Antony Bream: The Innovator's Roadmap, From Startups to Unicorns

“You have to kiss many frogs to find your prince.”

That’s the lesson cheekily embedded in Antony Bream’s brainchild, Ribbit Consulting.

In the mid-2000s, Antony Bream began to notice something shift in the world of B2B sales. The customer buying cycles were no longer straightforward affairs but complex mazes, involving wider ranges of stakeholders and, worryingly, engaging suppliers much later in the decision-making process. Traditional sales strategies seemed riskier, more expensive, and less aligned with these evolving trends.

Antony's solution was Ribbit Consulting, born from 30 years of industry experience and a desire to mitigate these risks and maximize growth. "I formed Ribbit Consulting to bring my 30 years of experience in the industry to align effective business development and sales processes with digital marketing strategies," he explains. The PRINCE methodology, another reason for the nod to the frog prince, reflects the six key buying journey stages, providing a mnemonic for his clients to remember and apply his advice in the "real world rough and tumble of selling."

With an agile approach, Antony drives growth into new markets and territories at a startling pace. From top-down business refreshes for UK Cloud SMEs to seed-round fundraising for startups, his influence spans industries and global markets.

Not one to be confined to a single sector, Antony's 30 years of specializing in B2B sales for cloud applications primarily led him to advise boards on strategy, governance, recruitment, and market approaches, whether for startups or unicorn status companies.

His history paints a picture of an industrious individual with a finger always on the pulse of the ever-changing market. Born in Nottingham in the year man landed on the moon, Antony found himself intrigued by technology during his school days. A BBC Micro and the first Apple computers ignited an interest that followed him through ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, an engineering degree in Yorkshire, and finally to an exciting and rewarding first job at Unilever.

His time in London saw him working with an American startup at Pinewood Studios, creating voice-to-text technologies and automatic identification from voice patterns. The boardroom overlooked a main film stage where Antony found himself having lunch with the likes of Roger Moore, aka 007.

But beyond the glamour of his workspace, Antony's real talent lies in identifying potential risks and opportunities for his clients' businesses. The current market conditions, as he observes, challenge companies to find trapped value in their business. His advising on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, foreseeing the rise of an industry that may replace credit cards entirely in five years, exemplifies his foresight.

Antony's unique approach to risk management and value proposition aligns with the buying behaviors of the customers, ensuring that the sales cycles are in sync with the customer journey. It's a subtle dance, controlled and accelerated by the clear-headed strategy.

Antony's gaze is ever forward, his advice to his clients often rooted in a simple but profound strategy: think with the end in mind.

As the Managing Director of Ribbit Consulting, Antony's reputation for driving growth into new markets and territories is no accident. Consider the case of UK companies expanding into North America. While the common language might make it seem simple, Antony's wisdom urges otherwise. He explains the importance of establishing local presence quickly, recognizing the nuances of regional preference, even within the United States. "Even a New Yorker will want to buy from a New Yorker and a San Francisco based person will find it hard to deal with a Chicago based customer," he observes, emphasizing the need to align with country business culture.

His mentorship during a trade mission to the UAE offers another vivid example of Antony's ability to gauge an audience and adjust strategy accordingly. Watching a UK-based FinTech founder's technically dense pitch, Antony was quick to step in, guiding the pitch towards storytelling, making it more relevant to the region. "As soon as he did that, and it involved his customer Shell which was very relevant for the UAE region, he was starting to get more traction and interest," he recalls.

Such insights translate into a broader philosophy for establishing commercial teams in new regions. Success here, for Antony, hinges on clarity. Best practice processes must be documented, automated where possible, and communicated, along with tailored variations to fit local requirements. Every team member should know their role, have access to essential information, and be part of a cohesive communication channel. Whether it's a matter of white papers or price lists, Slack discussions, or customer response times, Antony insists on a well-oiled machine that ensures fast access and responsiveness.

In a world where the new frontier is often a foreign market, Antony Bream's insights into cross-cultural negotiation and localized strategy feel both refreshing and essential. His approach is not about forcing a square peg into a round hole but rather about sculpting the peg to fit perfectly. It's about understanding the lay of the land before planting the flag. Antony is a man who will tell you to 'think globally, act locally'---and then show you exactly how to do it.

