Mark Van Rol

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Mark Van Rol My mission is to help owners accelerate the growth of their businesses and to reduce the number of b

This was me not long after I first started running my own business, and looking back, I had absolutely no idea how much ...
14/10/2026

This was me not long after I first started running my own business, and looking back, I had absolutely no idea how much I was about to learn.

Something that helps me now when I am working with business owners is that I have been on the other side of the table.

I have run businesses.

I know what it feels like when things are going really well and you think you are a genius.

I also know what it feels like when everything seems to be going wrong at the same time and you start wondering why you ever thought running a business was a good idea.

It is very easy to tell somebody what they should do when it is not your money, your employees or your business.

That is probably why I am not particularly interested in giving people textbook answers.

All of the owners I work with are intelligent people.

Quite often they already know a lot of what needs to happen.

The harder part is actually doing it when you are inside the business every day and emotionally involved in everything.

No matter how many times Andy joins us at GrowthClub, there are always new nuggets of information to take away.A huge th...
09/10/2026

No matter how many times Andy joins us at GrowthClub, there are always new nuggets of information to take away.

A huge thank you to Andy for coming back again and giving everyone another brilliant session. He has a way of making sales really practical, and you could see people writing things down throughout because there was so much they could actually use.

This GrowthClub also felt slightly different because we had more of the wider sales teams in the room, not just the business owners. It changes the energy completely when that happens, and it was great to see different people getting involved, sharing ideas and hearing everything first-hand.

Thank you to Debbie for coming along again and getting some great shots throughout the day. I am looking forward to sharing some of those.

Everyone who attended not only got everything from Andy on the day, they have also been signed up to his Tuesday Tips, which I love. Brilliant little sales ideas landing in your inbox every week.

I hope everyone had a brilliant session and, more importantly, takes something away that makes a difference back in the business.

Wishing everyone a really strong end to the year.

The next GrowthClub will not be until 2027, so plenty of time to put it all into practice before we do it again.

09/10/2026

How do you get a room full of business owners meeting someone new before the day has even properly started?
Get them out of their seats.

You can hear the energy in the room.
Not a bad way to start the day.

For the next year, Tamara, Dil and I are taking on the leadership of BNI Ascot, and I’ll be stepping back into the Presi...
08/10/2026

For the next year, Tamara, Dil and I are taking on the leadership of BNI Ascot, and I’ll be stepping back into the President role for the first time in over 3 years.

It feels quite different coming back to it now, but one thing that has not is how important good business relationships are. Some of the best opportunities I have had in business have come from people who know me, understand what I do and trust me enough to put my name forward when the right conversation comes up.

That is what I have always liked about BNI. So I am looking forward to taking the role on again.

Special thank you to Tamara and Dil for joining me on the top table. They are both very determined business owners, but more importantly, close friends, so I know we will do our best to take BNI Ascot from an already impressive £4.6 million a year in TYFTB, to £6 million.

Plenty to get stuck into.

The simplest sales exercise is this...Take a piece of paper.Across the top, write down every product or service you offe...
07/10/2026

The simplest sales exercise is this...

Take a piece of paper.

Across the top, write down every product or service you offer.

Down the side, write down your customers.

Then tick what each customer has bought from you.

The gaps are opportunities.

I did this exercise recently with a client and, just by identifying the gaps and going back to existing customers with the right conversations, they saw around a 10% increase in sales.

Quite often, people are not buying something from you simply because they don’t know you offer it.

It’s a very simple exercise, but it can show you very quickly where you are leaving money on the table.

Getting ready for GrowthClub on Friday.This time we’ll be talking about how to inject more pace into the sales process, ...
05/10/2026

Getting ready for GrowthClub on Friday.

This time we’ll be talking about how to inject more pace into the sales process, which is something a lot of businesses need at the moment.

Decisions are taking longer, follow-up matters more, and if there isn’t a proper process, good opportunities can easily go quiet.

Andy Bounds will be joining us, and he always has a very practical way of making sales feel simple, useful and not remotely pushy.

Looking forward to getting everyone in the room and having a proper conversation about how to move sales forward.

1 phone call = millions in business.I was working with a client recently who had a pipeline full of opportunities, but n...
02/10/2026

1 phone call = millions in business.

I was working with a client recently who had a pipeline full of opportunities, but no real follow-up process.

He’d spent days pricing jobs. Site visits, conversations, pulling numbers together, getting other people involved where needed. Then the tender went out, and that was pretty much it.

For me, that’s where a lot of businesses go wrong.

They treat the quote, proposal or tender as the end of the process, when actually it’s often the start of the customer making a decision.

So we made a few simple changes.

Nothing complicated and no clever sales trick. Just better habits and a bit more discipline.

Pick up the phone. Add value. Talk about the project. Share something useful. Help the client think through the decision. Stay front of mind.

And the difference has been huge.

Because sometimes that one phone call lands at exactly the right time. The client may not have made a decision on the original job yet, but they’ve just had another opportunity come up. And because you called, because you were useful, because you were there when they needed someone, you’re the person they think of.

That’s how serious business gets won.

There’s a lot to be said for getting business owners together without making every conversation too formal.Which is why ...
30/09/2026

There’s a lot to be said for getting business owners together without making every conversation too formal.

Which is why it’s always good to see people staying on after GrowthClub.

It’s a great chance to carry on the conversations, build relationships, learn from other business owners or just have a bit of fun after a productive day.

If you’re coming to the next one, why not stay on afterwards?

A little trick I use when I’m working with clients on their sales process…We write down every touchpoint.Not just the ob...
28/09/2026

A little trick I use when I’m working with clients on their sales process…
We write down every touchpoint.

Not just the obvious ones like the meeting or the proposal, but everything from the first enquiry through to the final decision.

❓How quickly do you respond?
❓What do you send before the meeting?
❓What questions do you ask?
❓What does the proposal look like?
❓What happens after they receive it?

It’s amazing how often the gaps become obvious once it’s all on paper.

No proper follow-up. No useful information sent after the proposal. No next step agreed. No reason for the client to keep you front of mind.

That’s where opportunities quietly disappear.

It’s a simple exercise, but it helps you see whether your sales process is actually building trust, or whether you’re just hoping people come back to you.

One of the few positives to come out of Covid was finding new ways to bring useful people into the room, even when we co...
24/09/2026

One of the few positives to come out of Covid was finding new ways to bring useful people into the room, even when we could not physically get everyone together.

That was how I first got Andy Bounds involved with my clients.

I had seen the impact he had on sales results and thought his approach would really resonate with the business owners I work with.

It did.

The feedback from that first session was excellent, and since then Andy has become someone I like to bring back to GrowthClub because people actually use what he teaches.

Andy will be joining us at GrowthClub on Friday 9th October to help us look at how to inject more pace into the sales process and avoid getting ghosted after what felt like a good meeting.

If you would like to come along, drop me a message and I will send you the details.

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RG11NU

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