A Coaching Model created by Ujjalendu Gupta
(Business & Executive Coaching, INDIA)
The Model
The 7 Ps Business Coaching model takes a holistic view of the business parameters to work on the changes and improvements for the business as desired by the entrepreneur and/or the executive responsible for the business.
The model can be used to review the business strategy and develop a business plan for the whole business, along with specific action steps and review measures. It can also be used in a specific segment of the business with a focused change/improvement objective, within the overall context of long term business goals.
A visual representation of the model is given below. It begins with evaluation of the current state in each of the P elements of business and then goals are set in both qualitative and quantitative terms as appropriate. In the following exploration and analysis stage, a thorough review of the internal and external situation, competitive strategy, barriers to achieving goals, ways to overcome these and all other relevant issues, including leadership effectiveness, are analysed threadbare.
During such analysis there may arise the need to challenge status quo which, in turn, may lead to revision of the goals. Designing action steps follows, along with agreeing a set of measures to check on progress. Periodically, based on review of progress, a fresh assessment of the situation will be carried out and the entire cycle repeated.
The 7 Ps of business are elaborated below
i) Patron – stands for customers, the prime reason for the existence of the business. In this part, the questions will relate to identifying the target customer as also the customer’s customer, that is, the end consumer of the products of the firm, acquisition of new customers, retaining and growing within existing customers, customer feedback, customer service, customer relationship and all related issues. This P will be the most significant element among the 7 Ps.
ii) Product – stands for your offering, products or services, to your customers and to the different segments of customers. The issues here will be about matching your product to the needs of the customer, measuring value of the offering as perceived by the customer, changes required on the offering to meet changing demands, new products to introduce, product delivery channels, pricing strategies by segments, etc.
iii) People – the human resources of the organization and in case of independent professionals or solo entrepreneurs or an executive, the individual himself. The focus here will be on identifying human resource requirements, organizing and motivating them, enabling learning and growth of each individual in the team. Leadership effectiveness of the leaders of the business will be covered within the scope of this P.
iv) Profit – profit and all other financial aspects of the business including revenues and costs and their components, cash flows, margin, velocity, ROI and other financial indicators as well as funding needs and funding sources.
v) Profile – the brand image of the firm and that of its products and services as perceived by the market. The questions here will address the issues of assessment of existing image and awareness of the brand, and methods of delivering the intended brand image and company profile to the target customers and to the general public.
vi) Process – systems and processes followed for the various operations of the business, covering all the Ps, e.g., process for acquiring new customers, process of delivery of products/service, process of providing management information etc. The questions here will focus on effectiveness of delivery of results in each area of operations, as well as cost effectiveness of the processes.
vii) Partnerships – covers all the partners who support the business, including the other stakeholders (excluding customers and human resources already covered above) in the business, that is, the vendors, service providers, professional advisors, the government, the community and the environment. The questions will address aspects of improving relations with these partners for long term continuing support as well as social responsibility and sustainability aspects of the business.