘blue’ client and so on.
Phil said:
“When this happens, communication, trust, understanding, co-operation and sales go up, and stress and tension come down.
“Using iMA as a communications tool breaks down barriers, builds trust and respect and cements relationships in teams and with clients to ensure future business growth.
“How people and organisations are perceived depends on their management style and their ability to communicate, connect and engage.”
Phil also gave an insight into other factors which have helped him in business, including learning the art of delegation, management and motivation, and the importance of setting goals backed by solid business plans.
He said he is passionate about creating fun in the workplace, as it makes staff feel valued and engaged, and therefore more productive and more willing to provide an excellent customer experience.
Phil told how he started his first business at the age of 22, building a company offering fire protection systems into a £1m-revenue concern in its first year with a team of staff who had been long-term unemployed.
In the 1990s, he moved into the passenger transport sector, first with a private hire car and limousine business and then a coach holidays venture.
He sold both and reinvested them to set up Belle Vue, a thriving bus and coach hire firm whose customers include football clubs, local authorities, colleges and universities, schools and companies.
Phil’s first book, called ‘The MD’s Guide to Growth and Freedom – How to Make More Money with Less Stress’, is due out next year.