Antony leverages his experience to advise businesses on significant transitions. A particular instance demonstrates his ability to innovate strategies for a software company keen on entering the Financial Services sector. Antony recalls, "Our product was 70% ready to sell into this space. I embarked on a discovery journey, and by finding and working closely with industry-recognized partners, we were able to more credibly and easily enter into prospect discussions."

The approach was ambitious but meticulously planned, culminating in agreements with major banks like HSBC, Natwest, and JP Morgan, and leading to a lucrative acquisition. Reflecting on this achievement, Antony notes, "This was a very successful strategy, and it underscores the importance of understanding both product and market fit, and the vital role of partnerships."

Antony’s expertise doesn’t stop at strategic advice; he's also an accomplished executive coach. He connects coaching with selling, explaining, "Both require active listening and open question skills. To help an individual reach their best potential and to inquire with a client what their biggest challenges are requires understanding the explicit, and most often implicit, meaning behind their words."

His in-depth study of the psychology of executive coaching, including work on identifying and overcoming internal voices or "saboteurs," enriches his practice. Discussing a recent success with co-founders, Antony describes how his assessment technique healed a rift: "I ran them both through the assessment, and by looking at their results, could help them identify and act upon different ways of working together. It led to a better understanding of how the other person is thinking, and why they are thinking that way."

Antony's breadth of experience has led him to devise innovative methodologies that align with how clients buy, maximizing revenue growth in the process. The PRINCE methodology looks at key stages of the customer's buying cycle, tailoring the sales process accordingly. Reflecting on this unique approach, Antony says, "We analyze why there is a blockage in the sales funnel and come up with ways to help the buyer accelerate their journey and the client their sales cycle." A technique not just theoretical but proven, it helped one client win a deal by understanding the prospect's specific needs.

As an executive and sales coach, Antony not only helps businesses but also individuals in reaching their best potential. His methodology to build mental fitness and resilience comes from understanding and overcoming internal "saboteurs." He shares a story of a client suffering from imposter syndrome and lack of confidence: "Over a period of six weeks, we were able to reveal and face her saboteurs, find triggers to convert saboteur thoughts to sage actions and increase her mental fitness and resilience." The result? She emerged more confident and competent, able to innovate and empathize rather than stress about her situations.

By deeply understanding the processes and psychological barriers in play, he crafts solutions that resonate both with market needs and individual struggles. His words and actions offer a real-world perspective on how insight, empathy, and innovation can turn challenges into opportunities.

In a world where differentiation is often the key to success, Antony's approach to value-based selling hinges on a blend of components he's honed into the "8 P’s":

Proposition: Crafting tailored messages that unlock trapped value.

Promotion:: Reaching the right audiences through apt channels.

Process: Building a sales process that mirrors customer behaviors.

Pipeline: Connecting to the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) through various means.

Productivity: Maximizing motivation and passion within teams.

Platform: Utilizing platforms to connect and boost sales.

Partners: Leveraging complementary partnerships to address market needs.

Poster clients: Engaging top clients to create a self-referencing group.

This comprehensive approach encapsulates how Antony helps his clients carve out a unique position in a competitive marketplace. It’s not just about selling a product or service, but creating a holistic strategy that resonates with customers on different levels.

As for his guiding principle? Antony offers a buffet of wisdom from which to choose: "No regrets, begin with the end in mind, continually self-develop to find the best version of you, listen more, talk less, be more empathetic, give back more, have fun along the way." But perhaps what stands out most is his urge to "really look behind the eyes of the person you are dealing with to get to know the real them."

The world of sales and marketing can often feel like a place of unforeseen risks and hidden opportunities. Antony, with his ribbiting strategy and PRINCEly methodology, seems to have found a way to not only navigate this landscape but also guide others on this fulfilling journey, uncovering unique business values that the customers may not have even realized were there. It's not merely about sealing the deal; it's about building the paths that lead to them.

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Images courtesy of: Antony Bream, Ribbit Consulting